On Plugged In…
(President Trump)
“Three years ago we launched the Great American Comeback”
US President Donald Trump…
Delivers his State of the Union address…
As his impeachment trials wraps up..
But even as Senate Republicans…
Shield the president from…
Removal…
New questions…
On the impact of the impeachment trial
On the 2020 elections.
And later…
Caucus confusion in Iowa…
A system crash…
Delays primary polling results…
Leaving Democratic presidential hopefuls..
Wondering who won..
And who lost.
What does it all mean…
In the race to the White House?
Find out on this episode of Plugged In..
And the “State of American Politics”
(WELCOME)
Hello and welcome to Plugged in. I'm Greta Van Susteren.
A very busy week in American politics, including chaos and confusion in the state of Iowa after a new voting app left Democratic presidential hopefuls and caucus goers wondering who won and who lost.
But that is not all. On Capitol Hill, senators voting on articles of impeachment, whether to oust President Trump or not.
We begin with the president's Tuesday night State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress. Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who initiated impeachment proceedings against the president - standing directly behind President Trump as he addressed Congress.
Here is some of what the president had to say.
(SOTU EXCERPTS – DONALD TRUMP)
In just 3 short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline, and we have rejected the downsizing of America's destiny. We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back!
I am thrilled to report to you tonight that our economy is the best it has ever been. Our military is completely rebuilt, with its power being unmatched anywhere in the world -- and it is not even close. Our borders are secure. Our families are flourishing. Our values are renewed. Our pride is restored. And for all these reasons, I say to the people of our great country, and to the Members of Congress before me: The State of our Union is stronger than ever before!
I also promised our citizens that I would impose tariffs to confront China's massive theft of American jobs. Our strategy worked. Days ago, we signed the groundbreaking new agreement with China that will defend our workers, protect our intellectual property, bring billions of dollars into our treasury, and open vast new markets for products made and grown right here in the United States of America. For decades, China has taken advantage of the United States, now we have changed that but, at the same time, we have perhaps the best relationship we have ever had with China, including with President Xi. They respect what we have done because, quite frankly, they could never believe what they were able to get away with year after year, decade after decade, without someone in our country stepping up and saying: Enough. Now, we want to rebuild our country, and that is what we are doing.
As we restore American leadership throughout the world, we are once again standing up for freedom in our hemisphere. That is why my Administration reversed the failing policies of the previous administration on Cuba. We are supporting the hopes of Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to restore democracy. The United States is leading a 59-nation diplomatic coalition against the socialist dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.
Over 130 legislators in this chamber have endorsed legislation that would bankrupt our Nation by providing free taxpayer-funded healthcare to millions of illegal aliens, forcing taxpayers to subsidize free care for anyone in the world who unlawfully crosses our borders. These proposals would raid the Medicare benefits our seniors depend on, while acting as a powerful lure for illegal immigration. This is what is happening in California and other States -- their systems are totally out of control, costing taxpayers vast and unaffordable amounts of money. If forcing American taxpayers to provide unlimited free healthcare to illegal aliens sounds fair to you, then stand with the radical left. But if you believe that we should defend American patients and American seniors, then stand with me and pass legislation to prohibit free Government healthcare for illegal aliens!
This will be a tremendous boon to our already very-strongly guarded southern border where, as we speak, a long, tall, and very powerful wall is being built. We have now completed over 100 miles and will have over 500 miles fully completed by early next year.
My Administration is also strongly defending our national security and combating radical Islamic terrorism. Last week, I announced a groundbreaking plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Recognizing that all past attempts have failed, we must be determined and creative in order to stabilize the region and give millions of young people the change to realize a better future.
Three years ago, the barbarians of ISIS held over 20,000 square miles of territory in Iraq and Syria. Today, the ISIS territorial caliphate has been 100 percent destroyed, and the founder and leader of ISIS -- the bloodthirsty killer Al Baghdadi -- is dead!
In recent months, we have seen proud Iranians raise their voices against their oppressive rulers. The Iranian regime must abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons, stop spreading terror, death, and destruction, and start working for the good of its own people. Because of our powerful sanctions, the Iranian economy is doing very poorly. We can help them make it very good in a short period of time, but perhaps they are too proud or too foolish to ask for that help. We are here. Let's see which road they choose. It is totally up to them. As we defend American lives, we are working to end America's wars in the Middle East.
(GRETA)
Keeping with tradition, the opposing political party responded to the President’s address.
Here is part of that rebuttal by the state of Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
(GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMER, MICHIGAN)
It’s pretty simple. Democrats are trying to make your health care better. Republicans in Washington are trying to take it away.
