Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN
Updated 3:56 AM ET, Wed February 5, 2020
(CNN) President Donald Trump talked about a lot of things in his State of the Union address and painted an inspiring picture of the United States under his leadership.
Here are 13 big things he left out:
Climate change — Trump did mention that he wants the US to plant more trees, but he didn’t mention the climate crisis, which many people think will be the defining issue of our time. He bragged about US energy independence. He didn’t mention that it comes because of increased oil production. Many Democrats want to transition the US away from fossil fuels altogether. Trump has drawn criticism for mocking teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg and also called climate change activists “prophets of doom” during a speech at the World Economic Forum in January.
Obamacare — Trump railed against “Medicare for All.” He didn’t name that proposal from Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, but he did warn against socialism. He did not, however, offer his own plan for a new health care system even as his administration tries to suffocate the current Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as “Obamacare.” He again promised to protect access to coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. He also didn’t mention that the entire law could be struck down by the Supreme Court, something his Justice Department supports.
Election security — Trump’s campaign manager suggested Monday night that the Democratic Iowa caucuses were “rigged.” Trump in 2016 said the same about the general election before he won. Given his own invitation for multiple foreign countries to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, it makes sense for him to avoid the subject of election security, but that doesn’t make its absence less awkward. Congress has not been ignoring the issue.
Travel ban — Three years after he first tried to restrict people from certain countries traveling to the US, the administration just recently expanded its travel ban to include six more countries, sparking controversy for targeting Africa.
$1 trillion deficits — Given Republicans’ focus on the issue of government spending in the pre-Trump era, it’s remarkable that a Republican President would leave out of his address that the federal deficit topped $1 trillion in 2019. Could be because the tax law he signed has made the US deficit spiral. The national debt is getting bigger too.
Impeachment — He’s the third President ever to be impeached …
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Article URL : https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/politics/trump-state-of-the-union-omissions/index.html