A Call to Greatness: Trump Delivers State of the Union to Joint Session of Congress
On Tuesday evening, February 5th, 2019, President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress. During the hour and twenty-one-minute address, the President called on Democrats in both houses of Congress to set aside “gridlock, resistance, vengeance and destruction” for the greater good of the American people and instead pursue “greatness, results, vision and progress.” Imploring both parties to work together to serve the American people, first and foremost, he challenged the gathered Representatives and Senators, alike to “… choose whether we are defined by our differences- or whether we dare to transcend them.”
Touting the economic gains in both employment and wages, as the direct result of the tax cut legislation of 2017 and the elimination of tens of thousands of burdensome regulations, and then citing the economic miracle taking place as a result of these policies, he warned Americans that there are three things that could thwart this strong performance- “foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations,” adding, “If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation… It just doesn’t work that way… We must be united at home to defeat our adversaries abroad.”
The President then laid out his legislative agenda for the coming year- border security including funding for wall construction where needed, creating an “immigration system that is safe, lawful, modern and secure,” further reductions in healthcare costs including prescription drugs, pursuing trade deals and foreign policies that put America’s interests first, and revitalizing our nation’s infrastructure.
President trump also cited that the year 2019 will mark three important anniversaries:
- The 50th anniversary of man landing on the moon, recognizing one of the Apollo 11 astronauts who raised the American Flag on the lunar surface, “Buzz” Aldrin;
- The 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing, recognizing three surviving members of the more than 75,000 Americans who took part in what Commanding General (and future president) Dwight Eisenhower called the “great crusade” against tyranny: PFC Joseph Reilly, SSG Irving Locker and Sgt, Herman Zeitchik;
- The 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, which granted voting rights to women, by recognizing that there are more women serving in Congress than ever before and that there are more women in the workforce than at any time in history.
In an address which introduced several ordinary Americans who have achieved extraordinary greatness, he offered a vision of what America can be, what America should be, and called for Congress to set aside petty partisanship to create safer communities, stronger families, richer culture, deeper faith and a middle class bigger and more prosperous than ever before.
He announced a month-end, follow-up summit meeting with North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un to take place in Vietnam.
Then, the President implored Congress to pass legislation that would end the practice of late-term abortions, in response to several states which have recently sought to enact laws essentially amounting to legalized infanticide.
“Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life. And let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: all children — born and unborn — are made in the holy image of God.”
In summation, the President closed his address, adding:
“We must choose whether we will squander our inheritance — or whether we will proudly declare that we are Americans. We do the incredible. We defy the impossible. We conquer the unknown.
This is the time to re-ignite the American imagination. This is the time to search for the tallest summit and set our sights on the brightest star. This is the time to rekindle the bonds of love and loyalty and memory that link us together as citizens, as neighbors, as patriots.
This is our future — our fate — and our choice to make. I am asking you to choose greatness.
No matter the trials we face, no matter the challenges to come, we must go forward together.
We must keep America first in our hearts. We must keep freedom alive in our souls. And we must always keep faith in America’s destiny — that one Nation, under God, must be the hope and the promise and the light and the glory among all the nations of the world!”
Despite media coverage to the contrary, history will show that President Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address was one of the finest, most visionary speeches ever given before a joint session of Congress. Whether his challenge to lawmakers to rise to the level of greatness as vouchsafed by the individual heroes he introduced remains to be seen.
Stay tuned.
-Drew Nickell, 7 February 2019
© 2019 by Drew Nickell, all rights reserved.
author of “Bending Your Ear- a Collection of Essays on the Issues of Our Times”
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