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US PRESIDENT DONALD Trump declared America is “stronger than ever before” in his State of the Union address on the eve of his probable impeachment acquittal.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of the speech after Trump finished speaking, after Trump earlier appeared to refuse to shake her hand.
Trump, the first president to run for re-election after being impeached, received a partisan welcome to the House of Representatives, with some Republicans chanting “Four more years” while Democrats stood silently.
“America’s enemies are on the run, America’s fortunes are on the rise and America’s future is blazing bright,” Trump declared.
“In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny.
“We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back.”
Setting a measure for success and then contending he had surpassed it, Trump has gone from an inaugural address that decried “American carnage” to extolling the “Great American comeback”, claiming credit for the nation’s economic success as a chief rationale for a second term.
Republican members of Congress applauded nearly every sentence of Trump’s speech, often leaping to their feet to cheer him.
In the nationally televised speech, Trump was speaking from the House of Representatives, on the opposite side of the Capitol from where the Senate is expected to acquit him today, largely along party lines.
Trump aimed to spend the first part of his speech highlighting the economy’s strength, including low unemployment, stressing how it has helped blue-collar workers and the middle class, though the period of growth began under his predecessor, Barack Obama.
And what Trump calls an unprecedented boom is, by many measures, not all that different from the solid economy he inherited from Obama.
Economic growth was 2.3% in 2019, matching the average pace since the Great Recession ended a decade ago in the first year of Obama’s eight-year presidency.
Trump had promised much higher.
In delivering his speech, Trump stood before the politicians who voted to remove him from office – and those who are expected to acquit him when the Senate trial comes to a close.
Nancy Pelosi
Over his shoulder, visible in nearly every camera shot, was Pelosi, a frequent thorn in Trump’s side who authorised the impeachment proceedings that charged the president with abusing the power of his office to push Ukraine to investigate political foe Joe Biden.
Pelosi created a viral image with her seemingly sarcastic applause of the president a year ago.
This time, she ripped up her copy of Trump’s speech as he ended his address.
When Trump entered the chamber, he did not take her outstretched hand. Later, as Republicans cheered, she remained in her seat.
In advance of his address, Trump tweeted that the caucus chaos in Iowa showed Democrats were incompetent and should not be trusted to run the government.
Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was to deliver the Democratic Party’s official response to Trump’s address and, in excerpts released before the speech, was to draw a contrast between actions taken by Democrats and the president’s rhetoric.
“It doesn’t matter what the president says about the stock market,” Whitmer said.
“What matters is that millions of people struggle to get by or don’t have enough money at the end of the month after paying for transportation, student loans, or prescription drugs.”
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He can speak 7 languages. Trump can speak nearly one.
@Paul Furey: He has an infant level understanding of English. And that’s being kind.
@Paul Furey: Speaking multiple languages isn’t necessarily a sign of intelligence. Melania is hailed a ‘genius’ for being able to understand several languages, but so can my 4 year old.
@bopter: I am well aware of that….it was the necessary talent to select to poke even more fun at Trump. I could have mentioned his first class honours and trump ordering schools not to reveal his or the fact that he plays the concert pianist and trump uses crayons….but I deemed the languages the funniest. And thanks for ruining the gag :)
@Paul Furey:
Sorry to disappoint, but he’s another self-serving Corporate Dem sell out, who is sucking up to the Israel lobby too. Zero integrity. Similar, but worse than Obama.
Seriously, I think last count there were 13 Democratic candidates. Do they really want to lose it and leave us stuck with Trump for another painful 4 years. How are they going to get this down to one credible candidate ??
@Declan Moran: not a chance that USA will elect an openly gay person
@Declan Moran: last time the Republicans had at least 10 runners before its whittled down.
I’ll admit 13 is a lot, but after one round of debate in the DNC, it should be down to 5 or so.
Better the Dems have more than less, imagine if there was only Bernie – Hillary would fancy her chances again.
@SFNutters: or a woman
@Declan Moran: there were 17 candidates in the 2016 Republican primaries
@Declan Moran: Surely a wide field of choice at the beginning is a good thing?
The debates and the public will narrow down to the real contenders. If it wasn’t for such a wide field in the past the US may have missed out on unlikely winners such as Obama. He wasn’t exactly the obvious choice at the beginning.
@Declan Moran: 13 candidates is quite a low number for Republicans.
The breakout star. The journal is so funny. So what has this Democrat done for Ireland. Zero.
Trump has created employment here.
MAGA
@Dathi O Nualláin: No he hasn’t. It was on the back of a global upturn and….wait for it…..Obama’s policies. Look at the jobs hes destroying thanks to the likes of his tariff war. And now the global economy is heading down again.
@Paul Furey: which policies, no spoofing
@Paul Furey: which policies, no spoofing trump owns a golf course here and employes people in Ireland, thats got nothing to do with obama
Maybe in 50 years when they catch up on the rest of us.
The poor democrats still living in the bubble. I think they have no understanding of people outside of the major cities. Most people only care about where their next dollar is coming from and no token president is going to give them that
Would make a good vice president for any of the major candidates. So would Beto though. But then I’m thinking of what makes traditional presidential material. Trump has lowered the bar so far that they are both over qualified for the job comparitively.
@Edmund Murphy: can you imagine every future POTUS when they get caught out ….”trump was worse”.
a centrist clown to distract from Bernie Sanders. The american press have been playing hit job after hit job on him. the DNC hate him but the people love him.
@Carlin Ite: and these assertions are based on?
@Carlin Ite: Saunders missed his chance in 2016 or more accurately, the Democrats stabbed him in the back in 2016. Saunders support in 2016 was based largely on the youth vote and they are deserting him in their droves this time around. Americans will not vote for a hard left candidate in 2020.
Yawn… just a reminder, it is April 2019…
Not a snowballs chance in hell. The Democrats are really scraping the barrel now.
Boot-Edge-Edge? Maybe from his perspective, not how it’s actually pronounced in Malta however.. Its more like But-eh-jeech
More important question is “who cares”
Very impressive and articulate guy. However sadly I don’t think the states is ready for a gay president.
@John McSweeney: It would be fun to watch the religious nutters heads exploding.
@Paul Furey: similar to how the blinkered liberals are fretting over Trump? It’s a never ending circus
Maltese name ?
I like the cut of this guys gib but the fact is that America is not ready for a gay president and in the unlikely event that he got the democrat nomination Trump would wipe the floor with him. Fun fact: His home town of South Bend Indianna is the home of the famous Notre Dame University. Fighting Irish and all that. Its the only thing it has going for it as otherwise its a dump.
Please just anyone who isn’t 80 or with skeletons in the closet.
When he puts the “Boot” in there will surely be a double “edge” to his comments!!!!!!
Bill Maher had him on his show a good few months ago now…
@TamuMassif2019: Bill Maher knows a thing or two
@Bridget O’Hanlon: He is ok but he does play his hand too much with left issues that make some touch on conspiracy threads but he is enjoyable even if I don’t always agree with him…
Only 1 half decent candidate in the Democrat race for the Presidency- BERNIE Sanders..
have your say