Forty days into his presidency, President Donald Trump arrived Tuesday night to cheers and applause, to address a special joint session of Congress.
Starting out with a message of hope for a divided nation by marking the conclusion of Black History Month, Trump set the tone of a speech that would ultimately be one calling for unity.
“I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength, and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart,” he said.
He began by addressing the recent targeting of Jewish community centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as a shooting in Kansas City last week, as a reminder “that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms.”
The opening received great applause from both sides of the aisle. However, for the bulk of the rest of his speech the response was mainly along partisan lines, with a near-constant standing ovation from Republicans, and Democrats mostly subdued.
