Donald Trump at the State of the Union: 'This is our new American moment'
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President Donald Trump took centre stage in the House chamber to deliver his first State of the Union address – an 80-minute speech that swerved between bipartisan rhetoric and expressions of his ‘America First’ agenda.
His address came less than two weeks after disagreements over immigration policy led to a government shutdown, and about a week before disputes regarding government spending could result in another closure.
Despite Mr Trump's calls for unity, the divisions over the issue of immigration bubbled to the surface during the speech, with Democrats booing Mr Trump as he described his aversion to the practice of 'chain migration' - when families members join those who have already moved to the the US.
The Democrat rebuttal of Mr Trump's speech, by Joe Kennedy III, involved a number of lines of Spanish during his emotional speech, telling childhood immigrants to the US that their country would not walk away from them. A reference to those left in limbo after Mr Trump ended a programme protecting them from deportation, which has become the main bone of contention between the two parties in recent months.
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“To all the Dreamers watching tonight, let me be clear: Ustedes son parte de nuestra historia. Vamos a luchar por ustedes y no nos vamos alejar,” the Representative from Massachusetts said referiing to.
In English, he added: “You are a part of our story. We will fight for you. We will not walk away.”
Mr Trump began his address by highlighting American heroism in horrific attacks and natural disasters over the past year.
He pointed out House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, calling him the “legend from Louisiana”, who survived a life-threatening shooting at a congressional baseball practice last June.
Donald Trump's first year: in pictures
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“In the aftermath of that terrible shooting, we came together not as Republicans or Democrats, but as representatives of the people,” Mr Trump said. “But it is not enough to come together only in times of tragedy.”
The President, who is said to have disparaged immigrants in conversations with those in Congress and his advisers, later said he was “extending an open hand to work with members of both parties, Democrats and Republicans, to protect our citizens, of every background, colour, religion and creed.”
Mr Trump also highlighted his accomplishments across the world, touting military victories against Isis.
“One year later, I am proud to report that the coalition to defeat Isis has liberated very close to 100 per cent of the territory just recently held by these killers in Iraq and Syria,” Mr Trump said.
He also had some tough words regarding North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, saying Mr Kim has brutalised his own people and must give up his nuclear programme.
“Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation,” Mr Trump said. “I will not repeat the mistakes of the past administrations that got us into this dangerous position.”
Mr Trump made no mention of the federal probe into whether his campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential election, a controversy that is dogging his presidency. Mr Trump has denied collusion and has called the probe a “witch hunt.”
The speech was also short on details about Mr Trump's policy proposals, but the president sought to be optimistic, saying: "This is our new American moment".
The measured approach was welcomed by the public. A CNN/SSRS snap poll said 48 per cent of those surveyed had a “very positive” response to the speech and 22 per cent “somewhat positive.”
Here's an interesting back story on one of tonight's guests:
The wife of immigration rights leader Ravi Ragbir, who was released from federal immigration custody Monday after a federal judge ordered his immediate release, will be attending the State of the Union at the invitation of Rep Nydia Velazquez.
"I am thrilled to be home with my family and loved ones, and I know that it is due to the extraordinary community and legal support that I am privileged to have," Mr Ragbir said while traveling to Washington with his wife. "We have a struggle in front of us, but it is through our collective commitment to justice that human rights and happiness will persevere."
Immigration reforms are likely to feature prominently in tonight's State of the Union after President Donald Trump released an overhaul plan that has been criticised by politicians and activists on all sides of the issue.
Here's our story on Mr Ragbir, an immigrant with an incredible life story who was picked up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during a routine check-in.
While Democrats are giving out their extra tickets for the State of the Union to immigration advocates and others who exemplify their agendas, President Donald Trump is doing the same thing.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has announced that Special Agent Celestino Martinez is attending the event as a guest of Mr Trump and first lady Melania Trump.
Mr Martinez is an agent on Long Island, and the administration says he led a "massive anti-gang initiative targeting MS-13 cliques" in the New York City area.
"ICE is honored that the President is recognizing Celestino’s incredible courage and devotion to protecting the citizens of the United States," Thomas Homan, the agency's deputy director, said.
The Long Island mother of a young girl who was brutally murdered by MS-13 is also set to attend at the invitation of Mr Trump. Evelyn Rodriguez, whose daughter was one of at least 17 gang related murders in the area in as many months, has said she is honored to attend.
