President Donald Trump took to the podium last night, February 4, for his State of the Union address, where he covered a wide range of issues, from the economy and healthcare to immigration and the military.
Trump listed what he believes to be his biggest accomplishments in office, giving economic growth and the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement a special mention.
However, the president made some pretty bold claims in his speech, which Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi described as a ‘manifesto of mistruths’, several of which have been proven to be exaggerated or factually incorrect.
Check out Pelosi’s response here:
Trump spoke about a healthcare system that is both ‘affordable’ and ‘high quality’, which he said ‘will always protect patients with pre-existing conditions’. However, this is completely contradicted by the fact health experts insist the president has often supported bids to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which would remove consumer protection for patients living with pre-existing conditions.
Jonathan Oberlander, a health policy professor at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, told Politifact:
He supported, and continues to support, efforts to repeal the ACA that would take those consumer protections away.
Trump also touched on one of the signature promises of his controversial campaign: the border wall between the US and Mexico. Offering an update on the construction, Trump said more than 100 miles of the ‘long, tall and very powerful wall’ have been built and that more than 500 miles will be completed by ‘early next year’.
However, information from officials is rather vague, with Acting Commissioner for US Customs and Border Protection Mark Morgan saying in December that officials had planned to complete 450 miles of the wall by the end of 2020, admitting that they may not hit target.
Despite this, just a month earlier, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf said they were ‘on track’ to complete 450 or 500 miles by the end of the year.
During his speech, Trump went on to criticise Democratic lawmakers and candidates’ support in providing what he describes as ‘unlimited free healthcare’ to undocumented immigrants.
He told the room:
If forcing American taxpayers to provide unlimited free healthcare to illegal aliens sounds fair to you, then stand with the radical left.
However, providing healthcare for undocumented immigrants has had support from both parties in the past, after President Ronald Reagan signed an omnibus budget law in 1986 that included the Emergency Treatment and Active Labor Act: an act requiring hospitals to treat anyone who arrives at an emergency room, regardless of their ability to pay or their citizenship status.
Trump went on to credit his own administration’s ‘bold regulatory reduction campaign’ by turning the US into ‘the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world, by far’.
He said:
With the tremendous progress we have made over the past three years, America is now energy independent, and energy jobs, like so many elements of our country, are at a record high.
We are doing numbers that no one would have thought possible just three years ago.
CNN’s Facts First states: ‘The US did not become the world’s top energy producer under Trump: It took the top spot under the Obama administration in 2012, according to the US government’s Energy Information Administration.’
However, much of the states’ increase in production is down to technological innovation, according to the US Energy Information Administration, which means Trump can’t assume all the credit.
According to Kyle Isakower, Vice President for Regulatory and Economic Policy at the American Petroleum Institute, Trump’s policies have been a ‘mixed bag’ for the industry, with his steel tariffs driving up cost.
Many are concerned these changes could affect the energy sector negatively in the long term, with some oil and gas lobbyists worrying deregulation has gone too far.
The controversial speech was met with disdain from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who was seen quite literally ripping up the paper it was written on.
When asked why she tore up the transcript, Pelosi told the press:
Because it was the courteous thing to do. It was the courteous thing to do considering the alternative.
She later branded the speech ‘dirty’ and called it a ‘manifesto of mistruths’.
The White House responded by accusing Pelosi of disrespecting the Americans Trump had praised in his State of the Union speech.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.