Last post of the tri!
Watch or read the State of the Union which President Trump will deliver on 2/5/2019. Answer one of the following prompts:
- If you were to give the Democratic response what would you say and why?
- What were 2 proposals Trump makes in his speech? Do you think he will be able to get those initiatives accomplished in 2019? Why or why not?
- What efforts did you see in the speech to try to persuade moderates and Democrats to support his initiatives? Do you think he was persuasive to people outside of his base of supporters? Why or why not?
Your response should refer to specifics in his speech. You should use a minimum of one other source in addition to the speech.
This is due by Friday, 2/15 and will be our last post for the tri because we are a little tight thanks to the polar vortex.
I look forward to reading what you will write!
- Meredith
Link to text and video of the SOTU
NPR: Fact Check of the SOTU
Labels: president, state of the union
posted by Ms. Aby @ 6:35 AM
15 Comments:
In the State of the Union, Trump made many claims and set many goals of his that he hopes will improve our country. Two goals Trump set that I saw as being important was how Trump called to lower medication drugs and afterward called for increased spending to improve American infrastructure. I see his goal of lowering drug costs as a tough but doable goal. The one thing that conflicts with his goal, is that despite his push to eliminate Obamacare (as he said in the SOTU), the Affordable Care Act makes low-income Americans pay "little to nothing" for certain drugs (1). With this and other factors from the AFA in play, it will make his goal doable but somewhat extensive. Next, the goal of improving American infrastructure is a goal that I don't see happening. The reason for that is because a bill for mass improvement for American infrastructure would have to cost trillions of dollars. And since currently, we are approaching a national debt of $22 trillion dollars, I feel that the house will rather not want to advance spending on such a spendy bill. In the end, while Trump's goals are possible, there may be certain consequences to them.
1: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/health/drug-prices-rebates-sotu.html
This comment has been removed by the author.
#2: In the 2019 State of the Union, President Trump delivered his speech in a way where the United States should not feel divided as he assured the people that "the agenda I will lay out this evening is not a Republican agenda or a Democrat agenda. It is the agenda of the American people.” This introduction of the speech made President Trump seem bipartisan. In President Trump's agenda, he had two proposals that were emphasized: to reduce the price of healthcare and prescription drugs and to create an immigration system that is safe, lawful, modern and secure. The first proposal of lowering the costs of healthcare and prescription drugs seems hypocritical and was already done in Obama's presidential term. President Trump believes a way to lower these costs is to base prices off of industrialized countries and using them as our own (1). This seems lazy as he called it a "revolutionary change" and thinks he's hot stuff as "no one wanted to, or tried to do it, but I did." Also, it seems hypocritical to lower these costs as he cut the grants of Obamacare which was already making people's ability to purchase their needs affordable. This proposal of basing prices off of industrialized countries seems risky, but I mean, let's just see what happens if it goes through! Furthermore, President Trump's second proposal was to create an immigration system that is safe, lawful, modern and secure. Honestly, this is just President's Trump "polite" way of saying he wants a goddamn wall. President Trump defends his argument for a wall as he says, "Simply put, walls work and walls save lives. So let's work together, compromise, and reach a deal that will truly make America safe (2)." I means props to him still trying to get it, after all, this whole government shut down is about funding over a wall. He believes a wall will lower assault, rape, human trafficking, and other crimes in the United States and by having this wall and heavy security, it will just keep the bad people in this country out. And the fact that he is debating to whether or not call for a national emergency is just childish. This proposal of a "better immigration system" is not going to happen. The biggest proposal President Trump makes in this speech does not make it an "agenda for American people," it's just an agenda for President Trump himself. In conclusion, the two proposals addressed seems likely to happen for lowering costs of healthcare and prescription drugs, but highly unlikely for improving the immigration system. After watching and rereading President Trump's 2019 State of the Union speech, you know, I had a little faith that it would be an okay year for politics under his administration, but the fact that he's trying to make proposals for the sake for his administration is just annoying. Good luck to the House though, I believe in y'all.
(1): https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/us/politics/medicare-prescription-drug-costs-trump.html
(2): https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/05/trump-urges-cooperation-on-immigration-in-state-of-the-union-address.html
If I was a Democrat offering a response to Trump's address, I would point out logical fallacies in his speech that aren't exactly true and that are just there to make him look better. First of all, when Trump states, "More people are working now than at any time in the history of our country." (2) While this statement is correct, it is misleading because of course there are going to be more workers because our country is constantly growing due to the numbers of immigrates being welcomed in. Next, Trump later proceeds to say that there are a number of illegal immigrant caravans along the Southern border in Mexico causing danger. If I was responsible for refuting that, I would bring up the fact that they have a right to be there since they have obtained humanitarian visas allowing them travel within Mexico. Also, according to cities in that area, they are perfectly safe how it is. Anyways, in his speech, President Trump makes lots of promises that cause suspense for people, some of which I agree with, and others which I don't agree with. Either way, this year will shape up to be interesting one.