Here's our dispatch on how Mr Trump's immigration policies have affected immigrants in those very Long Island communities:
Turns out, people do not care all that much about North Korea ahead of President Donald Trump's first State of the Union address, at least not according to Google.
Take a look at the graphics below to see what people around the country have been most interested in, and where, according to Google Trends.
Just like anyone who has watched a Kentucky Friend Chicken advert can tell you that you're likely to hear some variation of "it's finger lickin' good" if you watch one of those adverts, anyone who has sat through a past State of the Union knows you're likely to hear the president say a variation of "the state of the union is strong".
Will President Donald Trump follow that tradition Tuesday night? As a man who has broken countless norms during his political career, and still regularly employs the slogan "Make America Great Again", anything is possible.
Here's a quick run down of what every president has said going back to President Gerald Ford, via PBS. Fun fact: The last time anyone bothered being negative about the state of the union was in 1975 ("not good").
President Donald Trump is well known for his obsession with ratings, and the State of the Union this year is yet another chance for him to compare himself to his predecessor, Barack Obama.
We took a quick look at past ratings, compiled by Statista, and Mr Trump has a pretty high bar to beat. Mr Obama's first State of the Union speech was watched by 48.1 million Americans, while his first speech to a joint session of Congress, in 2009, was viewed by 52.37 million people.
Mr Trump's first speech to Congress, last year was viewed by 47.74 million people.
The most-watched presidential address to a join session of Congress in recent history was in 1993, just after President Bill Clinton was sworn into office. The most watched actual State of the Union was delivered by President George W Bush, in 2003, just two months before the invasion of Iraq.
A Republican Congressman has asked Capitol Police to ID everyone who attends tonight's State of the Union address in order to find undocumented immigrants in the crowd.
President Donald Trump released his immigration plan last week, which included a pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million Dreamers. The plan -- though quickly criticised by politicians across the political spectrum -- has been the focus of intense debate in Washington, and many undocumented immigrants are expected to be in attendance as guests of Congresspeople tonight.
Just in time for one of the biggest speeches of President Donald Trump's political career, news has broken that the FBI is investigating yet another dossier containing potentially damaging information on Mr Trump and his 2016 election campaign.
A federal judge in New York says that he cannot ignore past comments made by President Donald Trump as he considers a legal challenge to the President's decision to eliminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme.
The judge said he could not ignore the President's "drumbeat" of statements and tweets about Mexicans and immigrants as he considers the legal challenge to the end of DACA. Plaintiffs in the case have said the ending of the program was motivated by racial animus against Latino people.
Mr Trump is expected to discuss his recently-announced immigration overhaul during his State of the Union address this evening, which includes a pathway for citizenship for 1.8 million Dreamers in exchange for billions of dollars in border wall funding and other immigration system changes.
The plan, announced Friday, drew immediate criticism from individuals across the political spectrum.
Several politicians are using the State of the Union to draw attention to the plight of Dreamers in America. Mr Trump, for his part, has invited an ICE agent responsible for a crackdown on the gang MS-13 on Long Island.
Pew Research group has some interesting takeaways ahead of tonight's State of the Union.
Here's how America is feeling just a year into President Donald Trump's first year in office, according to a special Pew newsletter:
They feel better about the economy than they have in a long while. An October survey indicated that 41 per cent of Americans rated economic conditions as "excellent" or "good", which was the highest point in nearly a decade.
There's mixed public opinion on how the Republican tax bill will affect people. Twenty-nine per cent of people think it is going to have a positive effect, while 27 per cent say it will make things worse. That is a pretty close race.
A lot of Americans say defending against terrorism is a top priority. A whopping 73 per cent say that terrorism is the biggest concern that Mr Trump and Congress should be focusing on. And, they generally think the effort is going well: 55 per cent of Americans said last fall, for the first time, that efforts to defeat Isis were going well. Just 31 per cent said the same a year prior.
They're divided on how to deal with the world beyond America in an America First kind of world. There's an even split between folks who think the US should "be active in world affairs" and those who say the US should "pay less attention" to problems overseas (47 per cent each).
Americans are more accepting of immigrants than in recent history. Despite Mr Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric, 65 per cent of Americans say immigrants strengthen the US instead of add burden to the country. And, more Americans favor legal status for Dreamers (74 per cent) to those who want more money to build a border wall (37 per cent).
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