Ruminations 72: La Calunnia è un Venticello; On the Address of Donald Trump to the Nation in Congress Assembled 28 February 2017

(Pix Wall Street Journal 28 Feb 2017)

After a tumultuous first month in office--a month that appeared to solidify the great rifts among emerging political factions in  the U.S.--the President gave his first address to Congress assembled  following the forms of a State of the Union Address.   Donald Trump,  Remarks by President Trump in Joint Address to Congress, Washington, D.C. 28 February 2017 (and transcript here). Governor Steve Beshear (former Governor of Kentucky) delivered the Democratic Party response (Democratic Response To Trump's Address To Congress, Annotated, NPR 28 Feb. 2017). Political analysis followed in short order (here, here, here, here, here, and here) to some extent predictably and across the political spectrum as it is evolving in the U.S. 

Here, I am less interested in the sort of political analysis  to which most attention has been paid.  While relevant, in a pragmatic, short term American sort of way, it does little to help understand the underlying ideological structures that will shape much of what will pass for politics over the course of this administration.  It is to that--an elegant and quite sophisticated ideological framework, that the reflections that follow will emphasize. The object of these reflections are simple and straightforward--top take the President at his word, both here and as first unveiled in his inaugural address (my analysis here English,  中国语文), and to see what ideological structures emerge that may of use in understanding the way in which he sees the world and how that world view will color the work of his subordinates both in terms of valuing policy and in the forms of implementation and measures that will be favored going forward. The text of the Speech to the Joint Session of Congress then follows.

The speech began with a coda of sorts--an acknowledgement of Black History Month and "the work that still remains to be done" and of the violence and threats of violence against the American Jewish community. This served, perhaps as a necessary and very public response to sustained criticism that the 45th President appeared indifferent to the antisemitism increasingly on view (though whether it is a manifestation of left or right wing anti-Jewish violence remains unclear) and as well to the perceived need of the President to show something more than indifference to African-Americans.

That obligation fulfilled, the 45th President could turn to the elaboration of his vision and the principles around which it is structured. Both represent the articulation of a vision that is almost the mirror reverse of the vision and principles that sustained the work of the 44th President, and to some extent of most of the Presidents that preceded from the time of Harry S Truman. From the beginning,m then, this President is quite consciously and straightforwardly radical in his conception of his vision for the United States --a vision quite distinct from that of the conservative and liberal establishments before the turn of this century. .

This is a radicalism clothed in the language of progress, or at least of passage ("Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty and justice in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present"). That passage speaks to nationalist exceptionalism that that is both nationalist and internationalist in its orientation. On the one hand the passage-progress is intimately nationalist ("A new chapter of American Greatness is now beginning. A new national pride is sweeping across our nation. And a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp.").  On the other this nationalist progress will have international effects--"we will use it to light up the world."

That notion of progress and of passage, of passing the torch, becomes the central premise legitimating the radical break with the past that is at the heart of the speech. The passage is worth careful study for its radical call for a break with the past with the object of using forward movement (progress) to veer us back to a golden age measured in the terms of a historical period now long past (but still close enough to be a living memory of our oldest citizens):

I will not allow the mistakes of recent decades past to define the course of our future. For too long, we've watched our middle class shrink as we've exported our jobs and wealth to foreign countries. 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 and trillions of dollars overseas, while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled.

Then, in 2016, the Earth shifted beneath our feet. The rebellion started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors and creeds -- families who just wanted a fair shot for their children and a fair hearing for their concerns.

But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus as thousands of citizens now spoke out together, from cities small and large, all across our country. Finally, the chorus became an earthquake, and the people turned out by the tens of millions, and they were all united by one very simple, but crucial demand: that America must put its own citizens first. Because only then can we truly make America great again. (Applause.) Dying industries will come roaring back to life. Heroic veterans will get the care they so desperately need. Our military will be given the resources its brave warriors so richly deserve. Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways gleaming across our very, very beautiful land. Our terrible drug epidemic will slow down and, ultimately, stop. And our neglected inner cities will see a rebirth of hope, safety and opportunity. Above all else, we will keep our promises to the American people.

Here in all of its glorious simplicity the revolutionary radicalism of the 45th Presidency is revealed. It is founded on a conscious rejection of Democratic and Republic Party policy of the 1945-2017. In a marvelous twist of rhetorical mimicry, the argument for rejection and renovation is built on the structures of the Declaration of independence of 1776. First the 45th President starts with the list of grievances. The argument is built on the indictment of the "mistakes of recent decades" from the Marshall Plan to the creation of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, to the development of multilateral mechanisms to eliminate trade barriers and the like are now recharacterized as a parade of horribles that turned a mighty nation into a foolish spendthrift that negotiated away its patrimony to aid others while impoverishing itself. It suggests that a long line of Presidents--several sitting in Congress during the address, might have squandered the lives of American soldiers (as well as the money necessary to fund these soldier killing exercises) in aid of the interests of every state in the world other than the United States. The price we paid for this international adventurism was to make the nation vulnerable to invasion by ethno migrations, to squalid conditions among our lumpenproletariat and to a nation whose own infrastructure appears in danger of ruin. From this litany of grievance a rebellion could legitimately grow. And, indeed, the language used is just that of "rebellion" now made legitimate as a natural response to the injustice of the grievances that threatened the Republic itself.

("La calunnia è un venticello" da "il barbiere di siviglia" di Gioacchino Rossini.
Interpretazione di Robert Lloyd. YOUTUBE LINK HERE)

Yet there is unintended comedy here as well. In a set of lines that resemble the famous boffo aria of Rossini's Barber of Seville, "La calunnia è un venticello," of the power of a calumny, that starts as a whisper and ends as an earthquake that undoes its object, the President describes the growth of the rebellion from a whisper to an earthquake.

And there is the essence of the radical recharacterization of a century of American policy and statecraft, a recharacterization as a radical calumny effectively whispered, that grows until it becomes an earthquake that undoes the order that was its target.

And what does the earthquake that this radical revision produce but "that America must put its own citizens first." And just like that our factories will come roaring back (and here the important word is not roaring but back).  The radical rejection of conventional Americanism, is grounded in a faith that in that act of radical rejection time itself can be turned back to an age that history has indeed consigned to its dustbin. There, of course is the tragedy of the vision--not in its efforts to radically recast Americanism (that is fair in politics and ideological battles) but in the deployment of this radicalism that in the name of progress would cast us back to a time that cannot be recreated, that has come and gone.  In this the 45th President and his advisors commits the same grave errors as European Marxist, and the current Cuba Regime that also, and with equal fervor, believe in the notion that a radical recasting of the present is necessary to preserve or acquire again a moment in time long past (the Cuban version of this tendency criticized here).

Having produced his earthquake, the President spends a little bit of time suggesting the progress made in the first weeks of his administration towards the ends of this radical nationalist internationalism. That nationalist internationalism views American engagement with the world with suspicion, like an aged person always afraid that some silver tongued devil will cheat him in any transaction, and that all such transactions occur only while they peer out of their door.  It is made more compelling by conflating in a flat relationship the connection between the evils of internationalism and the demise of the American working class.  Jobs will grow as the border is closed to migration,l wealth will increase as the United States transforms its relations abroad in ways to restores its industrial base to some level which is deemed to serve as a industrialization baseline.  This is fair, int he sense that this sort of nationalist internationalism is not unknown in American history; yet whether it will work as predicted remains to be seen, and the ramifications of the quite conscious determination to build this policy on the dismantling of a multi-generational post war vision of America in the world might have been undertaken with a little more humility and a lot less haste.

At this point, the address turns to next steps.  Here one sees an initial version of the way in which the principles of America first, and of legitimating popular rebellion, will be transformed into action items.  Yet and, these steps appear, again in an ironic way, to fall far short of the implications of the consequences necessary to move forward the great radical transformation outlined int he first part of the speech.  What does radicalism mean to the 45th President? What does dismantling the illegitimate vision of the victorious Americans and their allies as they remade the world after 1945?  It appears to consist of the following; (1) tax cuts for business, (2) tax cuts for individuals; (3) modification to U.S. tariff regimes and moves toward reciprocity; (4) nationalist bilateralism in trade;  (5) immigration reform based on skill rather than family and designed to ferret out the evil immigrant through an immigrant criminality tracking office; (6) targeted infrastructure spending; (7) modification of healthcare support; (8) school choice; (9) greater support for police in maintaining order; (10) strengthening support for the military establishment; (11) greater parity in defense spending, especially with respect to NATO allies.

Bathos.

But dangerous bathos--for these measures fall far short of the promise of radicalism.  And the forces of radicalism, of the sort outlined in the address, once unleashed, are unlikely to be satisfied with the sort of conventional laundry list of conventional honoring measures that have been invoked in the service of the system and the values that the President appears to reject.

This disjunction between the invocation of the quite well worn techniques of a rejected regime in the service of radical change is underlined by the return to core principle that marks the closing of the address.  Bear these in mind because they will serve as the touchstone of all policymaking going forward: 

"Free nations are the best vehicle for expressing the will of the people, and America respects the right of all nations to chart their own path. My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the United States of America."

"America is willing to find new friends, and to forge new partnerships, where shared interests align. We want harmony and stability, not war and conflict. We want peace, wherever peace can be found. "

What has become clear is that the basis of internal prosperity will be grounded in a nationalist turn. This is an exploitative nationalism int he sense that external relations will be based on national interest with the expectation that other states must be ready to be protect their own interests or suffer the consequences. That works well in markets or merchants overseen by a strong state that imposes basic rules of fairness in transactions.  But the radicalism of the current regime would eliminate the regulator of markets and the constants of fairness.  Without those the character of relations will likely not further stability--and eventually external instability will come back to haunt us. This is not to suggest that the nationalist turn is odd or wrong, necessarily. The Chinese has used an engaged nationalist policy to shape their basic approach to global trade and to good effect. But theirs appears to be grounded in principles of nationalist globalization; American nationalist bilateralism is unproven.

And there is the greatest danger of the path chartered.  Its nationalism promises the fruits of prosperity.  But the prosperity promised is based on a vision grounded in a level and form of industrialization at its peak between 1945-70 that is in many ways obsolete.  It is obsolete because technology has made prosperity based on that model impossibly expensive and unproductive.  It is a vision of a world that hard headed business would acknowledge to be unprofitable.  And it is based on a view of prosperity that believes that national wealth is a function of the creation of an economy that is autonomous of the world around it, a self sufficient industrial based that can exist cut off from the world.  That notion, mocked for half a century and the ideological plaything of European Marxist and post colonial regimes, missed the mark. To focus on bringing industry back rather than on developing the industrial base of this century and beyond is to engage in a slow program of economic suicide.  The cocktail used to poison us will be as sweet as cyanide laced Kool-Aid, but the effect will be deadly.  Any national effort designed to use government power to force economic development backwards will lead the republic to ruin.  Mr. Trump understand that to some extent, it whispers at the corners of the last paragraphs of the address, but the rhetoric around it speaks to the past and not to the future.  Extolling the virtues of technological innovation of over a century ago does not lead us forward when even at this very moment national conventions on technological innovation, on environmental and sustainability innovation have already provided the seeds (in private enterprise and through private efforts) of the sort of economic transformations that will produce the sort of sustainable wealth, through markets, that will produce the prosperity that the nation seeks. Mr. Trump's use of the state to force innovation and industrialization along a path decided by government speaks to another age and another ideology.  An economy that is not compatible with global practices and conforms to global expectation will not be able to compete in global markets--and prosperity requires a capability for such competition on its own terms--that is the expectation of markets, an expectation with respect to which the government ought not to interfere.

We will all wait to see how the contradictions between the rhetoric of radical recasting of American policy and the limiting and conventional mechanics of the proffered solutions to our troubles will be resolved.  For the President the challenge is great--he has set a radical course for the nation; will he be able to deliver?

(Pix Politico 2017)

__________

The White House
Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release
February 28, 2017

Remarks by President Trump in Joint Address to Congress

U.S. Capitol
Washington, D.C.

9:09 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States -- (applause) -- and citizens of America:

Tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black History Month, we are reminded of our nation's path towards civil rights and the work that still remains to be done. (Applause.) Recent threats targeting Jewish community centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week's shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms. (Applause.)

Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty and justice in an unbroken chain all the way down to the present. That torch is now in our hands. And we will use it to light up the world. I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength, and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart. A new chapter -- (applause) -- of American Greatness is now beginning. A new national pride is sweeping across our nation. 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. Our allies will find that America is once again ready to lead. (Applause.) All the nations of the world -- friend or foe -- will find that America is strong, America is proud, and America is free.

In nine years, the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our founding -- 250 years since the day we declared our independence. It will be one of the great milestones in the history of the world. But what will America look like as we reach our 250th year? What kind of country will we leave for our children?

I will not allow the mistakes of recent decades past to define the course of our future. For too long, we've watched our middle class shrink as we've exported our jobs and wealth to foreign countries. 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 and trillions of dollars overseas, while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled.

Then, in 2016, the Earth shifted beneath our feet. The rebellion started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors and creeds -- families who just wanted a fair shot for their children and a fair hearing for their concerns.

But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus as thousands of citizens now spoke out together, from cities small and large, all across our country. Finally, the chorus became an earthquake, and the people turned out by the tens of millions, and they were all united by one very simple, but crucial demand: that America must put its own citizens first. Because only then can we truly make America great again. (Applause.)

Dying industries will come roaring back to life. Heroic veterans will get the care they so desperately need. Our military will be given the resources its brave warriors so richly deserve. Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways gleaming across our very, very beautiful land. Our terrible drug epidemic will slow down and, ultimately, stop. And our neglected inner cities will see a rebirth of hope, safety and opportunity. Above all else, we will keep our promises to the American people. (Applause.)

It's been a little over a month since my inauguration, and I want to take this moment to update the nation on the progress I've made in keeping those promises.

Since my election, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, Softbank, Lockheed, Intel, Walmart and many others have announced that they will invest billions and billions of dollars in the United States, and will create tens of thousands of new American jobs. (Applause.)

The stock market has gained almost $3 trillion in value since the election on November 8th, a record. We've saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing down the price of a fantastic -- and it is a fantastic -- new F-35 jet fighter, and we'll be saving billions more on contracts all across our government. We have placed a hiring freeze on non-military and non-essential federal workers.

We have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption by imposing a five-year ban on lobbying by executive branch officials and a lifetime ban -- (applause) -- thank you -- and a lifetime ban on becoming lobbyists for a foreign government.

We have undertaken a historic effort to massively reduce job-crushing regulations, creating a deregulation task force inside of every government agency. (Applause.) And we’re imposing a new rule which mandates that for every one new regulation, two old regulations must be eliminated. (Applause.) We’re going to stop the regulations that threaten the future and livelihood of our great coal miners. (Applause.)

We have cleared the way for the construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines -- (applause) -- thereby creating tens of thousands of jobs. And I've issued a new directive that new American pipelines be made with American steel. (Applause.)

We have withdrawn the United States from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership. (Applause.) And with the help of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, we have formed a council with our neighbors in Canada to help ensure that women entrepreneurs have access to the networks, markets and capital they need to start a business and live out their financial dreams. (Applause.)

To protect our citizens, I have directed the Department of Justice to form a Task Force on Reducing Violent Crime. I have further ordered the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, along with the Department of State and the Director of National Intelligence, to coordinate an aggressive strategy to dismantle the criminal cartels that have spread all across our nation. (Applause.) We will stop the drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth, and we will expand treatment for those who have become so badly addicted. (Applause.)

At the same time, my administration has answered the pleas of the American people for immigration enforcement and border security. (Applause.) By finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions and billions of dollars, and make our communities safer for everyone. (Applause.) We want all Americans to succeed, but that can't happen in an environment of lawless chaos. We must restore integrity and the rule of law at our borders. (Applause.)

For that reason, we will soon begin the construction of a great, great wall along our southern border. (Applause.) As we speak tonight, we are removing gang members, drug dealers, and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our very innocent citizens. Bad ones are going out as I speak, and as I promised throughout the campaign.

To any in Congress who do not believe we should enforce our laws, I would ask you this one question: What would you say to the American family that loses their jobs, their income, or their loved one because America refused to uphold its laws and defend its borders? (Applause.)

Our obligation is to serve, protect, and defend the citizens of the United States. We are also taking strong measures to protect our nation from radical Islamic terrorism. (Applause.) According to data provided by the Department of Justice, the vast majority of individuals convicted of terrorism and terrorism-related offenses since 9/11 came here from outside of our country. We have seen the attacks at home -- from Boston to San Bernardino to the Pentagon, and, yes, even the World Trade Center.

We have seen the attacks in France, in Belgium, in Germany, and all over the world. It is not compassionate, but reckless to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur. (Applause.) Those given the high honor of admission to the United States should support this country and love its people and its values. We cannot allow a beachhead of terrorism to form inside America. We cannot allow our nation to become a sanctuary for extremists. (Applause.)

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 out who will do us harm. (Applause.)

As promised, I directed the Department of Defense to develop a plan to demolish and destroy ISIS -- a network of lawless savages that have slaughtered Muslims and Christians, and men, and women, and children of all faiths and all beliefs. We will work with our allies, including our friends and allies in the Muslim world, to extinguish this vile enemy from our planet. (Applause.)

I have also imposed new sanctions on entities and individuals who support Iran's ballistic missile program, and reaffirmed our unbreakable alliance with the State of Israel. (Applause.)

Finally, I have kept my promise to appoint a justice to the United States Supreme Court, from my list of 20 judges, who will defend our Constitution. (Applause.)

I am greatly honored to have Maureen Scalia with us in the gallery tonight. (Applause.) Thank you, Maureen. Her late, great husband, Antonin Scalia, will forever be a symbol of American justice. To fill his seat, we have chosen Judge Neil Gorsuch, a man of incredible skill and deep devotion to the law. He was confirmed unanimously by the Court of Appeals, and I am asking the Senate to swiftly approve his nomination. (Applause.)

Tonight, as I outline the next steps we must take as a country, we must honestly acknowledge the circumstances we inherited. Ninety-four million Americans are out of the labor force. Over 43 million people are now living in poverty, and over 43 million Americans are on food stamps. More than one in five people in their prime working years are not working. We have the worst financial recovery in 65 years. In the last eight years, the past administration has put on more new debt than nearly all of the other Presidents combined.

We've lost more than one-fourth of our manufacturing jobs since NAFTA was approved, and we've lost 60,000 factories since China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001. Our trade deficit in goods with the world last year was nearly $800 billion dollars. And overseas we have inherited a series of tragic foreign policy disasters.

Solving these and so many other pressing problems will require us to work past the differences of party. It will require us to tap into the American spirit that has overcome every challenge throughout our long and storied history. But to accomplish our goals at home and abroad, we must restart the engine of the American economy -- making it easier for companies to do business in the United States, and much, much harder for companies to leave our country. (Applause.)

Right now, American companies are taxed at one of the highest rates anywhere in the world. My economic team is developing historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone. (Applause.) It will be a big, big cut.

At the same time, we will provide massive tax relief for the middle class. We must create a level playing field for American companies and our workers. We have to do it. (Applause.) Currently, when we ship products out of America, many other countries make us pay very high tariffs and taxes. But when foreign companies ship their products into America, we charge them nothing, or almost nothing.

I just met with officials and workers from a great American company, Harley-Davidson. In fact, they proudly displayed five of their magnificent motorcycles, made in the USA, on the front lawn of the White House. ((Laughter and applause.) And they wanted me to ride one and I said, "No, thank you." (Laughter.)

At our meeting, I asked them, how are you doing, how is business? They said that it's good. I asked them further, how are you doing with other countries, mainly international sales? They told me -- without even complaining, because they have been so mistreated for so long that they've become used to it -- that it's very hard to do business with other countries because they tax our goods at such a high rate. They said that in the case of another country, they taxed their motorcycles at 100 percent. They weren't even asking for a change. But I am. (Applause.)

I believe strongly in free trade but it also has to be fair trade. It's been a long time since we had fair trade. The first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, warned that the "abandonment of the protective policy by the American government… will produce want and ruin among our people." Lincoln was right -- and it's time we heeded his advice and his words. (Applause.) I am not going to let America and its great companies and workers be taken advantage of us any longer. They have taken advantage of our country. No longer. (Applause.)

I am going to bring back millions of jobs. Protecting our workers also means reforming our system of legal immigration. (Applause.) The current, outdated system depresses wages for our poorest workers, and puts great pressure on taxpayers. Nations around the world, like Canada, Australia and many others, have a merit-based immigration system. (Applause.) It's a basic principle that those seeking to enter a country ought to be able to support themselves financially. Yet, in America, we do not enforce this rule, straining the very public resources that our poorest citizens rely upon. According to the National Academy of Sciences, our current immigration system costs American taxpayers many billions of dollars a year.

Switching away from this current system of lower-skilled immigration, and instead adopting a merit-based system, we will have so many more benefits. It will save countless dollars, raise workers' wages, and help struggling families -- including immigrant families -- enter the middle class. And they will do it quickly, and they will be very, very happy, indeed. (Applause.)

I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible, as long as we focus on the following goals: To improve jobs and wages for Americans; to strengthen our nation's security; and to restore respect for our laws. If we are guided by the wellbeing of American citizens, then I believe Republicans and Democrats can work together to achieve an outcome that has eluded our country for decades. (Applause.)

Another Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, initiated the last truly great national infrastructure program -- the building of the Interstate Highway System. The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding. (Applause.)America has spent approximately $6 trillion in the Middle East -- all the while our infrastructure at home is crumbling. With this $6 trillion, we could have rebuilt our country twice, and maybe even three times if we had people who had the ability to negotiate. (Applause.)

To launch our national rebuilding, I will be asking Congress to approve legislation that produces a $1 trillion investment in infrastructure of the United States -- financed through both public and private capital -- creating millions of new jobs. (Applause.) This effort will be guided by two core principles: buy American and hire American. (Applause.)

Tonight, I am also calling on this Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare -- (applause) -- with reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower costs, and, at the same time, provide better healthcare. (Applause.)

Mandating every American to buy government-approved health insurance was never the right solution for our country. (Applause.) The way to make health insurance available to everyone is to lower the cost of health insurance, and that is what we are going do. (Applause.)

Obamacare premiums nationwide have increased by double and triple digits. As an example, Arizona went up 116 percent last year alone. Governor Matt Bevin of Kentucky just said Obamacare is failing in his state -- the state of Kentucky -- and it's unsustainable and collapsing.

One-third of counties have only one insurer, and they are losing them fast. They are losing them so fast. They are leaving, and many Americans have no choice at all. There’s no choice left. Remember when you were told that you could keep your doctor and keep your plan? We now know that all of those promises have been totally broken. Obamacare is collapsing, and we must act decisively to protect all Americans. (Applause.)

Action is not a choice, it is a necessity. So I am calling on all Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work with us to save Americans from this imploding Obamacare disaster. (Applause.)

Here are the principles that should guide the Congress as we move to create a better healthcare system for all Americans:

First, we should ensure that Americans with preexisting conditions have access to coverage, and that we have a stable transition for Americans currently enrolled in the healthcare exchanges. (Applause.)

Secondly, we should help Americans purchase their own coverage through the use of tax credits and expanded Health Savings Accounts -- but it must be the plan they want, not the plan forced on them by our government. (Applause.)

Thirdly, we should give our great state governors the resources and flexibility they need with Medicaid to make sure no one is left out. (Applause.)

Fourth, we should implement legal reforms that protect patients and doctors from unnecessary costs that drive up the price of insurance, and work to bring down the artificially high price of drugs, and bring them down immediately. (Applause.)

And finally, the time has come to give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines -- (applause) -- which will create a truly competitive national marketplace that will bring costs way down and provide far better care. So important.

Everything that is broken in our country can be fixed. Every problem can be solved. And every hurting family can find healing and hope.

Our citizens deserve this, and so much more -- so why not join forces and finally get the job done, and get it done right? (Applause.) On this and so many other things, Democrats and Republicans should get together and unite for the good of our country and for the good of the American people. (Applause.)

My administration wants to work with members of both parties to make childcare accessible and affordable, to help ensure new parents that they have paid family leave -- (applause) -- to invest in women's health, and to promote clean air and clean water, and to rebuild our military and our infrastructure. (Applause.)

True love for our people requires us to find common ground, to advance the common good, and to cooperate on behalf of every American child who deserves a much brighter future.

An incredible young woman is with us this evening, who should serve as an inspiration to us all. Today is Rare Disease Day, and joining us in the gallery is a rare disease survivor, Megan Crowley. (Applause.)

Megan was diagnosed with Pompe disease, a rare and serious illness, when she was 15 months old. She was not expected to live past five. On receiving this news, Megan's dad, John, fought with everything he had to save the life of his precious child. He founded a company to look for a cure, and helped develop the drug that saved Megan's life. Today she is 20 years old and a sophomore at Notre Dame. (Applause.)

Megan's story is about the unbounded power of a father's love for a daughter. But our slow and burdensome approval process at the Food and Drug Administration keeps too many advances, like the one that saved Megan's life, from reaching those in need. If we slash the restraints, not just at the FDA but across our government, then we will be blessed with far more miracles just like Megan. (Applause.) In fact, our children will grow up in a nation of miracles.

But to achieve this future, we must enrich the mind and the souls of every American child. Education is the civil rights issue of our time. (Applause.) I am calling upon members of both parties to pass an education bill that funds school choice for disadvantaged youth, including millions of African American and Latino children. (Applause.) These families should be free to choose the public, private, charter, magnet, religious, or home school that is right for them. (Applause.)

Joining us tonight in the gallery is a remarkable woman, Denisha Merriweather. As a young girl, Denisha struggled in school and failed third grade twice. But then she was able to enroll in a private center for learning -- a great learning center -- with the help of a tax credit and a scholarship program.

Today, she is the first in her family to graduate, not just from high school, but from college. Later this year she will get her master’s degree in social work. We want all children to be able to break the cycle of poverty just like Denisha. (Applause.)

But to break the cycle of poverty, we must also break the cycle of violence. The murder rate in 2015 experienced its largest single-year increase in nearly half a century. In Chicago, more than 4,000 people were shot last year alone, and the murder rate so far this year has been even higher. This is not acceptable in our society. (Applause.)

Every American child should be able to grow up in a safe community, to attend a great school, and to have access to a high-paying job. (Applause.) But to create this future, we must work with, not against -- not against -- the men and women of law enforcement. (Applause.) We must build bridges of cooperation and trust -- not drive the wedge of disunity and, really, it's what it is, division. It's pure, unadulterated division. We have to unify.

Police and sheriffs are members of our community. They're friends and neighbors, they're mothers and fathers, sons and daughters -- and they leave behind loved ones every day who worry about whether or not they'll come home safe and sound. We must support the incredible men and women of law enforcement. (Applause.)

And we must support the victims of crime. I have ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create an office to serve American victims. The office is called VOICE -- Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement. We are providing a voice to those who have been ignored by our media and silenced by special interests. (Applause.) Joining us in the audience tonight are four very brave Americans whose government failed them. Their names are Jamiel Shaw, Susan Oliver, Jenna Oliver, and Jessica Davis.

Jamiel's 17-year-old son was viciously murdered by an illegal immigrant gang member who had just been released from prison. Jamiel Shaw, Jr. was an incredible young man, with unlimited potential who was getting ready to go to college where he would have excelled as a great college quarterback. But he never got the chance. His father, who is in the audience tonight, has become a very good friend of mine. Jamiel, thank you. Thank you. (Applause.)

Also with us are Susan Oliver and Jessica Davis. Their husbands, Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver and Detective Michael Davis, were slain in the line of duty in California. They were pillars of their community. These brave men were viciously gunned down by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record and two prior deportations. Should have never been in our country.

Sitting with Susan is her daughter, Jenna. Jenna, I want you to know that your father was a hero, and that tonight you have the love of an entire country supporting you and praying for you. (Applause.)

To Jamiel, Jenna, Susan and Jessica, I want you to know that we will never stop fighting for justice. Your loved ones will never, ever be forgotten. We will always honor their memory. (Applause.)

Finally, to keep America safe, we must provide the men and women of the United States military with the tools they need to prevent war -- if they must -- they have to fight and they only have to win. (Applause.)

I am sending Congress a budget that rebuilds the military, eliminates the defense sequester -- (applause) -- and calls for one of the largest increases in national defense spending in American history. My budget will also increase funding for our veterans. Our veterans have delivered for this nation, and now we must deliver for them. (Applause.)

The challenges we face as a nation are great, but our people are even greater. And none are greater or braver than those who fight for America in uniform. (Applause.)

We are blessed to be joined tonight by Carryn Owens, the widow of a U.S. Navy Special Operator, Senior Chief William "Ryan" Owens. Ryan died as he lived: a warrior and a hero, battling against terrorism and securing our nation. (Applause.) I just spoke to our great General Mattis, just now, who reconfirmed that -- and I quote -- "Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies." Ryan's legacy is etched into eternity. Thank you. (Applause.) And Ryan is looking down, right now -- you know that -- and he is very happy because I think he just broke a record. (Laughter and applause.)

For as the Bible teaches us, "There is no greater act of love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." Ryan laid down his life for his friends, for his country, and for our freedom. And we will never forget Ryan. (Applause.)

To those allies who wonder what kind of a friend America will be, look no further than the heroes who wear our uniform. Our foreign policy calls for a direct, robust and meaningful engagement with the world. It is American leadership based on vital security interests that we share with our allies all across the globe.

We strongly support NATO, an alliance forged through the bonds of two world wars that dethroned fascism, and a Cold War, and defeated communism. (Applause.)

But our partners must meet their financial obligations. And now, based on our very strong and frank discussions, they are beginning to do just that. In fact, I can tell you, the money is pouring in. Very nice. (Applause.) We expect our partners -- whether in NATO, the Middle East, or in the Pacific -- to take a direct and meaningful role in both strategic and military operations, and pay their fair share of the cost. Have to do that.

We will respect historic institutions, but we will respect the foreign rights of all nations, and they have to respect our rights as a nation also. (Applause.) Free nations are the best vehicle for expressing the will of the people, and America respects the right of all nations to chart their own path. My job is not to represent the world. My job is to represent the United States of America. (Applause.)

But we know that America is better off when there is less conflict, not more. We must learn from the mistakes of the past. We have seen the war and the destruction that have ravaged and raged throughout the world -- all across the world. The only long-term solution for these humanitarian disasters, in many cases, is to create the conditions where displaced persons can safely return home and begin the long, long process of rebuilding. (Applause.)

America is willing to find new friends, and to forge new partnerships, where shared interests align. We want harmony and stability, not war and conflict. We want peace, wherever peace can be found.

America is friends today with former enemies. Some of our closest allies, decades ago, fought on the opposite side of these terrible, terrible wars. This history should give us all faith in the possibilities for a better world. Hopefully, the 250th year for America will see a world that is more peaceful, more just, and more free.

On our 100th anniversary, in 1876, citizens from across our nation came to Philadelphia to celebrate America's centennial. At that celebration, the country's builders and artists and inventors showed off their wonderful creations. Alexander Graham Bell displayed his telephone for the first time. Remington unveiled the first typewriter. An early attempt was made at electric light. Thomas Edison showed an automatic telegraph and an electric pen. Imagine the wonders our country could know in America's 250th year. (Applause.)

Think of the marvels we can achieve if we simply set free the dreams of our people. Cures to the illnesses that have always plagued us are not too much to hope. American footprints on distant worlds are not too big a dream. Millions lifted from welfare to work is not too much to expect. And streets where mothers are safe from fear, schools where children learn in peace, and jobs where Americans prosper and grow are not too much to ask. (Applause.)

When we have all of this, we will have made America greater than ever before -- for all Americans. This is our vision. This is our mission. But we can only get there together. We are one people, with one destiny. We all bleed the same blood. We all salute the same great American flag. And we all are made by the same God. (Applause.)

When we fulfill this vision, when we celebrate our 250 years of glorious freedom, we will look back on tonight as when this new chapter of American Greatness began. The time for small thinking is over. The time for trivial fights is behind us. We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts, the bravery to express the hopes that stir our souls, and the confidence to turn those hopes and those dreams into action.

From now on, America will be empowered by our aspirations, not burdened by our fears; inspired by the future, not bound by the failures of the past; and guided by our vision, not blinded by our doubts.

I am asking all citizens to embrace this renewal of the American spirit. I am asking all members of Congress to join me in dreaming big, and bold, and daring things for our country. I am asking everyone watching tonight to seize this moment. Believe in yourselves, believe in your future, and believe, once more, in America.

Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States. (Applause.)

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10:09 P.M. EST