Sources:
(1) The Trump State of the Union Speech 2019
(2) https://www.npr.org/2019/02/05/690345256/fact-check-trumps-state-of-the-union-address?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20190205&fbclid=IwAR3lK42R1wRIOREv4OgLWt_XuRwSp3S-Y37cBk-LzI-LUHLAyBDPzvU7pCQ
In the State of the Union 2019, President Trump tries to persuade his audience during this speech because it is an important speech at this time in their presidential term to finally get out what they want to say in order to get things done. President Trump caught the crowd's attention by mentioning "A New Congress" after the government shutdown, and he said he is ready to work with "YOU" to make it seem like all decisions are voted together. Instead of working as two parties, he wants to work as one nation because unity is what will catch the democratic's attention that he wants to put in effort to work with the opposite party. He assures to the people that his agenda is not towards the right side or left side. He also uses the words "Together", "Our", and "We" to make the people feel united, but I don't think the tone in there in genuineness. He brought up Alice's story and releasing "African Americans" from jail to tell the opposite party that he can do something right, not always wrong. He talks about how bad the illegal immigrants are in connection with illegal crime, and he wants to stop it by securing the border wall but not without the help of both sides. Both parties believe in making the people's safety a priority. He supports women in the workforce, usually it was the Democrats who supported their rights, and both parties support to end the HIV epidemic. He tries to include all minority groups as possible except for the Latinos, and he sobs about their stories to make it seem like he feels bad for them. Most importantly, he mentions he wants to "Secure Civil Rights".
I don't think it was persuasive because he keeps using "American" when referring to people in the United States instead of "All" people. He brings up what HE has done for the economy instead of saying that they did it together. He also bashes the Obamacare by calling it unpopular when Obama is basically the Democrat representative. He wants to be united especially for military reasons, so they can beat their abroad enemies. He used examples of African American stories which seemed like he had too. He calls the Southern Border dangerous and was name calling "Mexicans" as "Ruthless coyotes, cartels, drug dealers, and human traffickers". That won't help persuade the Democrats because they don't believe anyone should be titled to be called like that. He states "I will get it built" instead of "we". He also still stands for Pro-Life which the Democrats stand for Pro-Choice. He then keeps talking about military war, and the Democrats doesn't really like to go to war for any reason unless it is an emergency. In the article "Why Trump is more likely to incite people than persuade them tonight", Ronald Brownstein states, "This year's speech, though, is more likely to showcase how Donald Trump remains focused on a different lever of presidential influence: "the power to incite" those who already agree with him". I agree with Brownstein because his speech didn't really obtain the Democratic party's side as much as one would like to. He didn't do a whole lot of persuading the opposite side to join him in his agenda but rather, he talked about all of the same goals he had in the first place and talked to the same audience who are on the same side of him. Overall, President Trump's speech could've been better if his goal was to get the Democratic party to favor with him.
KIMEE NGUYEN
1) https://www.cnn.com/2019/02/05/politics/donald-trump-state-of-the-union-persuade-incite-people/index.html
In his most recent State of the Union Address, it was clear that Trump was trying harder to appeal to his current supporters instead of trying to persuade Democrats and moderates over to his side. Trump spoke of immigration and border security more than his two predecessors, Obama and Bush (1). His speech also included way more no policy content than any other speech made by previous presidents. Also, Trump included a lot of rhetoric made to make himself look good, instead of attempting to boost the morale of the country. First, at the beginning of his speech, it can be noticed that Trump is using some gross exaggerations in order to make him look more successful. For example, when Trump states that "Wages are rising at the fastest pace in decades" this is proven false by NPR News who reports that, "wages are not growing at their fastest pace in decades." (2) This sort of exaggeration is common in other parts of the address. While it is apparent that Trump exaggerates in an attempt to gain support from his current skeptics. However, this won't work since anyone who doesn' support him now will just see right through this blatant lie. Additionally, Trump frequently talks about his tenacious efforts to build a wall along the Southern border. He talks about all of the terrible things the country is experiencing currently as a result of not having a wall, "The lawless state of our southern border is a threat to the safety, security, and financial well-being of all America" and then speaks of all the prosperity that a wall would immediately bring, "walls work and walls save lives" despite the fact that his proposed wall will only cover a mere 234 of the 2000 miles of the border. Obviously, his supporters also support the building of a wall and his skeptics are pretty much unanimously against a wall, and by the way he speaks of a wall, it is clear he is trying to persuade those against the idea but I don't think it will work since those who are against the idea are pretty strongly against it. Trump is working so hard to earn support for the wall in order to justify his 35-day government shutdown because of this wall, which due to the fact that is forced over 800,000 government employees to work without pay, was sure to drive his approval rating down. On the other hand, Trump's speech also included a lot of no policy content, speech that had nothing to do with his plan for the country. The only reason that I can think of as for why Trump would do this is to show success stories of people living under his administration. While most of the people he talked about most likely had nothing to do with Trump until he invited them to the SOTU, it was smart of Trump to include these success stories in order to appeal to the American citizens with an old fashioned, heartwarming story. One example where it was clear that Trump was only trying to appeal to his already existent base of supporters was his mention of abortion. Trump was the first president to mention abortion in a SOTU address since 1948 and the way that he talked about it was blatantly partisan. He mentioned the recent late-term abortion law passed by New York which allows, " baby to be ripped from the mother’s womb moments from birth". It is abundantly clear that this sentence is used to appeal to his pro-life supporters as anyone who is even remotely pro-choice would see right through this statement and know that no woman would carry a baby almost completely to term only to abort it, and that late-term abortions only happen in extremely rare cases where carrying the pregnancy to term would put the mother's life at risk. Overall, Trump's abundant mention of immigration was obviously used to adhere to his supporters' beliefs and gain support for his border wall proposal. He frequent no policy content was an attempt to appeal to the emotion of the average constituent with a heart-warming story. Finally, his mention of abortion with a partisan twist was a clear attempt to secure support from his fans.
