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Washington • While promising to renew the American spirit, President Donald Trump used his first address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday to lay bare the economically suffering, crime-ridden and terrorism-prone country that he says he inherited — and that only he can fix.
The state of the union, Trump suggested, is not strong — but it will be under his leadership.
"For too long, we've watched our middle class shrink as we've exported our jobs and wealth to foreign countries," Trump said, perched at the House podium. "We've financed and built one global project after another but ignored the fates of our children in the inner cities of Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit — and so many other places throughout our land. We've defended the borders of other nations while leaving our own borders wide open, for anyone to cross — and for drugs to pour in at a now unprecedented rate. And we've spent trillions of dollars overseas while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled."
Trump relished in the frequent and loud standing ovations from the Republican side of the chamber, though he continued to glance at the Democratic side where the minority party, for the most part, remained seated for much of the speech, offering almost as many chuckles as applause breaks.
The president, five weeks into office, offered a litany of goals for his administration: Bring back millions of jobs, fix a broken immigration system, repeal and replace "this imploding Obamacare disaster," defeat the so-called Islamic State, rebuild America's roads and bridges, and beef up the U.S. military.
"A new chapter of American greatness is now beginning. A new national pride is sweeping across our nation," Trump said. "And a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp. What we are witnessing today is the renewal of the American spirit."
The address — which was his first chance to address Congress but not an official State of the Union speech — showed the sharp split in politics that faces Congress and the White House. Republicans heralded their new commander in chief; Democrats struggled to hide their contempt.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, the Senate president pro tempore and third in line for the presidency, sat four rows from Trump and eagerly applauded the president.
"With Republican majorities in Congress and a new president in office, we finally have the opportunity to deliver for the American people," said Hatch, who had opposed much of President Barack Obama's signature domestic legislation. "I am eager to lead the fight for our values and rack up big wins for the conservative cause, like fixing our regulatory bureaucracy and putting excellent judges like Neil Gorsuch on the Supreme Court."
Gorsuch is Trump's pick to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the high court.
Hatch also trumpeted the president's push for tossing out the Affordable Care Act in favor of "patient-centered reforms," changing the tax code to help businesses and Americans, and pushing a strong trade agenda.
Rep. Chris Stewart said the president made a "genuine effort" to find bipartisan balance.
"He hit just the right tone," the Utah Republican said in an interview. "He showed a little humility."
The congressman, a former Air Force pilot, particularly appreciated Trump's calls to expand and "rebuild" the military. He also favored the president's appeals to improve the economy and create more jobs in the U.S.
Though he called Trump "our Mussolini" during the presidential campaign, Stewart also said in a video statement that the speech "made me proud that he's my president."
Rep. Rob Bishop said in a prepared statement that the "most refreshing part" of the speech was that Trump pledged to work with Congress on the proposed initiatives.
"From infrastructure and regulatory reform to outdated environmental statutes and bureaucratic mission creep," Bishop, also a Republican, said, "I look forward to working in partnership with this administration and our states on a better way forward for the country."
Rep. Jason Chaffetz, who shook the president's hand after the address, said Trump "exceeded all my expectations. ... His tone and delivery was the best I've ever seen" from a president.
"He took the mantle of the presidency tonight," Chaffetz added. "He set the agenda."
Chaffetz noted, though, that most Democrats headed for the exits once the speech concluded and didn't wait around to greet the president, as is often custom. Beyond that, the Republican said, they sat on their hands nearly the whole time.
"I thought the Democrats were flat out embarrassing," Chaffetz said. "They didn't stand or clap on things we should be united on. ... I really think it did sent the wrong message."
Utah Democratic Party Chairman Peter Corroon, though, countered that Trump's speech was full of "platitudes and hypocrisy." Trump has done the opposite of "drain the swamp" and unite the country, Corroon added.
"We agree that Americans have great hopes and aspirations," Corroon said. "As Democrats, we will defend policies that support the people of our country and vigorously oppose any policies that harm or divide our country."
Sen. Mike Lee's office declined to make him available for an interview, but the senator's office posted on Facebook that he was glad the president appeared to gesture to a few members of the Supreme Court who came to watch the address when Trump mentioned problems with Obamacare.
"He makes a fair point," the Facebook post said. "As I've explained before, the Supreme Court effectively rewrote Obamacare — not once but twice — in order to obscure fatal constitutional defects."
While Trump laid out his vision for the future, he cast America as one facing dire circumstances.
In the past eight years, 13 million Americans left the workforce, Trump said. The United States has lost 60,000 factory jobs to China since joining the World Trade Organization. A quarter of manufacturers disappeared since the North American Free Trade Agreement. The trade deficit was nearly a billion dollars last year.
Trump also warned that he would fight "radical Islamic terrorism" and defended his executive order to ban travel to the United States by citizens of certain predominantly Muslim countries.
"We cannot allow a beachhead of terrorism to form inside America — we cannot allow our nation to become a sanctuary for extremists," Trump said. "That is why my administration has been working on improved vetting procedures, and we will shortly take new steps to keep our nation safe — and to keep out those who would do us harm."
The president, no fan of teleprompters, read from two screens nearly the whole speech, barely veering off the prepared remarks.
Near the end of his speech, he urged Congress to work to fix the country's problems.
"Solving these, and so many other pressing problems, will require us to work past the differences of party," Trump said. "It will require us to tap into the American spirit that has overcome every challenge throughout our long and storied history."