Jacob Price
Dr. Alvaro Corral
Intro to U.S. Natl Politics
11 February 2019
State of the Union Assignment
The 116th Congress offers new challenges for the President. For the first two years of his presidency, both the Senate and the House of Representatives were controlled by the Republican majority. Now, Democrats hold a majority in the House of Representatives by 36 seats (Ballotpedia). Nancy Pelosi occupies the position of Speaker of the House for the second time in her congressional career. The 116th congress is also the most diverse congress in U.S. history. It comprises more women, minorities, and members who openly identify as LGBT than any other congress. The State of the Union was generally presented by the media as a show of Democratic dissent. Although, rhetoric was centered around bipartisan efforts the Democratic Party response was generally unwilling or untrusting of the President’s remarks. The House of Representatives now acts as a check against presidential power. From the attitudes shown during the State of the Union, it is apparent the House of Representatives, will act as an opposing force to the President’s executive authority.
The President made many claims that showed his belief in the excellence he places in his accomplishments as President. Most of all, President Trump hailed the recent economic boom as his accomplishment from the many tax cuts he instituted in 2018. From this, the president claimed that his actions are what brought about the low recent low percentages of unemployment. When in fact these areas of growth are thanks in part to President Trump’s continuation of Obama’s economic policy. This area of growth has been continuing for the past 6 years (NBC Fact Check). Most surprisingly, President Trump claimed that without his leadership the United States would have entered into a war with North Korea. During the State of the Union, President Trump also sought to discredit the Mueller investigation. Concerning this issue, Trump credited the investigation as no more than partisan politics on behalf of the Democrats. These actions seemed to discredit the President’s perceived willingness to work with any members of the opposing party, especially those in congress. Currently, in the Trump administration, executive power is strong, and the president continues to guide the legislative attitudes of his fellow Republicans.
The Democratic response made by Stacey Abrams, showed the plight and need for representation for working class americans. Her speech affirmed the common good that all americans strive for. She voiced the progressive ideals that she embodies, and she directly countered the partisan actions of the president. She called for unity and Americans to work together. The Spanish Language response made by Xavier Becerra heavily contrasted the President’s rhetoric. He sought to establish the harsh realities of President Trump’s government. Becerra voiced the opinions of the many Americans that he believed were ignored by the Republican administration. Both of these speeches were written to appeal to middle class progresives. They called for a cease to the standstill within our government, and they attributed the shutdown to the presidents folly of leadership over a wall that our country did not want. Both of these speeches make very populist appeals to many americans. Both of these speeches did not focus on accomplishments. They sought to point out shortcomings of the Trump Administration. They called for members of both parties to work together to counter this current policy. However, with the current polarized climate, this seems unlikely.
A main focus for the state of Ohio was dealing with the opioid epidemic. Policy around this issue included everything from prevention substance control and addiction treatment. In the President’s state of the union he addressed the problem of illegal drugs entering this country but he focused very little on other alternatives to deal with the opioid crisis. However many Ohioans look favorably on Trump’s plans to build a wall on our southern border. He echoed many conservative talking points prevalent in Ohio politics such as the second amendment as well as anti abortion legislation. However, issues important to a largely agricultural state were not addressed at length in the state of the Union. Most major conservative issues are shared by both the Government of the State of Ohio and the Executive Branch of the United States.
Domestic Policy Foreign Policy
Border Wall
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Trade Deals and Economy
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Immigration
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Eliminate the HIV Epidemic
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End of Partisanship
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North Korea
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Pharmaceuticals
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ISIS
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Abortion
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Iran
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Anti-Socialism
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Jobs
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Works Cited
“116th United States Congress.” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/116th_United_States_Congress.
Bialik, Kristen, and Kristen Bialik. “State of the Union 2019: How Americans See Major National Issues.” Pew Research Center, Pew Research Center, 4 Feb. 2019, www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/02/04/state-of-the-union-2019-how-americans-see-major-national-issues/
“Fact-Check: How Some of Trump’s State of the Union Claims Stand-up to Reality.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2018-state-of-the-union-address/fact-check-how-some-trump-s-state-union-claims-stand-n843066.