State of the Union 2019: Biggest moments from Trump's address
President Trump delivered his third address for the first time in front of a divided Congress. Here are the best moments.
On Inauguration Day on Jan. 20, 1993, outgoing Republican President George H.W. Bush left a handwritten note for the new president of the United States, Democrat Bill Clinton. Just two months earlier, President Bush lost his bid for re-election to Clinton after a bruising campaign.
It was a tough pill to swallow, for certain. But President Bush knew he had to do what was right for America. In his note to the man who defeated him, Bush explained that even though they were rivals from different political parties, “your success now is our country's success. I am rooting hard for you.”
Now 26 years later, even though our country has become bitterly divided and President Bush is sadly no longer with us, his words are a reminder to us all of the need to put the best interests of our country above party politics.
PRESIDENT TRUMP'S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS: READ THE SPEECH
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Trump delivered his report to the American people and there were lots of reasons to root for the 45th president of the United States and applaud his many accomplishments.
Due to the Trump pro-growth economic program of tax cuts and deregulation, the national unemployment rate is an impressive 4 percent – and African-American, Hispanic and female unemployment levels are all at historic lows.
More than 5 million jobs have been created, including 600,000 manufacturing jobs. Wages are growing at their fastest clip in a decade and are expected to do even better in 2019.
To any reasonable observer, this amazing economic news is a blessing for all Americans. We should all be celebrating these strong numbers and hope they continue.
America is respected around the world again due to President Trump’s peace through strength foreign policy. ISIS has been reduced to controlling just a miniscule amount of territory in Syria.
Our NATO allies have agreed to pay $100 billion more for defense because of President Trump’s call for reform. Under our president’s leadership, our military has been rebuilt and is once again the envy of the world. We should all be rooting for less war and more diplomacy.
President Trump is making America great again by prioritizing American workers as he renegotiates free trade deals, ensuring that from now on they will be fair trade deals.
By replacing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the new U.S.-Mexico- Canada Agreement on trade, President Trump has paved the way for more jobs to be created for our citizens.
And with the ongoing trade negotiations with China, isn’t it refreshing to have a president of the United States who has the courage to get in the room and ask for something in return? We should all be rooting for this great American comeback.
Even the most partisan actors on the political spectrum should understand that we have only one president at a time, and when our president succeeds, the American people succeed.
But unfortunately, as millions of American families applauded the president’s successes from their living rooms Tuesday night, hyper-partisan Democrats in the House chamber sat on their hands and frowned because they hate this president more than they love their country.
Despite the sad spectacle of partisanship displayed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and their fellow Democrats Tuesday night, President Trump stood tall in the well of the House by talking unity and offering bipartisan solutions.
Unbelievably, a sizable number of Democrats only stood to applaud themselves.
Rather than turning up the temperature and giving in to the broken status quo and division in Washington, President Trump is asking Democrats to choose greatness by rejecting resistance and instead compromise for the good of the American people.
Rather than turning up the temperature and giving in to the broken status quo and division in Washington, President Trump is asking Democrats to choose greatness by rejecting resistance and instead compromise for the good of the American people. This is the essence of American exceptionalism that would make President George H.W. Bush proud.
Think of it. Even in the face of a permanent Democrat obstruction campaign and an onslaught of partisan investigations throughout his presidency, President Trump is choosing unity.
President Trump made clear – once again – that he wants to work with Democrats on border security, health care and infrastructure. But it takes two to tango. This constitutional republic of ours cannot function if one side flat-out refuses to participate.
At some point, Pelosi and Schumer must come to the table and demonstrate to our citizens that working across party lines with a willing president is what true leadership looks like.
I’m optimistic it can happen – because this president will never stop trying to do the right thing for America. The history books haven’t been written yet. The Democrats should come to their senses and root for the success of this president because these are important issues that are well worth rallying around.
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The great Americans that the president recognized in the House gallery Tuesday night deserve the same greatness from our leaders that they have displayed in their lives.
President Trump asked "what will we do with this moment?" As the president said, the answer is to transcend our differences and put America first, always.
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