In his annual State of the Union address to the 115th United States Congress, POTUS number

45 thundered with strong rhetoric, alternating between workmanlike diligence and careless
indifference.
A sharp contrast to his freewheeling nature, Donald Trump was at his most diplomatic,
delivering one of the more straightforward speeches of his tumultuous term thus far,
straightforward in essence, yet entirely detached from reality. And that was what made
Trump's address peculiar—how normal it felt.
Trump praised courage, highlighted American purpose, thanked people, criticised others,
referred to policies, and rarely strayed into standard Trump territory.
In doing so, he managed to be the one thing he usually never is: boring
At 80 minutes, the speech was long-drawn and offered little in way of thematic unison. A
“new American moment” underscored the speech's core—a Hillary Clinton idea,
surprisingly; or maybe not.
“Let us begin tonight by recognising that the state of our union is strong because our people
are strong,” the man in front of the podium started.
American integrity and its implications on the state were evidently on Trump's mind before
he segued into an exposition about the economy, one which currently stands strong.
The president was assertive as he described the favourable financial situation, opposed to his
typical plaintive manner.
“Since the election, we have created 2.4 million new jobs, including 200,000 new jobs in
manufacturing alone,” he said. “After years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising
wages. Unemployment claims have hit a 45-year low. African American unemployment
stands at the lowest rate ever recorded, and Hispanic American unemployment has also
reached the lowest levels in history.”
He devoted time to a series of achievements while circumventing the Russian probe
altogether. Boast after boast echoed over discordant themes of reduced taxation and
optimism, the tax cuts a clear appeal to an electorate which is slowly losing interest, the very
same tax cuts which were falsely presented as the largest in history.
With no unifying theme and his best bits relegated to the moments spent on invited guests,
the Donald was at his frustrating best.
Favourable terms were set for the future, extending hope for illegal immigrants in his first
decided take on the issue, outlining four pillars of a framework, legislating the possibility for
"Dreamers" to become 'full citizens of the United States over a 12-year period.' It's
remarkable to see Trump make a personal statement on the issue, given that both parties have
often accused Trump of not being clear on his stance on immigration. He also dedicated a
considerable section of the speech to warning about the dangers of the MS-13 gang and
calling for measures to stop it.
In one of the many instances of nonchalance, on the topic of the Obamacare repeal, Trump
decided the elimination of the individual mandate was enough to claim victory, keeping with
the Trumpian ideal of never subscribing to the truth.
As with most State of the Union addresses, foreign policy was briefly dealt with towards the
end of the speech. Trump lauded his troops' efforts in freeing Iraq and Syria from ISIS
holdings.
'I am proud to report that the coalition to defeat ISIS has liberated very close to 100 percent
of the territory just recently once held by these killers in Iraq and Syria and in other locations
as well.'
Trump briefly mentioned that he had signed an executive order to keep the prison at
Guantánamo Bay open, and appealed to the Congress to eliminate the sequester, allowing the
government to act freely. He ignored the peace process while praising the decision to
recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital, and asked Congress to end foreign aid to countries
which voted against the move.
In a restrained effort, Trump stayed clear of attacking the Democrats, made no mention of the
FBI or defended his position on the Russia issue. All of which starkly contrasts with his usual
instinct to instigate, but yet, apparent composure isn't a good look on Trump.
To no one’s surprise, the left-wing was barely affected over the course of the 80-minute
address—circumscribed by Trump's standards—but there was enough shallow bite to elicit
cheers from the GOP faithful.