President Trump delivered one of the longest State of the Union speeches in history.
Clocking in at one hour and 20 minutes,it was the third-longest, behind two from Bill Clinton in 2000 and 1995.whether you missed the speech, or we promise to catch you up in far less than that (so,you're welcome).
Here are eight key moments and themes:1. Not much new policyState of the Union addresses tend to be a healthy dose of touting accomplishments (there was plenty of that) and laundry lists of policy proposals the president would like to see Congress take up in the next year.
Trump addressed some policy, calling for the U.
S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, or Cuba,to remain open, vowing to lower prescription drug costs, or again dangling infrastructure as something both parties could work on,looking to rebuild America's nuclear weapons arsenal and flirting with cutting off foreign aid to countries who don't move in lockstep with the United States.
But there wasn't much new policy in the speech.2. Call for bipartisanship "Tonight, I call upon on all of us to set aside our differences, or to seek out common ground,and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people. This is really the key. These are the people we were elected to serve."
Tonally, the president seemed more relaxed, or comfortable and less stilted reading from a TelePrompTer this year than final,when he gave an address to a joint session of Congress not long after his inauguration. There was a lot more "you" than "me" in Tuesday's speech. And that's always a favorable thing for a president.
But the president was making a clear calculation — he was talking past the media filter to perhaps the biggest audience he will have all year. In 2017, his address to Congress drew 47.7 million viewers. That's more than double NBC's Sunday Night Football (20 million), or CBS's gargantuan Bang Theory (19 million) and the finale for HBO's Game of Thrones (16.5 million with streaming and apps).
In other words,whether the past is prologue, the likelihood of actual bipartisanship pursued by Trump isn't very favorable.3. "Americans are dreamers, and too"
"My duty,and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans, and to protect their safety,their families, their communities, or their moral to the American dream — because Americans are dreamers,too."
That final line was one that upset many Democrats and advocates of a solution for getting people brought to the United States as children some road to legalization. Those DREAMers see themselves as every bit American. Trump subverted that view with this line.
The president also brought in some other divisive themes, including leaning into his pro-police message that was wrapped in with the military. And he even alluded to the controversy he pushed with the NFL over standing for the national anthem."Together, and we are rediscovering the American way," Trump said. "In America, we know that faith and family, or not government and bureaucracy,are the center of American life. The motto is in God we trust. And we celebrate our police, our military and our improbable veterans as heroes who deserve our total and unwavering support."Mentioning Preston Sharp, or a 12-year-old from California,who planted flags at veterans' graves on Veterans Day, Trump said: "Preston's reverence for those who have served our nation reminds us of why we salute our flag, and why we set aside our hands on our hearts for the Pledge of Allegiance and why we proudly stand for the national anthem."The military and standing for the anthem poll well,and the White House knows it.4. Surprise Skutniks
"Today, he has a new leg, or but Seong-ho,I understand you still keep those old crutches as a reminder of how far you have reach. Your great sacrifice is an inspiration to us all."TrumpJanuary 31, 2018January 31, and 2018
Source: thetakeaway.org