President Donald Trump has told the world that the American dream is alive and thriving after his first year in The White House.
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But any detail was hard to sift from the unsupported claims in his annual State of the Union speech.
The best Trump could manage was that the economy was booming and $1.5 trillion would be found from somewhere to fund major infrastructure projects around the country.
The speech allows the president to propose new policy and set the tone in Washington for the coming year, much like the Queen’s Speech in the UK Parliament does for the British government.
But Trump’s popularity is languishing despite the economy seemingly firing on all cylinders and it’s hard to find any praise for the improvement to lavish on Trump.
Divisive at so many levels
He rules over a country and government that is split at so many levels, finding where to start explaining the problems is almost impossible.
Even Congress was a game of two parts – while the Republicans basked in reflected glory and cheered Trump whenever they could, the Democrats sat straight faced and in silence.
In his 80-minute speech, Trump called for Democrats to work with the Republicans to repeat his claimed first year of ‘extraordinary success’.
He doggedly remained controversial by linking crime with illegal immigration and was criticised by one Republican of playing a racist card.
Trump also confirmed he was reversing former president Barack Obama’s decision to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Tax reform lies
The president did not mention the inquiry into alleged collusion between his administration and the Russians during his election.
His only legislative accomplishment remains tax reform, that he doggedly suggests is the ‘biggest tax reform ever’.
According to the US Treasury, it’s not and lags several tax bills published since 1980 however the impact is measured or adjusted for inflation.
Although voters in America may see more money in their pockets, the extra cash has little to do with Trump’s actions.
From outside America, he remains a deeply disliked and divisive figure who seems to have no thought about the impact of his policies and no care of what happens to anyone who is not American.
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