Tuesday saw Donald Trump’s first speech to Congress, in which the Republican President tackled several different themes and announced hope for a “new chapter of American greatness”.
“I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength, and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart,” Trump said to start off his hour-long prepared speech.
“A new chapter of American greatness is now beginning. A new national pride is sweeping across our nation. And a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp. What we are witnessing today is the renewal of the American spirit,” he claimed.
On migration, the US President said that the country needs to adopt a merit-based system as a way to avoid immigration of lower-skilled migrants. He added that Republicans and Democrats could work together to achieve a reform in immigration – as long as it focused on improving the state’s security.
Speaking of the infamous wall that will divide the US and Mexico, Trump announced plans to start construction soon. But despite his promises during his election campaign, made no mention of who was paying for this wall.
One of Trump’s main themes in last night’s speech was one of “historic” tax reforms. The President has promised to cut corporate tax to make U.S. companies more globally competitive, whilst also promising “massive” tax relief for the middle class. No specifics were given.
Trump did promise that these tax cuts would be of great help to the American middle-class. This won’t be the case according to the conservative thinktank, the Tax Foundation. The Tax Foundation has found that half of Trump’s tax cuts would go to the top one percent of earners, while most families below the top 20 percent of earners would have income gains of less than 1 percent.
With his plans on the military, Trump promised to send Congress a budget to rebuild the military and increase military spending by $54 billion – the biggest rise in the Pentagon’s budget since the height of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“We must ensure that our courageous servicemen and women have the tools they need to deter war and, when called upon to fight in our name, only do one thing: win,” he said to Congress. “We have to win.”
The president vowed to work with U.S. allies to destroy the Islamic State, describing the radical militant group as a “network of lawless savages.”