When it’s Donald Trump talking, you’d usually keep the bar very, very low. So when there are no gaffes (that is POTUS sticks to the teleprompter and reads out a trebly vetted speech), you are genuinely surprised.
Trump does ONE speech where his tone is not Full Potato, and the media is all “SO PRESIDENTIAL” Go outside, morons. #JointAddress
— Jessica (@vdaze) March 1, 2017
If Trump's speech -- and the fawning media reaction to complete sentences -- made you mad get up tomorrow and go organize to stop his agenda
— Dan Pfeiffer (@danpfeiffer) March 1, 2017
In his first speech to the joint session of the US Congress, President Trump actually came across as an adult, perhaps for the first time since he plunged himself into American politics roughly 20 months back. Trump spoke of ending hate crimes, batted for education, women’s health and jobs, and even made references to liberty and justice, all the while subsuming everything under “America First”.
Media after Trump's address pic.twitter.com/tqBgphMxSz
— the woke wahhabist (@Phonycian) March 1, 2017
Condemning hate crimes
Trump started off by paying hat-tips to Black History Month, as well as sending a united stance against hate crimes, whether they were vandalising of Jewish cemeteries, or the murder of Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibholta in Kansas City last week.
American spirit
But that was only one line. Immediately after, President Trump sang the usual paeans to American greatness, national pride, renewal of the American Spirit, and many such phrases which soon will find themselves reincarnated ashashtags.
“All the nations of the world — friend or foe — will find that America is strong, America is proud, and America is free.”
He also mentioned that he’d be preparing America for its 250th anniversary.
“In nine years, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our founding — 250 years since the day we declared our Independence. It will be one of the great milestones in the history of the world. But what will America look like as we reach our 250th year? What kind of country will we leave for our children?”
And thus began Trump’s typical rhetoric and utter falsehoods about America losing jobs to immigrants, offshoring and seeing cities crumble.
“For too long, we've watched our middle class shrink as we've exported our jobs and wealth to foreign countries. We've financed and built one global project after another, but ignored the fates of our children in the inner cities of Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit - and so many other places throughout our land.
We've defended the borders of other nations, while leaving our own borders wide open, for anyone to cross – and for drugs to pour in at a now unprecedented rate. And we've spent trillions of dollars overseas, while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled.”
President Santa
Exactly after his eminently fraudulent diagnosis, Trump went on promising and dangling high-octane dreams, such as “ending drug trade”, “dying industries will come roaring back to life”, “new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports”, among others. As New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof notes, those are conjurings of rosy outcomes with no concrete and definite methods or policy framework to achieve them.
Notice how Trump is promising jobs, new infrastructures, etc? He always pledges outcomes, never the policies to achieve them. He's Santa.
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) March 1, 2017
Similarly, Trump’s bragging about the stock market surge is really a temporary spike in expectation of a major tax cut to American companies, which POTUS did mention in his tax relief pledge.
Moreover, Trump’s overemphasis on US military issues, such as mentioning the F-35 fighter jet, and dropping the names of a slew of companies, many of which are defence manufacturers, such as Lockheed Martin, painted a cosy picture of US companies willing to invest in America in return of massive tax cuts.
Hire American, Buy American
Trump presented his withdrawal from Trans-Pacific Partnership and clearing of the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines as examples of him being serious of creating jobs in America, for Americans.
Criminalising immigrants
Trump talked of increasing crime and violence in America, but steered clear from his own role in vitiating the climate of racism and sexism all across. He talked of a “task force on reducing violent crime”, and “an aggressive strategy to dismantle the criminal cartels”.
Trump’s #VOICE program is a dangerous attempt to paint a false image of immigrants as criminals. We are stronger as a #NationOfImmigrants.
— Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) March 1, 2017
Bottom line: Trump's #JointAddress was Steve Bannon on steroids with a smile.
— Tom Perez (@TomPerez) March 1, 2017
However, by following it with tightening of border security and immigration controls, Trump equated, falsely, the rise in crime with immigrants. Study after study has shown that the opposite is true. Race crimes are prevalent in areas that don’t have a good mix, or are white majority by a huge margin.