Sources:
1: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2019/02/07/trumps-state-of-the-union-addresses-are-very-different-from-his-predecessors-heres-how/?utm_term=.f97cebdf7bb6
2: https://www.npr.org/2019/02/05/690345256/fact-check-trumps-state-of-the-union-address?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20190205&fbclid=IwAR3lK42R1wRIOREv4OgLWt_XuRwSp3S-Y37cBk-LzI-LUHLAyBDPzvU7pCQ
In Trumps 2019 state of the union speech he proposes “Our new U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, the USMCA, will replace NAFTA and deliver for American workers like they haven’t had delivered to for a long time. I hope you can pass the USMCA into law so that we can bring back our manufacturing jobs in even greater numbers, expand American agriculture, protect intellectual property, and ensure that more cars are proudly stamped with our four beautiful words: “Made in the USA.‘“(2) The USMCA is a deal that will increase the use of American products in America(1). It will esspecially effect the car indunstries. I think this deal could very well get passed because most politicians seek to increase the production of American products rather than import from other countries. Another deal Trump proposes is “I am also asking you to pass the United States Reciprocal Trade Act, so that if another country places an unfair tariff on an American product, we can charge them the exact same tariff on the exact same product that they sell to us.” This agreement will, as Trump said, charge other countries the same taxes they put on american exports. I also think this proposal will pass because it seems fair to the American people.
Sources
1-https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/united-states-mexico-canada-agreement
2-https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-state-union-address-2/
In the 2019 State of the Union address made by President Donald Trump made a lot of goals for his administration but two that really stood out to me were his goals to bring down the price of prescription medication, and negotiate new deals with NATO and NAFTA. The price of medication is currently very high, but I see if President Trump puts his head to it he can get it done. Even though he wants to remove the Affordable Care Act which makes some Americans pay little or nothing for medication President Trump wants it to be that way for all Americans. Also he says that he is trying to get more money out of NATO for our military protection, he says that he has received upwards of $100 billion for military funding from NATO. In regards towards NAFTA he wants to renegotiate the deal and create USMCA which is better for Americans.
1)https://www.cbsnews.com/news/state-of-the-union-2019-full-text-of-trumps-address-as-prepared-for-delivery-today-2019-02-05-live-stream/
President Trump made many proposals during his State of the Union speech. Some of these may end up being fulfilled, but others may not. Specifically, Trump wants to pass a bill to fund the building of a border wall on the southern border to end illegal immigration. His plan is to build a physical barrier in the areas along the US-Mexico border that are in need the most. The Trump “administration has sent to the Congress a commonsense proposal to end the crisis on our southern border. It includes humanitarian assistance, more law enforcement, drug detection at our ports, closing loopholes that enable child smuggling, and plans for a new physical barrier, or wall, to secure the vast areas between our ports of entry” (1). The passing of a bill to fund a border wall will most likely not be accomplished. This is an issue that the government has already been working on and is the reason for a 35 day government shutdown. It couldn’t be worked out before, how could it be possibly be passed now? “A bipartisan conference committee is working on a border security plan to appease both trump and democrats” (2). It most certainly will not include funding a wall because Democrats do not want a wall. Additionally, Trump proposed new trade policies. He wants to “pass the United States reciprocal trade act, so that if another country places an unfair tariff on an American product, we can charge them the exact same tariff on the same product that they sell us” (1). This act will probably not get passed. Trump is asking Congress the broaden his authority to impose tariffs. Many Republicans and Democrats don’t like tariffs. Congress even seems ready to do the exact opposite with “Republican senators already working on legislation to weaken Trump’s ability to impose tariffs” (2).
