Calling For 'Renewal Of The American Spirit ' Trump Outlines His Vision : NPR
Calling For 'Renewal Of  The American Spirit ' Trump Outlines His Vision
President Trump  pushed the reset button after a rocky first month in office  delivering an on-message joint address to Congress that outlined his vision for America.
"I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength  and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart  " Trump  said at the outset  declaring that "the torch of truth  liberty and justice ... is now in our hands. And we will use it to light up the world."
"The time for trivial fights is behind us  " Trump  declared at the end of  his  speech â a somewhat ironic statement given  his  proclivity for picking Twitter fights and zeroing in on petty things like disputes over the size of  his  inauguration crowd.
But throughout the more than hourlong address  Trump heeded that call  as  he  himself implored the country to "embrace this renewal of the American spirit."
 Trump  began the speech by touting the accomplishments  he  has already checked off in office â including withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership  ordering construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines  he  argued would create jobs  and nominating conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
But on what  he  would still do in office   Trump  was often short on specifics and instead spoke in  his  usual broad generalities.
 Trump  redoubled on Republicans' longtime campaign promise to repeal and replace Obamacare  even as the GOP has had difficulty coalescing around one replacement.
 Trump  said  he  still wants to ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions are covered and also said  he  supports letting people purchase plans "through the use of tax credits and expanded health savings accounts" and "to give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines."
There were also some head fakes from the administration. While  Trump  told news anchors in a lunch meeting earlier Tuesday  he  was open to bipartisan immigration overhaul  that never made it into  his  speech.
 Instead  Trump  continued to hew to hard-line rhetoric on immigration  recognizing families  he  invited to the speech who had lost loved ones to crimes committed by unauthorized immigrants.  He  announced  he  had ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create a new office called "VOICE" â Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement â that would provide "a voice to those who have been ignored by our media  and silenced by special interests."
 He  still stood behind  his  call for "the construction of a great wall along our Southern border" to curb unauthorized immigrants  though  he  omitted a line from  his  prepared remarks that promised it would start ahead of schedule.
 Trump  didn't offer a specific defense of  his  controversial travel ban that affected seven Muslim-majority countries and was later halted by a federal court.  The administration  is expected to issue a new executive order this week.
But  he  did offer a broader  more muted than usual  pushback to the order's critics  saying that "it is not compassionate  but reckless  to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur. Those given the high honor of admission to the United States should support this country and love its people and its values."
 Trump  still did have some of  his  usual bombast  though it was far more muted. Instead of boasting about how the political pundits had underestimated  him  and crowing about  his  electoral win  the president instead sought to harness the movement that had surprisingly thrust  him  into office.
"The rebellion started as a quiet protest  spoken by families of all colors and creeds â families who just wanted a fair shot for their children  and a fair hearing for their concerns  " Trump  said. "But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus â as thousands of citizens now spoke out together  from cities small and large  all across our country.
Calling For 'Renewal Of  The American Spirit ' Trump Outlines  [TGT] 
pushed the reset button after a rocky first month in office  delivering an on-message joint address to Congress that outlined his vision for America.
"I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength  and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart   [TGT] said at the outset  declaring that "the torch of truth  liberty and justice ... is now in our hands. And we will use it to light up the world."
"The time for trivial fights is behind us   [TGT] declared at the end of   [TGT]   speech â a somewhat ironic statement given   [TGT]   proclivity for picking Twitter fights and zeroing in on petty things like disputes over the size of   [TGT]   inauguration crowd.
But throughout the more than hourlong address  Trump heeded that call  as   [TGT]   himself implored the country to "embrace this renewal of the American spirit. [TGT] 
began the speech by touting the accomplishments   [TGT]   has already checked off in office â including withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership  ordering construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines   [TGT]   argued would create jobs  and nominating conservative Judge Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.
But on what   [TGT]   would still do in office    [TGT] was often short on specifics and instead spoke in   [TGT]   usual broad generalities.
  [TGT] redoubled on Republicans' longtime campaign promise to repeal and replace Obamacare  even as the GOP has had difficulty coalescing around one replacement.
  [TGT] said   [TGT]   still wants to ensure that Americans with pre-existing conditions are covered and also said   [TGT]   supports letting people purchase plans "through the use of tax credits and expanded health savings accounts" and "to give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines."
There were also some head fakes from the administration. While   [TGT] told news anchors in a lunch meeting earlier Tuesday  he  was open to bipartisan immigration overhaul  that never made it into  his  speech.
 Instead   [TGT]   continued to hew to hard-line rhetoric on immigration  recognizing families  he  invited to the speech who had lost loved ones to crimes committed by unauthorized immigrants.  He  announced  he  had ordered the Department of Homeland Security to create a new office called "VOICE" â Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement â that would provide "a voice to those who have been ignored by our media  and silenced by special interests."
 He  still stood behind  his  call for "the construction of a great wall along our Southern border" to curb unauthorized immigrants  though  he  omitted a line from  his  prepared remarks that promised it would start ahead of schedule.
  [TGT] didn't offer a specific defense of   [TGT]   controversial travel ban that affected seven Muslim-majority countries and was later halted by a federal court.  The administration  is expected to issue a new executive order this week.
But  he  did offer a broader  more muted than usual  pushback to the order's critics  saying that "it is not compassionate  but reckless  to allow uncontrolled entry from places where proper vetting cannot occur. Those given the high honor of admission to the United States should support this country and love its people and its values. [TGT] 
still did have some of   [TGT]   usual bombast  though it was far more muted. Instead of boasting about how the political pundits had underestimated   [TGT]   and crowing about   [TGT]   electoral win  the president instead sought to harness the movement that had surprisingly thrust   [TGT]   into office.
"The rebellion started as a quiet protest  spoken by families of all colors and creeds â families who just wanted a fair shot for their children  and a fair hearing for their concerns   [TGT] said. "But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus â as thousands of citizens now spoke out together  from cities small and large  all across our country.