LANSING (WWJ/AP) - In his State of the Union address to the nation last night, President Donald Trump talked about an upcoming summit with North Korea, securing the southern border and unity among Americans among other issues.
Trump called on Washington to cast aside "revenge, resistance and retribution" and end "ridiculous partisan investigations" but refused to yield on the hard-line immigration policies that have infuriated Democrats and forced the recent government shutdown. He renewed his call for a border wall and cast illegal immigration as a threat to Americans' safety and economic security.
The 72-year-old Trump harkened back to moments of American greatness, celebrating the moon landing as astronaut Buzz Aldrin looked on from the audience and heralding the liberation of Europe from the Nazis, then ticked through a litany of issues with crossover appeal, including boosting infrastructure, lowering prescription drug costs and combating childhood cancer. He devoted much of his speech to foreign policy, announced a second meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un, and defended his decisions to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan.
Michigan Congressman Paul Mitchell walked away from the speech impressed.
"I think the president did a fine job of both reflecting in the past of the great things this country's done and the challenges going forward, the opportunities going forward, that if we just move beyond partisanship, some of the political gamesmanship and the regionalism and we focused on what makes this country better, will help it lead the world better," Mitchell said. "I think it was a speech to talk about those things and he set some pretty audacious goals."
Andy Levin, who represents Michigan's 9th District, was hoping for more compromise.
"Did he come to the middle on a policy area? I was scratching my head. Can you point to some place where he made a gesture of accommodation or made a new proposal? I think there was one, to tell you the truth. And that was universal paid family leave," Levin said. "Now that’s something the Democrats support, so that was good."
Levin also wished he heard more about the American auto workers in the president's speech.
“I was hoping that the president would call out GM, would say ‘We’re going to not support these companies who we completely saved that wouldn't exist without taxpayer bailouts,' and we’re gonna say 'If you want us to buy your cars, you have to build them here.' He didn't do it," said Levin.
A first-timer at the State of the Union, newly elected Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens took in all in from Washington. For the Rochester Hills Democrat, it was education that was missing from the president's speech.
"I really thought that we could have heard more about public education. That's something I heard about a lot when I was campaigning and it's certainly something that I'm looking to work on," she said. "When I'm in congress, I'm focused on school safety, supporting our teachers and supporting our fabulous public schools."
Trump's address amounted to an opening argument for his re-election campaign. Polls show he has work to do, with his approval rating falling to just 34 percent after the shutdown, according to a recent survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.