How much are we supposed to believe this? In his State of the Union Address, U.S. President Donald Trump took a forward-looking attitude toward conciliation with the opposition Democratic Party. It remains to be seen whether the ruling and opposition parties will be able to reach a compromise, however, because the President also insisted on building a wall on the Mexican border. It is probably best to assume that political turmoil will continue in the U.S.
The President’s address was filled with sentiments like “our fellow citizens are hoping that we will govern as one nation” and “let’s work together, compromise, and reach a deal.”
The White House had hinted that Mr. Trump might say in his address that he will have the construction costs for the wall disbursed without congressional approval by using his presidential authority to declare a national emergency.
It gives us peace of mind for the time being that U.S. public opinion did not fall to the nadir of being split down the middle.
Construction of a wall has the symbolic significance of showing resolute determination to block the influx of illegal immigrants, and the policy is highly regarded by the white poor, who are President Trump’s core supporters. That having been said, it is not clear whether the wall will have an impact worth investing the huge sum of $5 billion, and it cannot be denied that it is encouraging a sentiment of racial discrimination.
If the ruling and opposition parties cannot reach an agreement on the wall construction issue by the time the stopgap bill expires, the government will be driven into a shutdown once again. During the December to January shutdown, various services were hindered, including airport control operations. Moreover, foreign tourists were inconvenienced.
The Trump administration should assess the situation realistically and make sincere efforts to compromise this time.
The investigation into suspicions that Russia lent Mr. Trump a helping hand in his election in the 2016 U.S. presidential race is entering its final stages. It would be outrageous if the administration were intentionally aggravating the wall issue to create a distraction from the investigation.
It is unfortunate that the State of the Union Address focused so much on internal issues and did not include very many concrete references to the future direction of America’s foreign policy, which is something the world wants to know.
“Great nations do not fight endless wars.” Many view this statement as a move that anticipates [America’s] withdrawal from Syria and then Afghanistan, but does the statement also include the nuance of withdrawing U.S. forces from Europe and East Asia, something the President has mentioned from time to time?
This is something Japan would like to know as it would be impacted [by such a move]. We have had enough of being tossed around by Mr. Trump whose manner makes even allies become beset with doubts and fears.
