Trump calls on lawmakers to choose 'greatness' over 'gridlock'

(Image credit: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images)

published 6 February 2019

President Trump began his State of the Union address on Tuesday night calling on lawmakers to "embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise, and the common good."

He said that Americans watching his speech at home are "hoping that we will govern not as two parties, but as one nation," adding, "victory is not winning for our party. Victory is winning for our country." Lawmakers, he said, must "reject the politics of revenge, resistance, and retribution, and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise, and the common good."

If Democrats and Republicans work together, they will be able to "break decades of political stalemate" and "bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions, and unlock the extraordinary promise of America's future." The decision is up to lawmakers, and they can chose "between greatness or gridlock, results or resistance, vision or vengeance, incredible progress or pointless destruction," Trump said. "Tonight, I ask you to choose greatness."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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