Last night, President Trump gave his State of the Union address. Straying from his usual rhetoric, the address seemed to be rooted in more hopeful aspirations for cooperation and participation from both political parties. However, some are calling Trump’s bluff.
It’s difficult to expect any foreseeable compromise between parties when outside the realms of a publicized address, Trump is known to spew hateful remarks about those across the aisle.
Hours before the address, the president hosted a lunch with TV anchors where he, according to a New York Times report, criticized Joe Biden, Chuck Schumer, Elizabeth Warren and John McCain. Yet, he stood in front of millions and called for unity across party lines. The hypocrisy didn’t sit well with those listening to the address.
Trump toed the line of bipartisan unity and stubbornness on issues he refuses to budge on himself. His efforts to come across as capable of conciliation and cooperation were blatant. Trump said, ““We must reject the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution, and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise and the common good.” If anything, Trump has proven to the American people that he is capable of quite the opposite of these intentions he spoke of. These sentiments come after a record breaking 35-day government shutdown in an attempt to force money out of the government for a border wall. And yet, the remaining time of the address was advocating for compromise.
Trump spent about 15 minutes of the address discussing the issue of immigration, saying, “This is a moral issue. No issue better illustrates the divide between America’s working class and America’s political class than illegal immigration,” he added. “Wealthy politicians and donors push for open borders while living their lives behind walls and gates and guards.” Trump’s justification of morality when remaining obstinate in his battle for stricter border control is pitiful when considering the treatment of immigrants under the orders of his own administration.
Democratic party member Stacey Abrams, who ran and lost a close race for Georgia governor this November, spoke her criticism of the president’s address saying, “We know bipartisanship could craft a 21st-century immigration plan, but this administration chooses to cage children and tear families apart.”
Abrams wasn’t the only critic of Trump’s address. Chuck Schumer, senior New York U.S. Senator, said on the senate floor, “It seems every year the president wakes up and discovers the desire for unity on the morning of the State of the Union, then the president spends the other 364 days of the year dividing us and sowing a state of disunion. The blatant hypocrisy of this president calling for unity is that he is one of the chief reasons Americans feel so divided now.”
Schumer summed up sentiments towards Trump’s address pretty well. Americans aren’t ignorant to the president’s reputation of degrading and vile remarks. With an approval rating of 37 percent going into the State of the Union address, it’s evident that the American public is untrusting of the president’s words or actions.
As Trump gears up for reelection in 2020, you would think there would be more action taken to somewhat come into the good graces of the public. However, a little over two years into his presidency, the threshold for trust in the president’s word is pretty slim. How is it that we can expect truth and sincerity in his proclamation of unity and cooperation when he himself seems to be incapable of such?
The Carrier’s editorial opinion represents the views of the senior members of the Campus Carrier and Viking Fusion news staff.
