Im bring golf its good to have you with those it is prime time on the east coast of the United States time for u. S. President dont try to deliver his first ever state of the Union Address the eyes and ears of the nation and much of the world are focused on capitol hill in washington d. C. That is where trump wall for his own report card to the country after a year of america for sed were looking at live pictures right now inside the u. S. Capitol. And we are expecting the u. S. President to enter any moment now we just saw some members of his cabinet enter the chamber including the secretary of state mr tillerson it looks like there you can see that theyre preparing for the announcement that the president is about to enter the room and we would sort of remind you what is going to take place tonight were expecting the u. S. President to tell the successes of his first year in office including tax reform he is also expected to highlights the ninety nine new record highs that have been set on stock markets since he took office and he is also likely to call on the u. S. Congress to revamp immigration policies and to modernize the infrastructure of the United States of those are some of the big agenda items tonight now as part of our coverage in covering this first state of the Union Address were going to have Team Coverage here at the big table with me in the studio is tyson barker he is the Program Director and fellow at the Aspen Institute germany he also served in the u. S. State department ties its good to have you with us and in washington d. C. Is our Washington Bureau chief alexander phenomena she is standing by following events for us from the u. S. Capitol building needs you alexander let me throw it to you alexander i mean were were hearing now there are some leaks there big surprise with this white house about whats going to be in the speech tonight and were hearing that hes going to talk about a new american moment what more can you tell us about what we can expect. Well yes its true it is a big moment for President Trump who has had a tumultuous generate that included a Government Shutdown a tell all book and bombshell reports saying that he had thoughts to fire special counsel Robert Miller so for the president it is a huge opportunity to outline his achievements to talk about his political agenda and according to the white house hes going to strike an optimistic and unifying by approaches and tone according to the excerpts the white house has released he is going to talk about the new american moment he is going to call both parties to democrats and the republicans to Work Together he is going to tell the American People that he is extending an open hand to both parties to work with them to protect the american citizens so he is also expected as you said to tout his accomplishments hes tax reform to point to americas growing economy and to try to convince his audience that all americans are benefiting under his presidency. And he is going in this event tonight with the lowest Approval Ratings the u. S. President has ever had since records have been killed since these polls have been. And with bearing that in mind is he going to present not only himself but his policies and his first year record as you go is this going to be a victory lap for him is he going to say look all the successes look at me the winner. Well. You know president he is always able. To be proud of what he has achieved but as he said the problem. Is that the let me interrupt you were going to go in lets just tune in hes entering the chamber now. Theyre ready to move on you draw. She arrived before her husband tonight understand it was also deserving of a lot of. Discussions she was not in davos last week with the president. And as you can see right there i mean this is the traditional wall of handshakes the president enters into in tights and you seem to some of the times as well i mean. There are people who are exhausting for positions here they want to be able to shake his hands actually this i mean you can tell a lot about the body language about how hes interacting with congress there was an infamous moment where george w. Bush gave a hug to Joe Lieberman that damaged Joe Lieberman the lot in the party in two thousand and six so theres a lot to be read here. And its interesting too that we talked about that point tonight but there are some members of congress who obviously as you saw there feinstein who are not the paulding and there are some members of congress who are not they are their boy taught it right this speech yeah theres a number of members of congress who are there and theres a lot of talk right now in washington about a walkout you know its been hotly debated on the democratic side of the aisle today in basically you know. Do you walk out make a statement and just say that the this polarizer in chief is is really something that we cant use one speech to unify around or do you maintain the institution and decorum of the state of the Union Address and stand there and and respect the office of the presidency even if you dont respect the man thats really the dilemma that a lot of democrats are facing tonight but you you say the polarizer in chief alexander had mentioned that earlier that one goal of this speech is to reach across the aisle to talk in bipartisan terms do we have any reason to believe the president will do that he didnt offer any of that in davos for example last week and people were hoping it would come they are right i mean what you know as Maxine Waters a very prominent democrat said you cant heal the country after so many divisions since the election of twenty sixteen in one speech you know you have to walk the walk lets look here there is. Shaking hands of course with the Vice President there and then paul ryan and lets listen in as president begins its first ever state of the Union Address. Ready thank you. We thought the