Congress, US President Donald Trump address played up his achievements and called for unity to achieve his goals. Trump gave his State of the Union address just two weeks after the end of a partial government shutdown caused by a dispute over funding for a controversial wall along the Mexican border.
Trump gave the wide-ranging speech a week later than scheduled because of the month-long shutdown.
His Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi sat behind him.
Trump said, “We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good.”
But his speech comes at a time when the US is as polarized as ever.
One of the most recent clashes is over a border wall.
Trump wants billions for it, but the Democrats argue there are more effective ways to secure the border.
A deadline is looming and if a deal isn’t reached, Trump has threatened another shutdown. So he’s pushing for a deal.
He said, “Simply put, walls work and walls save lives. So let’s work together, compromise, and reach a deal that will truly make America safe.”
Trump touched on a number of situations around the world — from support for the Venezuelan opposition — to his rationale for bringing home US troops from Syria and Afghanistan — to confronting Iran, which Trump called the leading state sponsor of terror.
He also announced details for his next meeting with North Korea’s leader. It will happen on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam.
He said, “If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea. Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one.”
His meeting with Kim last year ended with a vague pledge to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, but further talks have stalled and questions about whether the country will ever get rid of its weapons remains.
When it came to the trade dispute with China, Trump reiterated his complaints and demands for Beijing.
He said, “We are now working on a new trade deal with China. But it must include real, structural change to end unfair trade practices, reduce our chronic trade deficit and protect American jobs.”
On the domestic front, Trump talked about healthcare, including a promise to end the country’s HIV epidemic in 10 years.
And while pushing for unity, Trump said legislation can’t move ahead if there are “investigations” — a shot at the probe looking into alleged collusion between his campaign and Russia in the 2016 election.
US President Donald Trump said Tuesday that talks with Afghanistan’s Taliban were making headway as he voiced cautious hope for a negotiated end to America´s longest war.
“My administration is holding constructive talks with a number of Afghan groups, including the Taliban,” Trump said in his annual State of the Union address to Congress, weighing “a possible political solution to this long and bloody conflict.”
“We do not know whether we will achieve an agreement — but we do know that after two decades of war, the hour has come to at least try for peace,” he said.
“Great nations do not fight endless wars,” Trump said, after his controversial orders to pull all US troops out of Syria and half of the 14,000-strong force in Afghanistan.
US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad in January held an unusually long six days of negotiations with Taliban representatives in Qatar. While Khalilzad has stressed that much remains to discuss, the broad goal would be for the United States to pull troops from Afghanistan and for the Taliban to ensure that foreign extremists will not be based on its territory — the reason for the US invasion after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
But the Taliban have refused to negotiate with the internationally recognized government in Kabul. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani tweeted ahead of Trump´s speech that he had spoken to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who “underscored the central importance of ensuring the centrality of the Afghan government in the peace process.”
Trump’s claims to foreign policy successes are not necessarily endorsed even in his own party.
He repeated in the speech, according to the prepared text, that he wants US troops to pull out from long-running wars, such as Afghanistan and Syria as soon as possible.
“Great nations do not fight endless wars,” he said.
