Reaction splits along party lines

Reaction to President Trump’s State of the Union address broke along progressive-conservative lines Tuesday night, with praise from business leaders and criticism from human-rights groups.

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue said the business group shares the president’s “commitment to modernizing America’s infrastructure and welcome his engagement on badly needed immigration reforms.”

But he warned that economic gains from regulatory relief and tax reform “could be erased if we do not stand up for and protect free, fair, and reciprocal trade around the world.”

“It’s clear that if the U.S. isn’t leading on trade, we’re falling behind,” Mr. Donohue said. “Trade is how we shape the reality of the global economy to benefit American workers and businesses.”

Tea Party Patriots Citizens Fund Chairman Jenny Beth Martin said Mr. Trump “reminded the American people of the record-setting successes we’ve seen during his first year in office and laid out important priorities that will help us to continue build a country that is safe, strong and proud.”

“Good things happen when leaders actually keep their promises to the voters,” she said. “The president’s tax cuts and extensive deregulation efforts have unleashed prosperity by reducing the burden of government in our lives after eight years of big government and bigger spending under former President Obama.”

Sen. Roy Blunt, Missouri Republican, said Mr. Trump rightly claimed credit for impressive economic growth.

“As the president made clear tonight, our economy is finally giving Americans a reason to be optimistic about their future, and the future of their kids and grandkids,” he said.

But Sen. Edward Markey, Massachusetts Democrat, and his colleagues slammed Mr. Trump’s speech on a variety of issues, from immigration to expanding the U.S. nuclear arsenal.

“President Trump’s rhetoric about immigrants was rife with the politics of division, targeted squarely at placating the extreme right of his party,” Mr. Markey said.

He added, “No one doubts the strength of America’s current nuclear deterrent. President Trump’s proposal to drastically expand our nuclear arsenal is needless, destabilizing, and increases the risk of nuclear war.”

Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune blasted Mr. Trump’s address, saying “there is nothing presidential about a speech and an administration that embody, at their core, a profound attack on the truth, our health, our families, and our planet.”

“The reason Trump has the lowest approval ratings of any president in history is because his deceit in the service of a hateful, dangerous agenda that only serves the corporate elite, entitled polluters and billionaires knows no bounds,” Mr. Brune said.

Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, assailed the president’s executive order to keep open the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention facility.

“Trump is making a big mistake by doubling down on the national security and human rights disaster that is Guantanamo,” she said. “In trying to give new life to a prison that symbolizes America’s descent into torture and unlawful indefinite detention, Trump will not make this country any safer.”

Rep. Steve King, Iowa Republican, blasted congressional Democrats for refusing to stand for the president, saying “the Congressional Black Caucus took a knee almost all night.” It was a reference to NFL player protests against the national anthem.”They didn’t react to hardly anything. It was like, ’we are going to be the resitance,’ so that was disappointing,” Mr. King said.

He said he enjoyed moments when Mr. Trump gestured to the Democratic side of the room.

“About three times he waved his hands over to the Democrats when it was their turn to applaud and I thought it was well timed,” Mr. King said. “That part was masterful, I thought.”

Sen. Jon Cornyn, Texas Republican, said Democrats should bring more of a spirit of compromise to negotiations on a solution for illegal immigrant “Dreamers” instead of calling Mr. Trump’s proposal a non-starter.

“That means the DACA program is going to fail. I don’t think anybody wants that to happen, so people need to quit taking hard and fast positions and realize that everybody is going to have to compromise to get to a solution,” Mr. Cornyn said. “What he [Mr. Trump] said, it’s a compromise — I don’t think he should back off. He’s the president; you’re not going to pass a bill or get it passed into law without his signature, so you can’t ignore him. It’s going to have to be dealt with.”