u. S. President was going to start speaking but he is giving the guest you can see the guests who are up in the gallery they are getting into applause from him. Its tradition for the u. S. President to invite a special guest a common thing thats been part of the tradition that was started back with Ronald Reagan was not used to have. And you can see the president giving. A moment of attention to this pact that was. Thank you but the vision is this of its already visible. See the Supreme Court justice is standing there this is the one occasion when all three branches of the u. S. Government come together. For this and their. Members of congress i had a high privilege and the distinct honor a profession of presenting to you the president of the United States thank you thank you. Thank you thank you. Thank you. Thank you thank you. Mr speaker. Mr Vice President members of congress. The first lady of the United States and my fellow americans less than one year has passed since i first heard at this podium in this majestic chamber to speak on behalf of the American People and to address their concerns their hopes and their dreams. That night our new administration had already taken very swift action. A new tide of optimism was already sweeping across our land each day since we have gone forward with a clear vision and a righteous mission. To make America Great again for all americans thad. Over the last year we have made incredible progress and achieved extraordinary success we have faced challenges we expected and others we could never have imagined we have shared in the heights of victory and the pains of hardship we have endured floods and fires and storms but through it all we have seen the beauty of americas soul and the steel in americas spine. Each test has forged new american heroes to remind us who we are and show us what we can be. We saw the volunteers of the cajun navy racing to the rescue with their fishing boats to save people in the aftermath of a totally devastating hurricane. We saw strangers shielding strangers from a hail of gunfire on the Las Vegas Strip we heard tales of americans like coast guard petty officer ashley leopard. Who is here tonight in the gallery with millennia thad allen thank you. Thank you. Ashley was aboard one of the first helicopters on the scene in euston during the Hurricane Harvey through eighteen hours of wind and rain ashley braved live power lines and deep water to help save more than forty lives actually we all thank you thank you very much thad. Thank you thank you thank you we heard about americans like Firefighter David dahlberg hes here with us also david faced down walls of flame to rescue almost sixty children trapped at a california summer camp threatened by those devastating wildfires to everyone still recovering in texas florida louisiana puerto rico and the virgin islands. Everywhere we are with you we love you and we always will pull through together always thad thank you you. Thank. Thank you. Thank you to david and the brave people of california thank you very much david played. Some trials over the past year touched this chamber very personally with us tonight is one of the toughest people ever to serve in this house a guy who took a bullet almost died and was back to work three and a half months later the legend from louisiana congressman. I had one. Thank. You one thank. I think they like used to call. Were incredibly grateful for the heroic efforts of the Capitol Police officers the Alexandria Police and the doctors nurses and paramedics who saved his life and the lives of many others some in this room in the aftermath yes the oak. In the aftermath of that terrible shooting we came together not as republicans or democrats but as representatives of the people. But it is not enough to come together only in times of tragedy tonight i call upon all of us to set aside our differences to seek out Common Ground and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people. This is really the key these are the people we were elected to serve thad allen thousand over the last year the world has seen what we always knew that no people on earth are so fearless or daring or determined as americans if there is a mountain we climb if theres a frontier we cross and if theres a challenge we tame it. If theres an opportunity we season. So lets begin tonight by recognizing that the state of our union is strong because our people are strong thad. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you thank you and together we are building a safe strong and proud america. Since the election we have created two point four million new jobs including with thank including two hundred thousand new jobs in manufacturing alone so many thanks after years and years of wage stagnation we are finally seeing rising wages thad unemployment claims have hit a forty five year low thanks. In something im very proud of africanamerican unemployment stands at the lowest rate ever recorded was able. And hispanic american unemployment. Has also reached the lowest levels in history thad thanks all Business Confidence is at an all time high the stock market has smashed one record after another gaining eight trillion dollars and more in value in just this short period of time the great news thank you great news for americans for a one k. Retirement pension and College Savings accounts have gone through the roof and just as i promised the American People from this podium eleven months ago we enacted the biggest tax cuts and reforms in American History one at you and thank god that god. Our massive tax cuts provide tremendous relief for the middle class and Small Business to lower tax rates for hardworking americans we nearly doubled the standard deduction for everyone thad now the first twenty four thousand dollars earned by a married couple is completely tax free thank you. Thank you we also doubled the child tax credit. Thad a