In his second State of the Union address, US President Donald Trump called for unity amid deep political divisions. DW takes a look at what he said about the US' major domestic and international challenges.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/The New York Times/D. Mills
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US President Donald Trump urged unity in his second State of the Union address on Tuesday against a backdrop of deep partisan bickering over a host of issues that are set to dominate his next two years in office.
Despite repeatedly clashing with Democrats, who now control the House of Representatives, Trump urged Washington to govern "not as two parties, but as one nation."
The president also credited his signature tax cuts for driving economic growth, although economists expect the cuts' impact to fade this year. He also credited his administration with rolling back regulations.
Calling the US economy the "envy of the world," Trump said: "An economic miracle is happening in the United States and the only thing that can stop it is foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations."
But Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown, who is considering a presidential campaign, said Trump had not done enough for working people.
"The reality is that for far too many people in this country, hard work isn't paying off like it should," Brown said. "President Trump doesn't understand that, and he's used the White House to enrich people like himself."
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Border wall
Trump reiterated his pledge to build a wall or fence along the southern border with Mexico.
"In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall, but the proper wall never got built. I will get it built," he said."Simply put, walls work and walls save lives."
In the Democratic response to the speech, Georgia Democrat Stacey Abrams accused Trump of choosing to "cage children and tear families apart" rather than craft a bipartisan immigration plan.
"America is made stronger by the presence of immigrants — not walls," Abrams added.
Trump's demand for $5.7 billion (€5 billion) in funding for a border wall triggered a partial government shutdown of record length. Congress has 10 days to pass a federal budget to avoid another shutdown.
US government shutdowns: A chronology
President Joe Biden's government is facing a shutdown if the Republican Congress doesn't approve the budget for the coming fiscal year. DW looks at how shutdowns started, when they became partisan and how much they cost.
Image: Getty Images/D. Angerer
Sundown shutdown
As midnight approaches on September 30, it's go time for Congress: Approve a budget before the start of the new fiscal year on October 1, or shut down the government. Originally, Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution required lawmakers to approve the budget. Honing it further in 1870, the Antideficiency Act targeted agencies that spent money without asking. But deadlines were often missed.
Image: picture-alliance/CNP/A. Edelma
No money, no pay, no work
At the behest of President Jimmy Carter, the US attorney general revisited the Antideficiency Act in 1980 to answer the question: "Without a budget, are government employees required to work?" According to his Attorney General's legal opinion, no money meant no work. Carter's presidency saw only small shutdowns, but the new interpretation of the law turned shutdowns into a negotiating tactic.
Image: picture alliance / Everett Collection
Ronald Reagan and the first shutdown
The first real shutdown — more than 240,000 workers furloughed, more than $80 million (€65 million) down the drain — occurred in November 1981. President Ronald Reagan refused to sign a budget without billions in tax cuts. The Republican-controlled Senate and the Democrat-controlled House found a solution the next day. This happened seven more times by his last year in 1989.
Image: AP
Bill Clinton and the rise of the partisan shutdown
Budget impasses were largely drama-free until 1995, when President Bill Clinton faced off against Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole and House Speaker Newt Gingrich (pictured left). The Republican-led Congress wanted a balanced budget within seven years, higher Medicare premiums and rollbacks on environment regulations. It took 27 days in total to strike a deal. The cost: at least $1 billion.
Image: POOL/AFP/Getty Images
A game for Congress, a headache for the agencies
Many departments such as the military, national security and any deemed essential to the protection of life continue working during shutdowns. But agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service, the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must cease operations. This results in delays on tax decisions, food inspection and disease research among other problems.
Image: picture-alliance/BSIP/B. Boissonet
Barack Obama and Congress on Cruz-control
The next major shutdown came in 2013 under President Barack Obama. His Affordable Health Care Act — or Obamacare — faced stark opposition from conservative House Republicans. Led by Senator Ted Cruz, the group pushed for drastic curbs on the health care act in exchange for raising the debt ceiling. The 18-day shutdown resulted in the furlough of some 850,000 workers. The cost: $24 billion.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/C. Dharapak
Shutdown for a wall
The longest shutdown in US history so far lasted 35 days in December 2018 and January 2019. Hundreds of federal workers went without paychecks. Despite the disruption, then-President Donald Trump insisted that funding for his Mexico border wall be included in the budget. In fact, Trump had said he was prepared for the impasse to go on for years — before he gave in and reopened government.