It doesn’t matter what the president says about the stock market. What matters is that millions of people struggle to get by or don’t have enough money at the end of the month after paying for transportation, student loans, or prescription drugs.
American workers are hurting. In my own state. Our neighbors in Wisconsin. And Ohio. And Pennsylvania. All over the country. Wages have stagnated, while CEO pay has skyrocketed.
(GRETA)
President Trump spoke for 1 hour 22 minutes, interupted by applause from his Republican party.
He spoke about his accomplishments and about his vision for the future.
He did not mention his impeachment trial.
(GRETA and PATSY)
GVS: Joining us to talk about all this is VOA senior White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara. Nice to see you Patsy.
PW: Happy to be here.
GVS: Okay Patsy. He touched on foreign policy and he said, among other things, he rejected the downsizing of the United States. What was he saying?
PW: So he's essentially giving the American people his vision of America right? Putting in line with everything that he has done before everything that he has said before in his campaign up to now, which is putting America first. So, we see that very much into each paragraph of his speech almost right? I mean, even when he's bringing up foreign policy is essentially talking about domestic policy. Case in point was when he introduced Juan Guaido, whom he acknowledged as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. Right after he introduced Juan Guaido, what he did was attack the Democrats on healthcare and on socialism. So these are some of the ways that he's using foreign policy to establish his dominance in domestic policy, including and for example in the trade deals: he mentioned trade deals with China, he mentioned trade deals with Canada and Mexico, and again, bringing up this notion that under Trump, under the Trump administration, the American economy is the strongest it's ever been.
GVS: Alright, so he has a huge focus, and he's a former businessman - huge focus on the economy. And in fairness, he is a familiar theme. He always talks about people not paying fair share and NATO, and that he thinks United States as he says, is getting ripped off by some of these other countries and prior trade deals. But he also talked about the killing of General Soleimani, the Iranian general. What did he say about that?
PW: So he's essentially saying that he's taken out you know the terrorists, not just Soleimani but also Bakr al-Baghdadi. And so he's again projecting this image of strength, military strength abroad. And also mentioned that he had just recently released his Middle East Peace Plan, between Israel and Palestine. Now, obviously the data here is mixed because even though he released his Middle East Peace Plan. There is no involvement from the Palestinians. So all of these foreign policy accomplishments, come with notes that, you know, Democrats are sure to point out - that this is not entirely true. The Democrats are fact checking it. One thing that I do want to discuss with you, Greta today, is just the overall mood of the show, of the speech of the Union. Speech of the union is always political theater, and boy, what a show that we had last night.
GVS: Well this State of the Union, like other ones and former presidents of the opposing party, it does sort of speak to the aspirational; things that, you know, that all the presidents talk about what they have done in the past two years, one year, four years, whatever. But they also talk about what they want to do in the future. So you use the word political theory. It is indeed that, but it's also meant to inspire.
PW: Right and I think in terms of last night’s speech. It was a very forward-looking speech, it was a very positive speech. And this, I think, is the way that Trump is taking the playbook of Bill Clinton in 1999 when he was under the threat of impeachment. But also did not mention the word impeachment. I mean, Trump did not want mentioned the word impeachment. He barely alluded to it, and you know, we almost didn't believe Hogan Gidley, his Press Secretary yesterday morning when he said that the President wasn't going to mention the word impeachment. We thought that you know given the tendency of the president to go off script, he may allude to it in some way but he didn't. So in that way he learned from Bill Clinton in 1999. He did not go the route of Richard Nixon in 1974, when he famously said that one year of Watergate is enough.
GVS: And what's different about this time is, for instance, compared to like other times that we're not, we aren't having just started a war, I mean you know, it didn't have a lot of military in it, except for he said that he has bolstered the US military and got it more strength.
PW: Correct. And this is very much a speech that is geared towards his reelection you know. I mean, you can hear parts of his speech sounding a lot like a campaign rally. Now of course behind that rhetoric we also see this big display of the dynamics in American politics right now. Starting from, you know, right off the bat in the beginning when Nancy Pelosi extended her hand and he refused to shake it until all the way to the end, when she ripped up his speech, so indeed it was political theater.
GVS: It was. It's always fascinating to watch and prior so you've been counting how many time presidents have been arrested by the applause line. Any applause, typically comes almost all from his own his own party, whether it's a Democrat or Republican. But it's always fascinating to watch. Patsy, thank you.
PW: My pleasure.
GVS: Patsy Widakuswara, VOA senior White House correspondent.
