12 quotes that stood out in Trump's State of the Union
President Donald Trump holds up copies of his speech before the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. Credit: AP / Pablo Martinez Monsivais
Here are a dozen quotes that stood out from President Donald Trump's first State of the Union address. The text is as recorded by Federal News Service.
ON "OUR NEW AMERICAN MOMENT":
“This in fact is our new American moment. There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream.” He said, “If you work hard, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in America, then you can dream anything, you can be anything, and together, we can achieve anything."
ON UNITY:
“Tonight I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people. This is really the key. These are the people we were elected to serve.”
ON THE AMERICAN DREAM AND "DREAMERS":
“My duty, and the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber, is to defend Americans, to protect their safety, their families, their communities, and their right to the American Dream. Because Americans are dreamers, too.”
ON INFRASTRUCTURE:
After calling for a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion in new infrastructure investment: “We will build gleaming new roads, bridges, highways, railways, and waterways all across our land. And we will do it with American heart, American hands, and American grit."
ON MS-13:
“Tonight, I am calling on Congress to finally close the deadly loopholes that have allowed MS-13, and other criminal gangs, to break into our country.”
TO THE FAMILIES OF 2 LONG ISLAND TEENS KILLED BY ALLEGED MS-13 MEMBERS:
“I want you to know that 320 million hearts are right now breaking for you. We love you. Thank you.”
ON TAX CUTS:
“And just as I promised the American people from this podium 11 months ago, we enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history. Our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the middle class and small business.”
ON STEVE SCALISE:
“Some trials over the past year touched this chamber very personally. With us tonight is one of the toughest people ever to serve in this House, a guy who took a bullet, almost died and was back to work three and a half months later, the legend from Louisiana, Congressman Steve Scalise.”
ON THE STATE OF THE UNION:
“Let’s begin tonight by recognizing that the State of our Union is strong because our people are strong. And together we are building a safe, strong and proud America. Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs, including ... 200,000 new jobs in manufacturing alone.”
ON TRADE:
Trump, on moving past what he called “decades of unfair trade deals”: “Our nation has lost its wealth, but we’re getting it back so fast. The era of economic surrender is totally over. From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and, very importantly, reciprocal.”
ON THE SECOND AMENDMENT:
“We are totally defending our Second Amendment and have taken historic actions to protect religious liberty.”
ON PRESCRIPTION DRUGS:
“One of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs. In many other countries, these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the United States. And it’s very, very unfair. That is why I have directed my administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of my top priorities for the year. And prices will come down substantially. Watch.”