Moreover, most of the violent crimes have been gun-related violence, and America saw over 4,50,000 deaths lsince 9/11. Terrorism killed 123 around the same time.
Trump emphasizes threat of jihadi terrorism. It's real, killing 123 Americans since 9/11. In that period, guns have killed 450,000.
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) March 1, 2017
Just like his highly unnecessary and openly racist Muslim travel ban on seven countries from the Middle East and North Africa, this time too Trump fanned white nationalist paranoia by failing to mention that not a singleAmerican has been killed by immigrants from the seven countries that were banned from entering the US.
Trump said tonight that his deportation force is removing "gang members and drug dealers" AKA moms at soccer games & brain surgery patients.
— Joy Reid (@JoyAnnReid) March 1, 2017
“My administration has answered the pleas of the American people for immigration enforcement and border security. By finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions of dollars, and make our communities safer for everyone. We want all Americans to succeed — but that can't happen in an environment of lawless chaos. We must restore integrity and the rule of law to our borders.
Seriously, a lot of people are praising Trump as "Presidential" after he announced a Nazi-style anti-immigrant propaganda group.
— Andy Glockner (@AndyGlockner) March 1, 2017
Trump said:
“According to data provided by the Department of Justice, the vast majority of individuals convicted for terrorism-related offenses since 9/11 came here from outside of our country. We have seen the attacks at home — from Boston to San Bernardino to the Pentagon and yes, even the World Trade Center.”
That’s a lie because he’s being extremely selective. Also DoJ refuses to convict white nationalism-driven mass shootings as acts of terrorism, as a matter of institutional racism.
Walling it up
Once again, Trump offered the proposed US-Mexico border wall as the one-stop solution to illegal immigration, drug trade, weapons trade and job loss. Demagoguery in plain sight, right before the US Congress.
“We will soon begin the construction of a great wall along our southern border. It will be started ahead of schedule and, when finished, it will be a very effective weapon against drugs and crime.
To any in Congress who do not believe we should enforce our laws, I would ask you this question: what would you say to the American family that loses their jobs, their income, or a loved one, because America refused to uphold its laws and defend its borders?”
On ISIS
“I directed the Department of Defense to develop a plan to demolish and destroy ISIS — a network of lawless savages that have slaughtered Muslims and Christians, and men, women, and children of all faiths and beliefs. We will work with our allies, including our friends and allies in the Muslim world, to extinguish this vile enemy from our planet.
I have also imposed new sanctions on entities and individuals who support Iran's ballistic missile program, and reaffirmed our unbreakable alliance with the State of Israel.”
It is significant to note that Trump clubs the mention of Iran right after ISIS and gives away extremely wrong signals. If anything, Iran has been part of the military coalition led by Russia, in taking ISIS out. This is outrageous and basically a concerted attempt to undo Barack Obama’s historic achievement in thawing US-Iran relationship.
On (repealing) Obamacare
Trump spent a lot of time maligning the enormously significant and life-saving Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, which has been received as Barack Obama’s greatest legacy. Trump said misleading things which did not talk about increasing the coverage of Obamacare, but minced around “access”. It’s evident that Trump is doing his best to sabotage Obamacare and then declare it infeasible.
“Obamacare is collapsing — and we must act decisively to protect all Americans. Action is not a choice — it is a necessity. So I am calling on all Democrats and Republicans in the Congress to work with us to save Americans from this imploding Obamacare disaster.”
Trump got a thumbs-down from some Democrats when he called on Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare https://t.co/SXBPLHfFVC #JointAddress pic.twitter.com/0Tk6Wx7lbu
— CNN (@CNN) March 1, 2017
Trump refers to “imploding Obamacare disaster.” But he has been trying to make it implode, by ending tax penalty for those who don’t sign up
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) March 1, 2017
I have sympathy for Trump voters who got scammed. It happens. Got none for DC RW pundits who want to pretend that Trump just isn't Trump.
— John Schindler (@20committee) March 1, 2017