On January 6, he actually previewed his last State of the Union address. But Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants, also jabbed at Trump over his views on immigration.
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“This year Congress must advance bold conservative ideas to help families who have seen job loss and stagnant income during the Obama presidency”.
Obama continued, stating that the U.S. needs to continue to shift away from fossil fuels and provide citizens with more bang for their buck when it comes to reliable energy.
Despite everything – the gridlock, the acidic politics, the stubborn hard-to-end wars, the battle over health care and the expectations he set for himself and struggled to meet, Obama still believes in the politics of hope. “I know some of you are antsy to get back to Iowa”.
Delivering his second-shortest speech of the campaign, Trump – in stark contrast to what is expected to be an optimistic address from the president – trashed the Obama administration’s handling of the Syrian refugee crisis and predicted homegrown terrorism would continue to be a growing threat under current leadership.
He also used the occasion to hit out at Republican presidential candidates like Donald Trump, who has proposed to temporarily bar all Muslims from travelling to the US.
At one point, Obama employed a familiar trope to counter the politics of division. “His optimism about the country is characterized by his confidence in the American people and our country to overcome those challenges, and just as importantly, to capitalize on the opportunities that exist”.
Prior to the speech, during the night’s opening ceremony, none other than Wale-who’s no stranger to White House dealings-took the stage at 1600 Pennsylvania, and performed for a packed house, making history as the first rapper to ever open up a State of the Union speech. Jack Reed to sit and listen to the speech. “But they do not threaten our national existence”.
“When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid bullied, that doesn’t make us safer”, he noted.
“It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency - that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better”, Obama said, according to an advance text of his speech.
With wages down, record numbers not working, and crime rising in cities across the US, the next person to occupy the oval office will have to chart a dramatically different course. “We need every American to stay active in our public life and not just during election time, so that our public life reflects the goodness and the decency that I see in the American people every single day”.
“She probably should be in prison, in all fairness”, Trump said, echoing a message many of his supporters have carried to his rallies in the form of chants and printed T-shirts.
“It may take time, but we have long memories, and our reach has no limit”, Obama said.
“Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference”. It is certainly not the best that we can do. When the sound is quieter, you can actually hear what someone else is saying. The copy of the speech was released into the web as the president delivers his speech.
But Haley had to walk a fine line, reflecting the tensions hammering the Republican Party just three weeks before the first votes are cast in the presidential race.
“During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices”, Haley will say.
“We just need to call them what they are Â- killers and fanatics who have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed”, Obama said. And that means we have to set priorities. “Those with money and power will gain greater control over the decisions that could send a young soldier to war, or allow another economic disaster, or roll back the equal rights and voting rights that generations of Americans have fought, even died, to secure”.
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Obama did not mention the 10 American sailors captured Tuesday by the Iranian Navy after two small US naval vessels entered Iranian waters.
