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News you can use
In his third state of the union address, and his last before the November election, President Donald Trump said his tenure has seen an unprecedented economic boom and success in confronting the opiod crisis, Veterans Administration reforms, enacting of a farm bill and criminal justice reform.
“After 24 months of rapid progress, our economy is the envy of the world, our military is the most powerful on Earth, by far, and America — America is again winning each and every day,” Trump said, as reported in an official transcript from the White House.
“No matter the trials we face, no matter the challenges to come, we must go forward together,” he said in his conclusion. “We must keep America first in our hearts. We must keep freedom alive in our souls. And we must always keep faith in America’s destiny that one nation, under God, must be the hope and the promise, and the light and the glory, among all the nations of the world.”
But Democrats in their responses were not so jubilant, and said Trump’s speech misrepresented many realities.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. — who tore up a copy of Trump’s speech after he presented it — said in a statement that Trump was ignoring many issues like what she called his failure to follow through on his promise help people with prescription drug prices and protect insurance coverage for people with pre-existing conditions.
“Democrats continue to urge the president to abandon his assault on seniors and families and to join us to deliver real progress in lowering the price of prescription drugs and making the bold investments needed to rebuild America’s infrastructure in a green and modern way,” Pelosi said in her statement. "The manifesto of mistruths presented in page after page of the address tonight should be a call to action for everyone who expects truth from the president and policies worthy of his office and the American people. The American people expect and deserve a president to have integrity and respect for the aspirations for their children.”
Montana’s Republican members of Congress applauded Trump’s address.
Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who is campaigning for re-election this year, said in a statement that Trump’s speech showed the economy is booming, unemployment is down, the country is on a trade winning streak with new trade agreements, is securing its borders and is working to lower the cost of prescription drugs.
“America is winning under President Trump,” Daines said.
Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., who is campaigning for Montana governor, said in prepared remarks that he looks forward to continuing to work with Trump.
“President Trump has kept his promises and brought the American dream into greater reach for more Montanans. How do we know?” Gianforte asked. “Our economy is growing stronger. We’re getting better trade deals for America. And we’re making progress on securing our border.”
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said he had a special guest at the address to celebrate a more-than 100-year-old fight for federal recognition, which Tester joined when he first took office in the Senate in 2007 — the recognition of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians that Congress passed last year and Trump signed into law.
“I was honored to have Little Shell Chairman Gerald Gray as my guest at tonight’s address, to celebrate and honor the tribe’s relentless fight for federal recognition for so many generations,” Tester said in a statement to the Havre Daily News. “Even in this divisive time, the tribe’s victory is a prime example of what can still happen in Washington when folks build coalitions, make their voices heard, and reach across the aisle.”
The “nonpartisan, nonprofit ‘consumer advocate’ for voters” project of the Annenburg Public Policy Center factcheck.org, as it describes itself in its mission statement, reports that Trump — and in some cases the Democratic response — misrepresented much of what was said on issues including the economy, trade, border security, factory growth, insurance and energy.
People can read the factcheck.org analysis at https://www.factcheck.org/2020/02/factchecking-the-state-of-the-union-3 .
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