Analysis | ‘Our new American moment’: Trump claims to seek unity and common ground but divisions remain clear
The president moved to set disagreements aside, claiming credit for the booming economy and seeking to lay the groundwork for the kind of bipartisan achievements that have eluded him
“Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people,” he said at the top of his roughly hour-long speech. “This is really the key: these are the people we were elected to serve.”
It was a striking difference in tone for a president who came into office decrying “American carnage” at his inaugural, and who has since then spoken and tweeted in harsh terms about his perceived enemies, including lawmakers of both parties and his vanquished opponent, Hillary Clinton.
Watch: Trump delivers his first State of the Union address
I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people
Trump continued to warn against what he sees as the scourge of illegal immigration. But the warnings were cloaked around softer descriptions of the American character, describing the nation as “one team, one people and one American family”.