typical family of four making seventy five thousand dollars will see their tax bill reduced by two thousand dollars slashing their tax bill in half thanks in april this will be the last time you will ever file under the old and very broken system and millions of americans will have more take home pay starting next month a lot more illegal. Thad thank. God thank you. We eliminated and especially cruel tax that fell mostly on americans making less than fifty thousand dollars a year forcing them to pay tremendous penalties simply because they couldnt afford a government ordered health plan. We repealed the core of the disastrous oh pama care the individual mandate is now guy on. The old. Thank you. We slashed the business tax rate from thirty five percent all the way down to twenty one percent so American Companies can compete and win against anyone else anywhere in the world thanks changes alone are estimated to increase average Family Income by more than four thousand dollars a lot of money thank you all businesses have also received a massive tax code and can now deduct twenty percent of their business income here tonight are steve stoute and sandy kepler of stabbed by new faction a small beautiful business in ohio theyve just finished the best year in their twenty year history thanks. Because of tax reform they are handing out raises hiring an additional fourteen people and expanding into the building next door the good feeling thank one of stabs employees corey adams is also with us tonight corey is an all american worker. He supported himself through high school lost his job during the two thousand and eight recession and was later hired by staff where he trained to become a welder like many hard working americans corey plans to invest his tax cut raise into his new home and his two daughters education cory please stand thad thank you. Thank you. And hes a great welder. I was told that by the man that owns that company thats doing so well so congratulations cory. Since we passed tax cuts roughly three million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses many of them thousands and thousands of dollars per worker and its getting more every month every week apple has Just Announced it plans to invest a total of three hundred and fifty billion dollars in america and hire another twenty thousand workers thad. In just a little while ago exxon mobil announced a fifty billion dollars investment in the United States just a little thank this in fact is our new american moment there has never been a better time to start living the American Dream so to every citizen watching at home tonight no matter where youve been or where youve come from this is your time. If you work hard if you believe in yourself if you believe in america and you can dream anything you can be anything and together we can achieve absolutely anything thad thad. Tonight i want to talk about what kind of future were going to have and what kind of a nation were going to be. All of us together as one team one people and one American Family can do anything we all share the same home the same heart the same destiny and the same Great American flag thad allen. The in. Together we are rediscovering the american way in america we know that faith and family not government and bureaucracy well the center of American Life the motto and these god we trust god. One. The in. The illinois. And we celebrate our police our military and our amazing veterans as heroes who deserve our total i know you wavering support will in. Here tonight is preston shop a twelve year old boy from reading california who noticed that veterans graves were not marked with flags on vet. Or instead he decided all by himself to change that and started a movement that has now placed forty thousand flags at the graves of our great heroes preston a Job Well Done was a. A a a. A ok. Thank you. Thank. You young patriots like preston teach all of us about our civic duty as americans and i met person a little while ago and he has something very special that i can tell you great future thank you very much for all youve done preston thank you very much by christians reverence for those who have served our nation reminds us of why we salute our flag why we put our hands on our hearts for the pledge of allegiance and why we proudly stand for the National Anthem it will be able to own. A was. Able merican love their country and they deserve a government that shows them the same love and loyalty in return for the last. Here we have sought to restore the bonds of trust between our citizens and their government. Working with the senate we are appointing judges who will interpret the constitution as written including a great new Supreme Court justice and more Circuit Court judges than any new administration in the history of our country todd thank you we are totally defending our Second Amendment and have taken historic actions to protect religious liberty thank you we are serving our brave veterans including giving our veterans choice in their Health Care Decisions thank. You. Thank you. Thank you last Year Congress also passed and i signed the landmark v. A. Accountability act thanks since its passage my administration has already removed more than one thousand five hundred v. A. Employees who failed to give our veterans the care. They deserve and we are hiring talented people who love our vets as much as we do thank. You and i will not stop until our veterans are properly taken care of which has been my promise to them from the very beginning of this great journey thank you all americans deserve accountability and respect and thats what we are giving to our wonderful heroes our veterans thanks tonight i call on congress to empower every cabinet secretary with the authority to reward good workers and to remove federal employees who undermine the public trust or fail the American People thank you know our drive to make washington