After two years of hurling abuse, threats and insults at just about everybody, President Trump last night said it was time to reject “the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution”.
Trump, who just last week used his huge social media presence to call various people “a gofer”, “mess”, “fake news”, “not the smartest person”, “enemy of the people” and “crooked”, declared it was time “to bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future”.
The president was addressing Congress in the annual State of the Union address, a highlight of the US political calendar and a chance for the president to big up achievements so far and make the case for policy in the year ahead.
Trump’s appeals for bipartisanship clashed with the rancorous atmosphere he has helped cultivate in the nation’s capital — as well as the desire of most Democrats to block his agenda during his next two years in office.
And during the post-speech applause, Democratic House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, invented what has become known as the “fuck you clap”.
Among the personal guests of the Trumps was a young boy called Joshua Trump, who has been bullied at school because of his name.
He seemed absolutely riveted...
Democratic opposition was on vivid display as their congresswomen in the audience formed a sea of white in a nod to early 20th-century suffragettes.
As did the president’s daughter, Tiffany Trump.
Oh, and Tiffany wasn’t the only member of the Trump clan in attendance.
Speaking at a critical moment in his presidency, Trump sought to shore up Republican support and previewed a fresh defence against Democrats as they ready a round of investigations into every aspect of his administration.
“If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation,” he declared.
Looming over the president’s address was a fast-approaching February 15 deadline to fund the government and avoid another shutdown.
Democrats have refused to acquiesce to Trump’s demands for a border wall, and Republicans are increasingly unwilling to shut down the government to help him fulfil his signature campaign pledge.
Wary of publicly highlighting those intra-party divisions, Trump made no mention of an emergency declaration in his remarks, though he did offer a lengthy defence of his call for a border wall.
But he delivered no ultimatums about what it would take for him to sign legislation to keep the government open.
“I am asking you to defend our very dangerous southern border out of love and devotion to our fellow citizens and to our country,” he said.
The recent shutdown was the longest in US history and meant around 800,000 federal workers were either temporarily jobless or made to work without pay.
Trump devoted much of his speech to foreign policy, another area where Republicans have increasingly distanced themselves from the White House.
He announced details of a second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong Un, outlining a summit on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam. The two met last summer in Singapore, though that meeting only led to a vaguely-worded commitment by the North to denuclearise.
One bright spot for the president has been the economy, which has added jobs for 100 straight months.
Describing it as “the hottest economy anywhere in the world”, he said: “The only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations” – an apparent swipe at the special counsel investigation into ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 campaign, as well as the upcoming congressional investigations.