In a quick preview for reporters at the White House, President Donald Trump said Monday that his first State of the Union Address would focus on several important issues in America, as Mr. Trump said he will highlight recent tax cuts, talk about the need for an immigration deal, and his effort to change major world trade agreements.
"It's going to be good," the President said, after his new Secretary of Health and Human Services was sworn in by Vice President Mike Pence.
"We've worked on it hard," Mr. Trump said of the speech preparation. "It will cover a lot of territory, including our great success in the markets and with the tax cuts."
"It's a big speech, an important speech, we cover immigration; for many, many years, they've been talking immigration and never gotten anything done," the President added.
On the subject of an agreement to protect hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant 'Dreamers' now in the United States, the President again said he hopes that Democrats will work with the GOP for a deal.
"It has to be bipartisan," the President said. "But hopefully the Democrats will join us - or a couple of them will join us - so we can really do something great for DACA and for immigration generally."
Last week, the White House laid out a plan from the President to solve the DACA issue, in exchange for $25 billion in border security measures, an end to the diversity visa lottery program, and strict new limits on family migration into the U.S.
That plan has faced criticism in both parties; for some Republicans, they see it as 'amnesty' for illegal immigrants, while many Democrats don't want to accept some of the non-DACA items proposed by Mr. Trump.
Top immigration negotiators in Congress were meeting this afternoon on Capitol Hill to further explore a possible agreement.
The President also mentioned trade as a subject for the State of the Union Address, echoing his words from last week's speech to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.
"The world has taken advantage of us on trade for many years," the President said. "We're stopping it cold."
About the Author
