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Trump's State of the Union address receives mixed reactions

By Julia Guerrein, Editor-in-Chief

02/06/2018

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump gave the annual State of the Union address in front of Congress and their guests. This much anticipated speech was received differently by people from opposing parties. Members of the Republican party generally praised the President for his speech, while Democrats were not pleased with Trump’s points.

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Trump covered a number of topics, such as the opioid crisis, immigration, health care, the border wall and job creation. He also presented a number of guests throughout the speech to add to the points he was making. Most notable of these was a couple that adopted the baby of a woman addicted to opioids. The husband, a police officer, found the woman and offered to adopt her baby. Some people have posted on social media their concerns over where the mother is now.

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The president also made several references to God and criticized people for not saying the Pledge of Allegiance and for not standing for the National Anthem. When discussing immigration, he talked about gang violence being caused by immigrants and the infamous “chain migration.”

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The New York Times fact checkers caught boths Trump’s exaggerations and truths. Many of the claims Trump made were not necessarily false, but required more context. One of his claims, that his administration enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in history, is false. The New York Times reported that there is no evidence to support this claim.

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Throughout the speech, supporters of Trump continuously clapped and stood up when he said things they agreed with. Many Democratic senators could be seen sitting and not clapping for Trump. Trump also clapped for himself, which was noted by his critics.

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Many Americans were interested in how Trump would conduct himself during the speech. His first year in office consisted of a lot of Twitter rampages, which brings into question whether or not a formal speech like the SOTU is still relevant, considering the increased visibility of the administration.

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“Although the president’s exact feelings and plans are polished by speech writers, the SOTU still serves as an opportunity to see the president speak for an extensive period...on important issues,” said JP Jarecki, a sophomore political science major and the President of the College Republicans. “The president rarely has this opportunity. It is always important to hear what the Admin has to say at events such as the SOTU, in addition to the 140 character tweets and media coverage.”

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Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) gave the Democratic response after Trump finished speaking. Kennedy is the grandson of Senator and former U.S. Attorney General Robert F. “Bobby” Kennedy, and great-nephew of President John F. Kennedy. Compared to the president’s speech, the Democratic response is always significantly shorter. In this speech, the opposing party always comments on what the president said. Kennedy touched on many of the things that Trump opposes, such as Black Lives Matter, climate change and immigration. He made a statement by speaking Spanish at one point during his speech.

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Although Trump’s first SOTU is a major milestone in his presidency, there are still several more years of work to do before the end of his term.

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