accountable we have a limited more regulations in our first year than any administration in the history of our country id thank you. Thank you we have ended the war on American Energy and we have ended the war on beautiful clean coal. Thank you we are now very proudly an exporter of energy to the world thanks in detroit i halted government mandates that crippled americas great beautiful auto workers so that we can get motor city revving its engines again and thats whats happening thank you many Car Companies are now building and expanding plants in the United States something we havent seen for decades chrysler is moving a major plant from mexico to michigan toyota and mazda are opening up a plant in alabama big one and we havent seen this in a long time so all coming back. Thank. You very soon auto plants another plants will be opening up all over our country. This is all news americans are totally unaccustomed to here for many Years Companies and jobs were only leaving us but now they are roaring back to coming back they want to be where the action is they want to be in the United States of america thats will be. Able to eat. Cures and affordable generic drugs last year the f. D. A. Approved more new and generic drugs and medical devices then ever before in our countrys history. Thank you we also believe that patients with terminal conditions terminal illness should have access to experimental treatment immediately that could potentially save their lives people who are terminally ill should not have to go from country to country to seek a cure i want to give them a chance right here at home its time for congress to give these wonderful incredible americans the right to try thank you thank. You thank you one of my greatest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs are bad thank you in many other countries these drugs cost far less than what we pay in the United States and its very very unfair. That is why ive directed my administration to make fixing the injustice of high drug prices one of my Top Priorities for the year thanks and prices will come down substantially watch. America has also finally turned the page or decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies our jobs and our wealth our nation has lost its wealth but were getting it back so fast the era of economic surrender is totally over from now on we expect trading relationships to be fair and very importantly reciprocal thank you will work to fix bad trade deals and negotiate new ones and theyll be good ones but theyll be fair and we will protect American Workers and American Intellectual property through strong enforcement of our trade rules thanks we rebuild our industries it is also time to rebuild our crumbling infrastructure thanks america is a nation of builders we built the Empire State Building in just one year isnt it a disgrace that it can now take ten years just to get a minor permit approved for the building of a simple road. Thank you im asking both parties to come together to give us safe fast reliable and modern infrastructure that our economy needs and our people deserve thank you note im calling on congress to produce a bill that generates at least one point five trillion dollars for the new Infrastructure Investment that our country so desperately needs. Every federal dollar should be leveraged by partnering with state and local governments and where appropriate tapping into private Sector Investment to permanently fix the infrastructure deficit and we can do it thank the bill must also streamline the permit ing an approval process getting it down to no more than two years and perhaps even one together we can reclaim our great Building Heritage thanks we will build the looming new roads bridges highways railways and waterways all across our land and we will do it with american heart in american hands and american grit thanks we want every american to know the dignity of a hard days work we want every child to be safe in their home at night and we want every citizen to be proud of this land that we all love so much. We can lift our citizens from welfare to work from dependence to independence and from poverty to prosperity. I thank i was tax cuts create new jobs lets invest in Workforce Development and lets invest in job training which we need so badly thank lets open great vocational schools so our future workers get a learning graph to realize their full potential thank you lets support working families by supporting paid family leave thank you thank you as america regains its strength opportunity must be extended to all citizens. That is why this year we will embark on reforming our prisons to help former inmates who have served their time get a Second Chance at life thanks struggling communities especially immigrant communities will also be helped by immigration policies that focus on the best interests of American Workers and American Families for decades open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into our most vulnerable communities theyve allowed millions of low wage workers to compete for jobs and wages against the poorest americans most tragically they have caused the loss of many innocent lives here tonight are two fathers and two mothers evelyn red riggers freddie quavers Elizabeth Alvarado and Robert Mickens their two teenage daughters keylock waves and nice americans were Close Friends on long out but in september two thousand and sixteen on the eve of nieces sixteenth birthday such a happy time it should have been neither of them came home. These two precious us were brutally murdered while walking together in their hometown six members of the savage m. S. Thirteen gang have been charged with kayla and nieces murders many of these gang members took advantage of glaring loopholes in our laws to enter the country as illegal unaccompanied alien minors and wound up in kayla and nieces High School Evelyn elizabeth freddy and robert tonight everyone in this chamber is praying for you everyone in america is grieving for you at least and thank you very much thank. You. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you i want you to know that three hundred and twenty million hearts are right now breaking for you we love you thank you. Thank you but we cannot imagine the depths of that kind of sorrow we can make sure that other families never have to endure this kind of pain tonight i am calling on congress to finally plough as the deadly loopholes that have allowed m. S. Thirteen and other criminal gangs to break into our country we have proposed new legislation that will fix our immigration laws and support our ice and Border Patrol agents these are great people these are great great people that work so hard in the midst of such danger so that this can never happen again. Thad allen thank. Thank the United States is a compassionate nation. We are proud that we do more than any other country anywhere in the world to help the needy the struggling and the underprivileged all over the world but as president of the United States my highest loyalty my greatest compassion my constant concern is for americas children americas struggling workers and americas forgotten communities i want our youth to grow up to achieve great things i want our poor to have their chance to rise so tonight i am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties democrats and republicans to protect our citizens of every background color religion and creed thanks. And the sacred duty of every elected official in this chamber is to defend americans to protect their safety their families their communities and their right to the American Dream. Because americans are dreamers to. Thad thousand here tonight is one a leader in the effort to defend our country Homeland Security investigation special agent Seles Tino Martinez he goes by d. J. And c. J. State call me either one. So well call you c. J. Surf if teen years in the air force before becoming an ice ages and spending the last fifteen years fighting Gang Violence and getting dangerous criminals off of our streets. At one point m. S. Thirteen leaders ordered c. J. s murder and they wanted it to happen quickly but he did not cave to threats or to fear last may he commanded an operation to track down gang members on long island his team has arrested nearly four hundred including more than two hundred twenty m. S. Thirteen gang members. And i have to tell you what the Border Patrol and ice have done we have sent thousands and thousands and thousands of m. S. Thirteen horrible people out of this country or into our presence so i just want to congratulate you c. J. Youre a brave guy thank you very much thank you and i asked c. J. Whats the secret he said were just tougher than they are and i like that its thank you now lets get congress to stand you and all of the people in this Great Chamber have to do it we have no choice c. J. Were going to send you reinforcements and were going to send them to you quickly thats what you do thad thanks for the next few weeks the house and senate will be voting on an Immigration Reform package in recent months my administration has met extensively with both democrats and republicans to craft a bipartisan approach to Immigration Reform based on these discussions we presented congress with a detailed proposal that should be supported by both parties as a fair compromise one where nobody gets everything they want but where our country gets the Critical Reforms it needs and must have thang. Thank you here are the four pillars of our plan. The first pillar of our framework generously offers a path to citizenship. For one point eight million Illegal Immigrants who were brought here by their parents at a young age that covers almost three times more people than the Previous Administration covered. Thank you and your our plan those who meet education and work requirements and show good moral character will be able to become full citizens of the United States over a twelve year period thank. The second pillar fully secures the border thank you that means building a great wall on the southern border and it means hiring more heroes like c. J. To keep our communities safe. Thank you surely our plant closes the terrible loopholes exploited by criminals and terrorists to enter our country and it finally ends the horrible and dangerous practice of catch and release thanks to third pillar and the visa lottery a program that randomly hands out green cards without any regard for skill merit or the safety of American People thank you. The e. U. Its time to begin moving toward a merit based immigration system one that admits people who are skilled who want to work who will contribute to our society and who will love and respect our country. The e. U. Fourth and final pillar protects the Nuclear Family by ending chain migration id either. Under the current broken system a single immigrant can bring in virtually unlimited numbers of distant relatives under our plan we focus on the immediate family by limiting sponsorships to spouses and minor children. Id this vital reform is necessary not just for our economy but for our security and for the future of america. In recent weeks two terrorist attacks in new york were made possible by the visa lottery and chain migration in the age of terrorism these programs present risks we can just no longer afford. Its time to thank these outdated immigration rules and finally bring our immigration system into the twenty First Century thanks for pillars represent a down the middle compromise and one that will create a safe modern and lawful immigration system. For over thirty years washington has tried and failed to solve this problem this congress can be the one that finally makes it happen most importantly these four pillars will produce legislation that fulfills my iron clad pledge