President Trump did something Tuesday night that he has rarely done since
taking office: He
used the presidential bully pulpit to reach
beyond his hardcore base of supporters to make his case to the American people
as a whole.
Speaking from the Oval Office for the first time during his presidency,
Trump embraced our country’s tradition as a nation of immigrants,
declaring
“America proudly welcomes millions of lawful immigrants who enrich our society
and contribute to our nation.” He then offered a cogent explanation why he
believes we face what he called “a humanitarian crisis — a crisis of the heart
and a crisis of the soul” along our southern border.
He pointed out the human cost of our broken system to illegal migrants
themselves, expressing compassion for the “children [who] are used as human
pawns by vicious coyotes and ruthless gangs” and the “women [who] are sexually
assaulted on the dangerous trek up through Mexico.” He shared heartbreaking
stories of Americans killed by criminal aliens who had no right to be here —
including
a police officer in California who was murdered, a
16-year-old girl who was brutally stabbed in Maryland, and an Air Force veteran
who was raped and beaten to death.
“I’ve held the hands of the weeping mothers and embraced the grief-stricken
fathers,” Trump declared. “I will never forget the pain in their eyes, the
tremble in their voices, or the sadness gripping their souls.”
And he laid out his solution, which he explained was “developed by law
enforcement professionals and border agents” and includes funds for
cutting-edge technology, more border agents, more immigration judges, more bed
space and medical support — and $5.7 billion for a “physical barrier” that he
called “just common sense.” Without naming her, Trump responded to the absurd
charge from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) that a wall is “immoral.”
Democrats voted repeatedly for physical barriers until he was elected
president, he noted. If a wall is immoral, Trump asked, “why do wealthy
politicians build walls, fences and gates around their homes? They don’t build
walls because they hate the people on the outside, but because they love the
people on the inside.”
The president did not unilaterally declare a national emergency. Instead, he
called for compromise and said, “To those who refuse to compromise in the name
of border security, I would ask: imagine if it was your child, your husband, or
your wife, whose life was so cruelly shattered and totally broken?”
He was, in short, presidential.
Democrats insisted on equal time, which is highly unusual. for presidential
addresses other than the State of the Union. It was a mistake. In contrast to Trump,
Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (N.Y.) came across as
small and intransigent.
While Trump spoke calmly and rationally from behind the Resolute Desk, the
Democratic leaders accused him of “pounding the table” and having a “temper
tantrum.” While Trump told human stories, they complained about process. They
accused him of arguing that the women and children at the border were “a
security threat” when he had just explained to the American people that they
were victims, too. They charged him with using the “backdrop of the Oval Office
to manufacture a crisis, stoke fear and divert attention from the turmoil in
his administration.” They were partisan and petty, while Trump came across as
reasonable and even compassionate.
To normal Americans watching in the heartland, and who are not steeped in
Trump hatred, the president must have seemed like the adult in the room.
And, most important, Pelosi and Schumer failed to use the one word that
millions of Americans were longing to hear — compromise. But Trump did. That is
why the president won the night. Schumer and Pelosi appealed to their base,
while Trump made an effective appeal to persuadable Americans.
Until now, Trump has owned the 18-day government shutdown that prompted this
address, because he’s the one who started it. But if Democrats continue to
attack him, and won’t entertain any compromise, soon the shutdown will be all
theirs — because they’re the ones who have refused to end it.
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Transcript of Trump's speech for the full transcript of Trump's speech: