President Donald Trump in his State of the Union, made compromise and working across the aisle the cornerstone of his speech. By making this his message, Trump established he is the leader our nation needs in this time of division. Instead of entrenching himself in partisan politics, he extended a hand in good faith to Democrats. In doing so the president moved from the right towards the center, showing Republicans, Democrats, and everyone else he wants to compromise.
Trump showcased this willingness to compromise with his core campaign issue of immigration. While Trump supporters felt dismay over the thought of Trump allowing, “three times as many dreamers as the previous administration” with a path to citizenship; he gave his supporters the proposal of increased boarder security, an end to chain immigration, and a move to merit-based immigration. Trump is trying to balance the wants of two groups on different sides of the issue, but neither side can complain if compromise is how Trump is trying to resolve issues. Both sides are getting some of what they want, but not everything they want. Compromising may seem alien, since Congress cannot even pass a budget, but the founding Fathers thought compromise resulted in the best legislation for America. Democrats should follow President Trump’s lead so our current issues will end with results that are good for the U.S. as a whole.
The theme did not end at signaling for compromise on issues, but Trump also expressed his want to work with Democrats on a range of issues like prison reform, vocational schools, and infrastructure. These three issues have major consequences, if passed will affect generations of Americans. Prison Reform stands to give the prisoners a second chance at life.
Vocational schools could train a workforce for the manufacturing jobs Trump wants to create and bring to the US. The infrastructure proposal would update bridges, roads, airports, and countless other facilities Americans use every day. The reason the president wants Democrats’ cooperation is that it would make passing vital reforms much faster. This not only would look good for Trump, but the public would be pleased with how Congress is working for once. Making this a win win for Trump and the Democrats.
Yet, at the end of the night viewers were left with one question, are the Democrats willing to part take in putting politics aside and doing what is best for the country? Throughout the entire night it seemed the Democrats were more interested sulking then coming together. An example of this is when Trump mentioned Black unemployment being the lowest ever and the black caucus just sat there. No clapping, no sign of celebrating, they just sat there.
Similarly, when the rest of the Democrats had the opportunity to cheer for a compromise or a chance to work together with Republicans, they did nothing. Their silence was accompanied by a Democratic response to the State of the Union saying Trump is a racist, yet Trump said he is “president for all people!”
It seems as though Democrats have no interest in helping the nation but are more interested in committing more theatrics to get votes, instead of doing their jobs and do what is best for the United States. The public can only hope they join President Trump in a willingness to work together and do what is best for America.
– Hunter is a philosophy senior
This column is apart of a Talk It Out series. The opposing argument to this article can be found here.