to sign a bill that puts America First thanks so lets come together set politics aside. And finally get the job done thanks these reforms will also support our response to the terrible crisis of opioid and drug addiction never before has it been like it is now it is terrible we have to do something about it in twenty sixty we lost sixty four thousand americans to drug overdoses one hundred seventy four deaths per day seven per hour we must get much tougher on drug dealers and pushes if we are going to succeed in stopping discords thank my administration is committed to fighting the drug epidemic and helping get treatment for those in need for those who have been so terribly hurt the struggle will be long and it will be difficult but as americans always do in the end we will succeed we will prevail thank you as we have seen tonight the most difficult challenges bring out the best in america. We see a vivid expression of this truth in the story of the ol lets family of new mexico brian hall lets is twenty seven years old an officer with the Albuquerque Police to power hes here tonight with his wife rebecca. Thank. You. Thank you ron thank you aaron was on duty when he saw a pregnant homeless woman preparing to inject heroin when ryan told her she was going to harm her unborn child she began to weep she told him she didnt know where to turn but badly wanted a safe home for her baby in that moment ryan said he felt god speak to him you will do it because you can he heard those words he took out a picture of his wife and their four kids then he went home to tell his wife were back in an instant she agreed to adopt. The whole lets name their new daughter hope. Ryan and rebecca you embody the goodness of our nation thank you thad who. Won thank you. Thank you ryan and rebecca. As we rebuild americas strength and confidence at home we are also we storing our strength and standing abroad around the world we face rogue regimes terrorist groups and rivals like china and russia that challenge our interests our economy and our values in confronting these horrible dangers we know that weakness is the surest path to conflict and unmatched power is the surest beings to our true and great defense. For this reason i am asking congress to and the dangerous defense sequester and fully fund our great military at thanks. As part of our defense we must modernize and rebuild our Nuclear Arsenal hopefully never having two years it but making it so strong and so powerful that it will be terror any acts of aggression by any other nation or anyone else thank you hap some day in the future there will be a magical moment when the countries of the world will get together to eliminate their Nuclear Weapons unfortunately we are not there yet sadly. Last year i also pledged that we would work with our allies to extinguish isis from the face of the earth. One year later i am proud to report that the coalition to defeat isis has liberated very close to one hundred percent of the territory just recently held by these killers in iraq. And in syria and in other locations as well thank you but there is much more work to be done we will continue our fight until isis is defeated Army Staff Sergeant justin peck is here tonight in iraq last November Justin and his comrade chief petty officer Kenton Stacey were on a mission to clear buildings that isis had rigged with explosives so that civilians could return to that city hopefully soon and hopefully safely. Clearing the second floor of a vital hospital ketan stacy was severely wounded by an explosion immediately just in bounded into the booby trapped and unbelievably dangerous and unsafe building and found kenton but in very very bad shape he applied pressure to the wound and inserted a two to reopen an airway he then performed c. P. R. For twenty straight minutes during the Ground Transport and maintained artificial respiration through two and a half hours and through emergency surgery kenton stacy would have died. If it were not for justins Selfless Love for his fellow warrior tonight kenton is recovering in texas rocca is liberated and justin is wearing his new bronze star with a v. For valor Staff Sergeant heck all about illinois. One. One. One. One. Terrorists who do things like place bombs in civilian hospitals are evil. When possible we have no choice but to annihilate them when necessary we must be able to detain and question them. But we must be clear. Terrorists are not merely criminals they are unlawful enemy combatants thad. And when captured overseas they should be treated like the terrorists they are in the past we have foolishly released hundreds and hundreds of dangerous terrorists. Only to meet them again on the battlefield including the isis leader al baghdadi who we captured who we had who we released. So today im keeping another promise i just signed prior to walking in an order directing secretary mads who is doing a great thank ya. Oh and to reexamine our military detention policy and to keep open the detention facilities in Guantanamo Bay cuba you and i am asking congress to ensure that in the fight against isis and al qaida we continue to have all necessary power to detain terrorists wherever we chase them down wherever we find. And in many cases for them it will now be one time a day one thank you and i thought the same time as of a few months ago our warriors in afghanistan have new rules of engagement thanks to a long with their heroic afghan partners our military is no longer undermined by artificial timelines and we no longer tell our enemies our plans to a last month they also took action indorsed unanimously by the u. S. Senate just months before. I recognized jerusalem as the capital of israel id be. Shortly afterwards dozens of countries voted in the United Nations General Assembly against americas sovereign right to make this decision and twenty sixteen american taxpayers generously sent those same countries