Donald Trump delivered his maiden State Of The Union address, an annual message presented by the United States President to a joint session of the congress.
Trump’s State of the Union address was originally slated to last an hour, but the president went substantially longer. The longest SOTU address was Bill Clinton’s 2000 speech, which lasted 1 hour, 28 minutes, 49 seconds.
Here are the highlights of the speech:
Image: US President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of the US Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Photograph: Leah Millis/Reuters
>> 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 we were elected to serve
>> Over the last year, the world has seen that no people on earth are as daring and fearless as Americans. Let’s begin tonight by recognising that the State of Union is strong because our people are strong
>> Together we are building a safe and strong America. Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs
>> A proud moment -- Unemployment has hit a 45-year low. African-American unemployment, hit the lowest levels ever recorded
>> Retirement pension and college saving accounts have gone through the roof. We have enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American history
>> We nearly doubled the standard deduction for everyone. We also doubled the child tax credit
>> We eliminated a especially cruel tax. We repeal the disastrous Obamacare
>> There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream. If you believe in yourself and America, you can dream anything, be anything. Together, we can achieve absolutely anything
>> All of us together as one people, can do anything. We all share the same home, heart, destiny and the same great American flag
>> Together we are rediscovering the American ways. Here, faith and family, not the bureaucracy, are the centre of American life
>> Americans deserve a govt that shows them love and loyalty. Working with the Senate, we are appointing judges who will interpret the Constitution as written
>> We are defending our second Amendment and taking actions to protect religious liberty. We are serving our brave veterans, giving them a choice in their healthcare decisions
>> I will not stop until our veterans have been properly taken care of. All Americans deserve accountability and respect
>> We are now, very proudly, an exporter of energy to the world
>> People who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country, looking for treatment. I want to give Americans the ‘Right to Try’ - immediate experimental treatment
>> One of my main priorities is to reduce the cost of prescription drugs
>> The era of economic surrender is over. From now, we consider trading relations to be fair and reciprocal
>> We will work to fix bad trade deals. We will protect American workers and intellectual properties through strong enforcement of our trade rules
>> It is time to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure. We are a nation of builders - we built the EmpireStateBuilding in only a year
>> As POTUS my constant concern and compassion is for America’s children, struggling workers and forgotten communities
Image: US President Donald J Trump with Vice President Mike Pence and Speaker of the House US Representative Paul Ryan at the State of the Union address. Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Reuters
>> My duty is to defend Americans, to protect their families and their right to the American dream
>> It’s time to move towards a merit based immigration system
>> Currently, one immigrant can bring in unlimited number of distant relatives. Under our current plan, we restrict it to immediate family. This reform is necessary for our security and for the future of America
>>The US will continue to fight until ISIS is defeated
>> Perhaps someday in the future there will be a magical moment when countries of the world will get together to eliminate their nuclear weapons. Unfortunately, we are not there yet, sadly
>> As part of our defence, we must modernise and rebuild our nuclear arsenal, hopefully never having to use it, but making it so strong and powerful that it will deter any acts of aggression
>> No regime has oppressed its citizens more brutally than cruel dictatorship in N Korea. Its reckless pursuit of nuclear missiles could soon threaten our homeland. We are waging a campaign of max pressure to prevent that from happening
>> As long as we our proud of our achievements, faith in our citizens and trust in God, we will never fail
>>Thank you and Gob bless America
