Advertisement

Trump delivers 2020 State of the Union on the eve of his impeachment verdict

Click to play video: 'State of the Union 2020: Nancy Pelosi tears up Trump’s speech'
State of the Union 2020: Nancy Pelosi tears up Trump’s speech
WATCH ABOVE: Nancy Pelosi tears up Trump's speech after his 2020 State of the Union address – Feb 4, 2020

Standing before a Congress and nation sharply divided by impeachment, U.S. President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address Tuesday to extol a “Great American Comeback” on his watch, three years after he took office decrying a land of “American carnage” under his predecessor.

The partisan discord was on vivid display as the first president to campaign for reelection while facing impeachment made his case for another term: Republican legislators chanted “Four More Years.” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up her copy of Trump’s speech as he ended his address.

“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.”

Story continues below advertisement

Holding out the nation’s economic success as the chief rationale for a second term, Trump’s speech resembled a lower-volume version of his campaign rallies, providing something for every section of his political base.

Click to play video: 'State of the Union 2020: Trump says killing of Qasem Soleimani sent message to the world'
State of the Union 2020: Trump says killing of Qasem Soleimani sent message to the world

But while he tweets daily assailing his impeachment, Trump never mentioned the “i-word” in his 78-minute speech. That followed the lead of Bill Clinton, who did not reference his recent impeachment when he delivered his State of the Union in 1999. Trump spoke from the House of Representatives, on the opposite side of the Capitol from where the Senate one day later was expected to acquit him largely along party lines.

Pelosi, a frequent thorn in Trump’s side, created a viral image with her seemingly sarcastic applause of the president a year ago. This time, she was even more explicit with her very text-ripping rebuke.

Story continues below advertisement

Trump appeared no more cordial. When he climbed to the House rostrum, he did not take her outstretched hand though it was not clear he had seen her gesture. Later, as Republicans often cheered, she remained in her seat, at times shaking her head at his remarks.

When Pelosi left, she told reporters that tearing up the speech was “the courteous thing to do considering the alternative.” Republicans denounced her action as disrespectful.

Click to play video: 'State of the Union 2020: Trump says America will be first nation to ‘plant its flag’ on Mars'
State of the Union 2020: Trump says America will be first nation to ‘plant its flag’ on Mars

Trump, the former reality TV star, added a showbiz flavour to the staid event: He had wife Melania present the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian honour, to the divisive conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh, who recently announced he has advanced lung cancer.

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.

Get breaking National news

For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

He stunned a young student in the gallery with a scholarship. And he orchestrated the surprise tearful reunion of a solider from overseas with his family in the balcony.

Story continues below advertisement

Even for a Trump-era news cycle that seems permanently set to hyper-speed, the breakneck pace of events dominating the first week of February offered a singular backdrop for the president’s address.

Click to play video: 'State of the Union 2020: Trump says socialism will “never” destroy U.S. healthcare'
State of the Union 2020: Trump says socialism will “never” destroy U.S. healthcare

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, who has presided in the Senate over only the third impeachment trial in the nation’s history, was on hand again Tuesday night _ this time in his more customary seat in the audience. Trump stood before the very lawmakers who have voted to remove him from office — and those who are expected to acquit him when the Senate trial comes to a close.

The leading Senate Democrats hoping to unseat him in November were off campaigning in New Hampshire. In advance of his address, Trump tweeted that the chaos in Iowa’s Monday leadoff caucuses showed Democrats were incompetent and should not be trusted to run the government.

Story continues below advertisement
Click to play video: 'State of the Union 2020: Rush Limbaugh receives Presidential Medal of Freedom mid-speech'
State of the Union 2020: Rush Limbaugh receives Presidential Medal of Freedom mid-speech

Among Trump’s guests in the chamber: Venezuelan opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been trying to win face time with Trump, his most important international ally.

The president offered Guaido exactly the sort of endorsement he’s been looking for as he struggles to oust President Nicolas Maduro from power. Trump called Guaido “the true and legitimate president of Venezuela.”

“Socialism destroys nations,” Trump declared.

The president entered the evening on a roll, with his impeachment acquittal imminent, his job approval numbers ticking upward and Wall Street looking strong. He struck a l argely optimistic tone. But in past moments when Trump has struck a tone of bipartisanship and co-operation, he has consistently returned to harsher rhetoric within days.

Story continues below advertisement

Trump spent much of the 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 President Barack Obama. Economic growth was 2.3 per cent in 2019, matching the average pace since the Great Recession ended a decade ago in the first year of Obama’s eight-year presidency

Click to play video: 'State of the Union 2020: Trump draws groans, laughs with promise to crack down on pharmaceutical industry'
State of the Union 2020: Trump draws groans, laughs with promise to crack down on pharmaceutical industry

Trump stressed the new trade agreements he has negotiated, including his phase-one deal with China and the United States-Mexico-Canada agreement he signed last month.

While the White House said the president was offering a message of unity, he also spent time on issues that have created great division and resonated with his political base. He attacked Democrats’ health care proposals for being too intrusive and again highlighted his signature issue — immigration — trumpeting the miles of border wall that have been constructed.

Story continues below advertisement
Click to play video: 'State of the Union 2020: Trump praises formation of ‘Space Force’'
State of the Union 2020: Trump praises formation of ‘Space Force’

He also dedicated a section to “American values,” discussing efforts to protect “religious liberties” and limit access to abortion as he continues to court the evangelical and conservative Christian voters who form a crucial part of his base.

The Democrats were supplying plenty of counter-programming, focusing on health care — the issue key to their takeover of the House last year. Trump, for his part, vowed to not allow a “socialist takeover of our health care system” a swipe at the Medicare For All proposal endorsed by some of his Democratic challengers.

Many female Democrats were wearing white as tribute to the suffragettes, while a number in the party were wearing red, white and blue-striped lapel pins to highlight climate change, saying Trump has rolled back environmental safeguards and given free rein to polluters.

Story continues below advertisement

Several Democratic lawmakers, including California Rep. Maxine Waters and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, announced in advance of the speech that they would be skipping it while other Democrats walked out early.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer delivered her party’s official response and drew 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.”

Click to play video: 'State of the Union 2020: Trump praises CUSMA, says it replaces a ‘disastrous NAFTA’'
State of the Union 2020: Trump praises CUSMA, says it replaces a ‘disastrous NAFTA’

Sponsored content

AdChoices