Sources: 1) State of the Union speech 2)https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/02/06/trumps-top-state-union-policy-proposals-ranked-might-happen-absolutely-definitely-not/?utm_term=.5d721974de4e
This comment has been removed by the author.
President Trump made several interesting proposals. One of which was tougher regulations on immigration and how his wall will help. Trump used exaggerated facts to scare viewers into agreeing with him. One of his key evidence he used was the gang MS-13 which is a gang that is in Central America and a different smaller gang is running in the US as well but not the proportions described (1). Trump also said that in the past year they have gotten rid of thousands of gang members from MS-13 but in reality its only been about 100. I am unsure about if his promise for the wall and tougher immigration regulations will be fulfilled, however, I do that if its fulfilled problems will only get worse in America much like what happened when Clinton passed the Illegal immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996. Another proposal I found interesting were his calls for improvements in treating illnesses like to end the HIV epidemic in the US in 10 years and to work on finding cures for childhood cancer. I found this kind of calls nice to hear but I have doubt the Trump administration will be able to get the funding through for such research when there is so much money he wants to put towards the wall and National security. Time will only tell what he will accomplish in his presidency.
1. http://www.startribune.com/trump-s-wrong-about-ms-13-but-the-truth-is-grim-enough/472422843/
President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address on Tuesday February 5th, a very long speech in which he talked about his accomplishments over his first year in office and offered proposals he'd like to see considered in the coming year.(1) Trump announces next meeting with Kim Jong-un about Nuclear warheads...(2) Mr. president also devoted a significant portion of his speech to making the case for his signature campaign proposal: a wall at the southern border.If I was the democratic party I would continue to stay strong to my onions and keep hold of where we stand with their decisions.A way of showing people he's is changing is that he included the new women of the congress.He also tried to unite the divided republicans.I don't believe that trump was persuasive to outside supporters, he always says many things but never follows up on them. Maybe when he says stuff about him changing for a good purpose following up on them would be more easier to convince people.
1. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/us/politics/state-of-the-union-2019.html
In the State of the Union address, Donald Trump discussed many statistics and regarding his economic accomplishments during his term, and made a few shout outs to appear more personal. The overall purpose of his speech seemed to be targeting Independents and Democrats in hopes that they would appreciate his advancements and agree with his goals. Trump stated, "More people are working now than at any time in the history of our country" (1), but over the last few decades the population has been increasing which means any of the last few presidents could have also made this statement (2). This statement goes against one of the primary beliefs he holds that got him elected, since he wants to build a wall to increase immigration policy and therefore reduce potential jobs for those immigrants. Democrats are in favor of supporting those in need even if they come from outside of the United States, so here Donald Trump is not persuading the Democrats to side with him. Trump also talks about his goal of reducing sentence time for nonviolent crimes, especially for convicted minorities. In June of 2018, Trump commuted the sentence of Alice Johnson, a first time drug offender. This was a bold move by the president, but the fact that the advocate for her release was Kim Kardashian weakens Trump's authority. The message he sent was that he cares too much about publicity and his image. Instead of pardoning someone from a minority group to strengthen goal of amending "laws that have wrongly and disproportionately harmed the African American community" (1), he chose Alice Johnson who stood on the same platform as Kim Kardashian, thus further separating himself from the general population. The Democratic party would agree with the action of pardoning someone for a relatively harmless crime, but disagree with the principle of siding with celebrities instead of the American people. Overall, I do not think that Donald Trump was successful in persuading Independents and Democrats to side with him in the State of the Union address because his facts were vague and his stories of success were shallow. The people of America deserve better than empty promises and celebrity driven services.
During the State of the Union Trump talked and proposed a ton of proposals. He spoke about the gang MS-13, that while big in Mexico, is very small in numbers here(1). Despite this he made them out to be a huge gang that they were terminating by his efforts when that is not true at all. Trump also spoke of finding cures to illnesses such as HIV and Cancer, he also spoke of his next meeting with Kim Jong-Un. Overall If I were to give the Democratic response I would talk about how once again Trump talked a big game but didn't state anything he could do. Finding the cures for huge illnesses and distributing them by the end of the year? Sounds crazy to even say out loud. Though we can see the efforts he goes through in order to convince Independents and Moderates to sway in his direction. I mean when has Trump ever talked about Health or Healthcare in a non-derogatory manner? That was his attempt to prove that he is a candidate that Moderates and Independents could count on. Though I do not think he was convincing, at this point we know all the lies and the big game he spews and most opposed to him do not believe anything that comes out of his mouth.
1: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/05/us/politics/state-of-the-union-2019.html
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home