Trump to call for unity and ‘comity’ in State of the Union address | World News - Hindustan Times
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Trump to call for unity and ‘comity’ in State of the Union address

Hindustan Times, Washington | ByYashwant Raj
Feb 05, 2019 09:11 PM IST

US president Donald Trump will call for unity and “comity” in his State of the Union address later Tuesday amidst a continuing political standoff over a border wall.

US president Donald Trump will call for unity and “comity” in his State of the Union address later Tuesday amidst a continuing political standoff over a border wall he vowed to build as a candidate and which has now set his presidency on a collision course with Democrats who are determined to block its funding.

US president Donald Trump will call for unity and “comity” in his State of the Union address later Tuesday amidst a continuing political standoff over a border wall.(REUTERS)
US president Donald Trump will call for unity and “comity” in his State of the Union address later Tuesday amidst a continuing political standoff over a border wall.(REUTERS)

Previewing the address over the past some days, White House aides have indicated the President will lay out a “visionary” and “aspirational” path for the nation, talk about successes and achievements of his administration, specially on the economic front — the “economy is on fire”, said one official.

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But the President said he will also call upon the Congress for unity. He is likely to say, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in interview on Fox New Monday, “We can either work together and get great things done or we can fight each other and get nothing done.”

White House adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters earlier on Monday the president will use the address to “call for an end to the politics of resistance, retribution and call for more comity – c-o-m-i-t-y”.

Since Democrats took control of the House of Representatives in January, President Trump has faced a determined opposition that was missing in his first two years in office, resulting, among other things, the longest federal government shutdown in history. Essentially on account of the wall.

His calls for unity and comity will be taken in the larger context of his willingness to work with Democrats also. In a tweet on Sunday, he urged Republicans to be prepared for anything — possibly a declaration of national emergency after the address as he has indicated — and slammed Democrats for “doing nothing”.

Immigration will be one of the five major areas he will focus on in his address, according to a senior administration official, who previewed the address and the border situation will get more attention. Also likely, he could address other areas of immigration, such as H-1B.

The official refused to say if the President will address the work visa programme for highly skilled foreign workers. Trump spoke at length on reforming the legal immigration system in his 2018 address — switching to merit-based immigration from family-based.

The other four areas will be diplomacy and military issues — he might announce the date for this second summit with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, the wars in Afghanistan and Syria; infrastructure building; healthcare; and trade, which could take him to the ongoing tariff war with China that has remained unresolved despite a recent round of talks.

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