By Brandon Sapienza, Staff Writer
Walking into the House chamber on Tuesday night, President Donald Trump had to put aside the ongoing issues with his administration and face Congress and the American people in his first State of the Union address.
His speech was executed well from the beginning. As the speech went on, it was clear that this was one of the most presidential moments for Trump, as he hit a figurative reset button on a tumultuous first year in office. With a first year like Trump’s, the goal for the speech was to win over Americans and regain their trust in the “sacred” office that is the presidency of the United States.
What made Trump so effective in his speech was his use of heroic figures that he invited to the chamber to further his ideas and give Congress faces to remember when crafting a bill that they might disagree on. With guests like Ashlee Lepert, who rescued dozens during the devastating storms in Texas and Florida, and Ji Seong-ho, who escaped North Korea in the worst possible conditions, it was obvious President Trump carefully selected his guests. In addition, the overall tone to the speech was quite uplifting. The progress America has made since last year can not go unnoticed. The economy is booming, jobs are returning, taxes have been reformed, the negative structure of the Affordable Care Act has been done away with and unemployment for everyone, but especially African-Americans, is at an all-time low at 7.1 percent.
These are all very promising characteristics of the first year of Trump’s presidency, but of course, there was no applause from the Democrats, who were glued to their seats the whole night. Whether they hate Trump or not, what has been accomplished in the past year is something truly special. America has returned to its hard-working values that made it so special once before. Consumer confidence is high, and the American dream is becoming more of a reality for millions of Americans who were once burdened with unemployment and high taxes. For the sake of the Democratic Party, leaders like Nancy Pelosi need to be more willing to respond to Trump’s call for bipartisanship, or her party will suffer in November during the midterm elections.
Trump clearly wants to work with both parties to get things done. Though Trump is now a politician, he does not feel the same repercussions of working with the other side to pass his agenda because he has nothing to lose. Trump made it very obvious in his speech that he deeply cares for the American family, worker, child and immigrant and wants to help everyone succeed.
CBS Polls after the address showed 75 percent of Americans were confident in his speech. For someone who walked in with approval ratings of 38 percent, this is a major step in the right direction. This speech might be the turning point in his presidency. With every day that goes by since the State of the Union, Trump has the potential to win over more and more Americans by sticking to his guns and perhaps working with both sides to achieve the ultimate goal of Making America Great Again. In Trump’s words, “This is our new American moment,” Congress, and the country as a whole, need to take that statement and run with it because the future looks brighter than ever.
