U.S. President Donald Trump gave his State of the Union address Tuesday night in Washington — delayed a week after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi rescinded her previous invitation to speak because of the 35-day U.S. government shutdown. The White House promised unity and a bipartisan address after that bitter shutdown fight. While the president made gestures toward Democrats, his remarks more closely resembled one of his usual stump speeches, hammering familiar themes and offering little evidence of a shift that recognized the new political realities in Washington. That failure suggests a difficult two more years for the president. Gridlock will likely result and U.S. allies and partners, including Japan, must prepare for inaction from the U.S. government.
As is to be expected of a speech titled "the state of the union," most of Trump's remarks focused on domestic developments. He began by declaring "the state of our union is strong" and went on to applaud the "economic miracle" taking place in the United States. He pivoted to his favorite bete noir — illegal immigration — and devoted the largest part of his speech to that troubling and divisive topic.
Those remarks echoed speeches and comments he has made over the last few months and, worryingly, seemed unaffected by the battle he fought and lost with Democrats over the government shutdown — which focused on immigration policy — and his inability to move public opinion on this topic in previous speeches. This is worrying because it indicates a refusal to adjust policy or priorities despite the transformation of politics in Washington as the Democrats now control the House of Representatives.