US President Donald Trump called upon lawmakers on Tuesday to work toward bipartisan compromises, but pushed a hardline on immigration, insisting on a border wall and other concessions from Democrats as part of any deal to protect the children of illegal immigrants.
Ahead of Trump’s State of the Union speech, Democrats had said they hoped to see signs from the president that he would give ground on the contentious issue of whether to shield young immigrants known as “Dreamers” from deportation.
But the president, aiming to keep conservative supporters happy as he looks to November congressional elections, stood by a set of principles opposed by Democrats, including the border wall with Mexico and new restrictions on how many family members that legal immigrants can bring into the United States.
“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 we were elected to serve,” Trump said in his first State of the Union address to Congress.
Trump used the hour-and-20-minute speech, given annually by presidents to Congress, to try to overcome doubts about his presidency at a time when he is battling a probe into his campaign’s alleged ties with Russia and suffering low job approval ratings, reports Reuters.
Trump made no mention of the federal probe into whether his campaign colluded with Russia in the 2016 presidential election, a controversy that is dogging his presidency. Trump has denied collusion and has called the probe a “witch hunt.”
The speech was short on details about Trump’s policy proposals.
There was little sign of unity inside the House of Representatives chamber where Trump spoke. Republican lawmakers cheered wildly at the president’s applause lines. Democrats often sat in their seats silently and many booed when he laid out his immigration proposals.