more than twenty billion dollars in aid that is why tonight i am asking congress to pass legislation to help ensure American Foreign assistance dollars always serve american interests and only go to friends of a not enemies. You a be as we strengthen friendships all around the world we are also we storing clarity. About our adversaries when the people of iran rose up against the crimes of their corrupt dictatorship i did not stay silent america stands with the people of iran in their courageous struggle for freedom thanks i am asking congress to address the fundamental flaws in the terrible Iran Nuclear Deal my administration has also impose tough sanctions on the communist and socialist dictatorships in cuba and venezuela thanks but no regime has oppressed its own citizens more totally or brutally than the cruel dictatorship in north korea. North koreas reckless pursuit of Nuclear Missiles could very soon threaten our homeland we are waging a campaign of maximum pressure to prevent that from ever happening past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation i will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations that got us into this very dangerous position we need only look at the deprived character. Of the north korean regime to understand the nature of the Nuclear Threat it could pose to america and to our allies i dont warm here was a hardworking student at the university of virginia and a great student he was on his way to study abroad in asia otto joined a tour to north korea at its conclusion this wonderful young man was arrested and charged with crimes against the state. After a shameful trial the dictatorship sentenced. To fifteen years of hard labor before returning him to america last june horribly engineered and on the verge of death. He passed away just days after his return ah those. Wonderful parents fred and cindy warm dear are here with us tonight along with autos brother and sister austin and gretta please thanks. Thanks thanks thanks. Credible people. You are powerful witnesses to a menace that threatens our world and your strength truly inspires a soul thank you very much thank you thank you. Thank. You. Thank you tonight we pledge to honor ottos memory with. Total american resolve thank you. Finally thank you. We are joined by one more witness to the ominous nature of this regime his name is mr g. s sung ho. In one thousand nine hundred six sung ho was a starving boy in north korea one day he tried to steal coal from a railroad car to barter for a few scraps of food which were very hard to get in the process he passed out on the train tracks exhausted from hunger he woke up as a train ran over his limbs he then endured multiple amputations without anything to dull the pain or the hurt. His brother and sister gave what little food they had to help him recover and ate dirt themselves permanently stunting their own growth. Later he was tortured by north korean authorities after returning from a brief visit to china his tormentors wanted to know if hed met any christians he had and he resolved after that to be free song whole travel thousands of miles on crutches all across china and Southeast Asia to freedom most of his family followed his father was caught trying to escape and was tortured to death. Today he lives in so where he rescues other defectors and broadcasts into north korea what the regime fears most the truth today he has a new leg but somehow i understand you still keep those old crutches as a reminder of how far youve come your great sacrifice is an inspiration to us all please thank you thank. You thank. You. Thank you. Somehow the story is a testament to the yearning of every human soul to live in freedom. It was that same yearning for freedom that nearly two hundred fifty years ago gave birth to a special place called america it was a small cluster of colonies caught between a great ocean and a vest wilderness it was home to an incredible people with a revolutionary idea. That they could rule themselves that they could chart their own destiny and that together they could light up the entire world. That is what our country has always been about that is what americans have always stood for always strive for and always done atop the dome of this capitol stands the statue of freedom she stands tall and dignified among the monuments to our ancestors who fought and lived and died to protect monuments to washington and jefferson and lincoln and king memorials to the heroes of yorktown and saratoga. To Young Americans who shed their blood on the shores of normandy and the fields beyond and others who went down in the waters of the pacific. And the skies all over asia. And freedom stands tall. Over one more monument this one. This capitol this living monument this is the monument to the American People. Thad thank you and thank you. We are a people whose heroes live not only in the past but all around us defending hope pride. And defending the american way they work in every trade they sacrifice to raise a family they care for our children at home they defend our flag abroad and they are strong moms and brave kids they are firefighters and Police Officers and Border Agents medics and marines but above all else they are americans and this capital this city this nation belongs entirely to them. Id thank our task is to respect them to listen to them to serve to protect them and to always be worthy of them. Americans fill the world with art and music. They push the balance of science and discovery and they forever remind us of what we should never ever forget the people dreamed this country the people built this country and its the people who are making America Great again that as long as we are proud of who we are and what we are fighting for there is nothing we cannot achieve as long as we have confidence in our values faith in our citizens
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