Trump’s aggressive State of the Union address

US President Donald Trump loves to be aggressive and say things that enrage his opponents, especially the Democrats. And this is what he did in his State of the Union address to the joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

In doing so, Trump goes overboard. He overstates his successes like any politician. But he also exaggerates the issues he is opposed to. For example, his stand on illegal immigrants is absolutely straightforward. No country can accept illegal immigration. But Trump goes further, and very far, from the truth when he says that criminals and murderers are entering the US. There must be criminals and murderers among the illegal immigrants. But a majority of them are helpless and poor people, who are seeking a better life.

Of course, America cannot keep its doors open to all the poor people of the world. But America has its own self-interest when it accepts people from other countries. It needs people to participate in its economic activities, some of which Americans themselves do not want to do. One of them is that of harvesting. So most immigrants play an important, responsible, useful role in the American economy.

Trump is not merely exaggerating about the menace of illegal immigrants. He is being untruthful. Americans themselves are not willing to accept Trump’s claims either about illegal immigrants or about the economy. The president claimed that the economy was doing better than ever before, and that America has entered the “golden age”. It is not a mere exaggeration but untrue because the rich and the poor alike are worried about the state of the economy.

He said that inflation has plummeted. It has plummeted only with regard to certain items. Food inflation is still high and people are feeling the pinch. Economic experts are of the view that inflation is still on the higher side. That Americans do not believe all that their president says in reflected in the Reuters/IPSOS poll, and the approval rating of Trump stood at 36 per cent.

Political observers have said that Trump was asked by his advisers to focus on the economy because Republicans are worried about the mid-term elections in November.

The economic uncertainty that is bothering a majority of Americans is a factor that Republicans seeking reelection cannot ignore. So, Trump in his own characteristic style spoke about the success of his economic policies, mentioned the tax cuts, the fall in inflation, and the rise in stock market prices as well as foreign direct investment. Despite the tax cuts, relatively low inflation, and soaring stock market valuations and rise in FDI, there are the real problems about cost of living which is affecting even the middle classes in the world’s richest economy.

Given his bravado, Trump was expected to announce that America will attack Iran. All that Trump would say is that he would not allow Iran to possess the nuclear bomb. This has been the American policy in all the administrations because Iran is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).

There is the obvious pressure of Iran on the American policy. But the issue of the nuclear bomb is tied up with NPT. Of course, Trump would not care much about NPT even if his aides had briefed him about it. Iran’s nuclear capability is seen as tilting the balance of regional balance of power by its neighbours.

Iran’s official position is that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes like generating electricity. So, the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme is a complicated one. Talks between Iran and US are underway. That Trump did not announce a war with Iran in his State of the Union address has been greeted with a sigh of relief in America and in the Middle East.