State of the Union is ‘Strong’ but partisan reaction is stronger

By: Pulse Staff

As President Donald Trump started the State of the Union Address in the House Chamber Tuesday night, standing ovations were the norm. But as the address moved on, the division of support on his various statements became clear as half of the chamber stood and half sat looking annoyed (and at times perplexed).

He began the address with rhetoric of unity:

“I stand here ready to work with you to achieve historic breakthroughs for all Americans. Millions of our fellow citizens are watching us, gathered in this great chamber, hoping we will govern not as two parties, but as one nation.”

The words began hopeful saying “the agenda I will lay out this evening is not a Republican agenda or Democrat agenda, it is the agenda of the American people.”

But the tone changed as the president said “ladies and gentlemen the state of our union is strong,” and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi slightly shook her head before she joined in the applause. The rest of the chamber broke into a brief chant of “U.S.A.! U.S.A!”

Feeding off of the chant, Trump dove into his assessment that ridiculous investigations could slow down the economy, alluding to his belief that the Robert Mueller investigation is a witch hunt.

“If there’s going to be peace and legislation there cannot be war and investigation,” said Trump. Pelosi and others in the chamber showed little reaction other than awkward annoyance.

But Pelosi motioned to quiet the opposition who negatively reacted to Trump’s claim that “As we speak, large, organized caravans are on the March to the United States. We have just heard that Mexican cities, in order to remove the illegal immigrants from their communities, are getting trucks and buses to bring them up to our country in areas where there is little border protection. I have ordered another 3750 troops to our southern border to prepare for this tremendous onslaught. This is a moral issue. The lawless state of our southern border is a threat to the safety, security, and financial well-being of all Americans.”

The president also took a personal dig at Pelosi and others by saying, “Wealthy politicians push for open borders while they live in their homes behind gates and guards.”

Many of the women in Congress wore white at the speech in a nod to the women’s suffrage movement.

As Trump announced that women filled 58 percent of the jobs created last year in America, the women wearing white first looked at each other as if the number wasn’t quite correct, then stood and cheered. The cheer took on the tone of mocking Trump’s announcement.

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