Image: Doug Mills/UPI Photo/Imago Images
Cost of playing politics
The prohibitive cost of shutting down some government operations has not tamed the trend. Washington loses millions not just in revenue, but also in back pay, even though furloughed employees stay at home. So, time lost, work lost — and money lost. According to a 2019 estimate by ratings agency Standard and Poor's, a government shutdown costs the US roughly $6 billion per week.
Image: Imago
Shutdowns contributing to distrust?
The biggest loser is not the economy, or the party that makes the most concessions, it's the government itself. According to a Gallup poll in the aftermath of the 2013 shutdown, public dissatisfaction with the government in general rose to 33%. The previous all-time high regarding political dysfunction was 26% during the Watergate scandal.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Kaster
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North Korea
Trump claimed that if he had not been elected president, the United States would now likely be at war with North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
He also announced that he would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for a second summit on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam.
Trump met with Kim in Singapore in June 2018. The meeting ended with a joint statement in which North Korea agreed to work towards "the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un's historic summit in pictures
All eyes were on US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as they met for historic talks in Singapore. Between handshakes, they committed to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Loeb
First meeting
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump shake hands as they meet for the first time. Unlike in past meetings with some world leaders, Trump did not try to pull Kim's hand towards him or hold on to the North Korean leader's hand too long.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Loeb
From insults to 'special bond'
Trump and Kim appeared at ease with one another during the summit. Just a few months prior, Trump and Kim engaged in a war of words, trading insults like "little rocket man" and "mentally deranged." Following their meeting, Trump said he formed a "special bond" with Kim and that he'd like to invite him to the White House.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/S. Loeb
Who's leading whom?
Kim lays a hand on Trump's back as they leave after signing a joint statement pledging peace negotiations and denuclearization. Some critics worried that the US agreed to give up too many things in negotiations with Kim. At a press conference, Trump said he wanted to stop US military exercises with South Korea and eventually withdraw US troops — something Pyongyang has been demanding for years.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
Four-point agreement
Trump displays the joint agreement he signed with Kim. In the four-point document, Kim agreed to the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." In exchange, Trump agreed to provide "security guarantees" to Pyongyang. The two leaders also agreed to build a "robust peace regime" and to return the remains of prisoners of the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Image: Reuters/J. Ernst
All eyes on Trump and Kim
South Koreans watch the summit on a screen located at a train station in Seoul. Ahead of the event, critics expressed concern that the meeting between the two leaders would be purely symbolic and not bring concrete progress to easing tensions. Indeed, the agreement did not specify what exact measures would be taken.
Image: Getty Images/C. Sung-Jun
Honoring 'the bromance' in Singapore
A bartender in Singapore crafted a special drink for the summit, dubbed "The Bromance." The meeting was held on Singapore's Sentosa island, a resort area with luxury hotels and a theme park. The island's security was massively increased ahead of the summit, while local businesses marked the occasion with special Trump-Kim branded water and drinks.
Image: Reuters/F. Lim
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Middle East
Trump said the US was holding "constructive talks" with the Taliban and other groups to end the war in Afghanistan. He did not give a timeline for the planned US withdrawal.
"As we make progress in these negotiations, we will be able to reduce our troop presence and focus on counterterrorism," he said.
On the "Islamic State," Trump said "we have liberated virtually all of that territory [Syria and Iraq] from the grip of these bloodthirsty killers" and it was time for US troops to come home.
Trump praised his decision to pull out of the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran and the re-imposition of US sanctions on Tehran.
He also called out Iran for threats against Israel. "We will not avert our eyes from a regime that chants Death to America and threatens genocide against the Jewish people," he said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded on Twitter, saying the US supports "dictators, butchers and extremists" in the Middle East.
"US hostility has led it to support dictators, butchers and extremists, who've only brought ruin to our region," Zarif wrote.
NATO
Trump praised increased military spending under his administration while also "getting other nations to pay their fair share, finally."
"For years, the United States was being treated very unfairly by friends of ours, by members of NATO, but now we have secured a $100 billion increase in defense spending from NATO allies," he said.
