State of the Union: Donald Trump ‘shatters mentality of decline’

Three years into his presidency, there was no dark talk of the ‘American carnage’ that Donald Trump spoke of when he took ­office.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tears up a copy of Donald Trump’s speech after his State of the Union address in Washington on Wednesday. Picture: AFP

Three years into his presidency, there was no dark talk of the “American carnage” that Donald Trump spoke of when he took ­office.

Instead, the US President went to the Capitol on Wednesday (AEDT) to speak of what he called “the great American comeback” that he said had “shattered the mentality of American decline”.

Mr Trump’s third State of the Union address, delivered during an impeachment trial in a politically fractured Washington, was instead a message of relentless ­optimism and a stocktake of promises made and promises kept.

It was, in short, a speech that marks the unofficial start of Mr Trump’s re-election campaign, a fact that was not lost on Republicans in the chamber who began chanting “four more years” even before the President spoke.

“Three years ago we launched the great American comeback,” he said. “Tonight I stand before you to share the incredible results. Jobs are booming. Incomes are soaring. Poverty is plummeting. Crime is falling. Confidence is surging. And our country is thriving and highly respected again … the state of the union is stronger than ever before.”

“In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline, and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny,” Mr Trump said as ­Republicans cheered and Democrats sat in silence.

“We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back.”

Mr Trump was speaking in front of all his Democrat impeachment accusers for the first time since the house impeached him and on the eve of his expected acquittal on Thursday by the Senate.

He appeared to snub Democrat Speaker Nancy Pelosi when she offered to shake his hand as he walked to the podium, but otherwise Mr Trump made no reference to impeachment or to the Ukraine controversy that sparked it.

He also resisted the temptation to taunt the Democrats after they suffered acute national embarrassment when technical problems caused vote counting in their crucial Iowa presidential caucus to fail, preventing any results from being released on caucus night.

But in his speech, Mr Trump made no reference to the forthcoming election in November or to his potential Democratic rivals, focusing instead on what he saw as his most important achievements in office.

“The days of our country being used, taken advantage of, and even scorned by other nations are long behind us,” he said.

“Gone, too, are the broken promises; jobless recoveries; tired platitudes; and constant excuses for the depletion of American wealth, power, and prestige. Our agenda is relentlessly pro-worker, pro-family, pro-growth, and, most importantly, pro-American.”

But Mr Trump did take on his opponents over their plans to move towards universal healthcare, which he described as a “socialist takeover of our healthcare system”.

“To those watching at home tonight, I want you to know: we will never let socialism destroy American healthcare,” he said as Republicans cheered and Democrats jeered.

Democrats also jeered when Mr Trump attacked the economic record of his predecessor Barack Obama.

“If we had not reversed the failed economic policies of the previous administration, the world would not now be witness to America’s great economic success,” Mr Trump said, adding that America was experiencing a “blue-collar boom”.

Among the surprises was Mr Trump’s decision to award longtime conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He also introduced a reality-TV-style moment when he surprised a soldier’s wife and young children in the audience by bringing the soldier back from Afghanistan and reuniting them in front of the cameras.

The speech touched on all the major points of Mr Trump’s agenda, from religious freedoms, to abortion, immigration, border ­security, defence, jobs, trade and “America First”.

He left the chamber to the cheers of Republicans and didn’t see over his shoulder as Ms Pelosi slowly ripped up his speech behind him.

Cameron Stewart is also US contributor for Sky News Australia