(GRETA)
Keeping it on Capitol Hill, we turn now to the latest on the impeachment of President Trump.
History will remember Donald Trump as only the 3rd US president to be impeached.
But what will be the lasting impact of the impeachment process on the Trump administration and on the American people?
The United States is just months away from its next Presidential election.
Will President Trump be re-elected to a second term? Or will a democratic opponent win?
VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson joins us.
(GRETA AND KATHERINE)
GVS: Nice to see you, Katherine.
KG: good to see you too.
GVS: Always these State of the Unions are a little bit different than the one that’s leading up to the next presidential election. Did you feel the politics there?
KG: Oh, certainly I think that watching that whole interplay between Nancy Pelosi, and Donald Trump. you know, remember Nancy Pelosi is the one person who can find a way to always get under Donald Trump's skin, and she was certainly doing that in the House chamber where President Trump had been impeached by the Democratic majority, less than two months ago. She did go out, she did extend that handshake, but then President Trump didn't accept it. And by the end of the speech, we of course had that extraordinary moment where she was ripping up the speech right behind him. It really spoke to the atmosphere that's been up here on Capitol Hill the past few weeks where everybody is pitted against each other, where there's no room for common ground, where quite frankly it's been exhausting to go through the Senate impeachment trial.
GVS: Well I think it's pretty obvious she did tear up the, the speech mean that I got. But I was unclear in watching last night when Nancy Pelosi, when President Trump came in, Nancy Pelosi standing behind him as he's handed the speech, the copy of the speech to her & Vice President Pence. I was not sure whether he dissed her, and didn't accept her extended arm or whether he didn't see it was looking at the vice president but clearly there's bad blood between the two.
KG: Right. I mean if you watch it and go back and watch it, you can see that that little moment happens very quickly because of course, the President is handing a copy of his speech to the Vice President and to Nancy Pelosi, but then he was already kind of turning around to start his speech when she extended the hand. So I’d really be curious to know whether he actually saw it, if he knew what was going on in the moment. That may not have been the disk that everybody played it off to be.
KG: have you heard any democrats say well the speech was pretty good. Or have you heard any republicans say the speech wasn't good?
KG: That's a great question because that's really how things happen up here on Capitol Hill. you come out you talk to the democrats after, anything that President Trump does, and they will say, you know, look, there was nothing here. That was a partisan political rally that we just heard. a couple of Democrats actually walked out in the middle of the speech during certain sections about undocumented immigrants, that type of thing. And then you go to the other side with the republicans who say that it was quite frankly, one of the best State of the Union speeches they've ever seen, particularly because of those political theater moments that President Trump is so good at. We had some really standout moments where things that have never happened in the State of the Union before happened last night that will make it a memorable State of the Union speech.
GVS: and of course, meanwhile, you know, while this is going on, the president announces the state of the union, how the United States is doing, is that you've got this impeachment trial going on, where one party, it’s pretty safe to say, is seeking to throw the president out for two reasons, two articles of impeachment. So you've got that drama going on during the day.
KG: Right, exactly. It was this incredible day up on Capitol Hill, where you had US senators taking to the senate floor to talk through their decision to either acquit President Trump of those two charges of impeachment articles of impeachment or to remove him from office. and then you have them all going and flooding into the House chamber to listen to that President give a speech, first time it's ever happened here in the United States.
GVS: and to give the viewers a little taste of this, both sides delivered in that impeachment powerful closing statements. impeachment manager Adam Schiff urges senators to vote with their conscience, the President's lawyer Jay sekulow, calling the impeachment proceedings, a farce- Here it is.
SCHIFF: You and we represent the American people, the ones at home and at work, who are hoping that their country will remain what it is always believed it to be a beacon of hope of democracy and of inspiration to those striving around the world to create their own more perfect unions. For those who are standing up to lawlessness, and to tyranny.
SEKULOW: What the House Democrats have done to this nation to the constitution to the office of the president to the President himself, and to this body is outrageous. They have cheapened the awesome power of impeachment. And unfortunately, of course the country is not better for that.
GVS: Katherine, when you listened to that-- everybody watched the same trial, listened to the same speech last night. but when you talk to Republicans and Democrats it’s as though they saw a different trial and a different speech.
KG: that's absolutely right and I think that's one of the longer term consequences of the senate impeachment trial is that it really speaks to how each side is really viewing American democracy and the checks and balances in the US system of government really differently. there's a way of thinking about how our democratic institutions are working now that each side sees completely differently. Democrats said that they had to rush this impeachment trial because they had to address what they said was alleged election interference in the upcoming presidential election in November. They said it was imminent that they had to address this, to ensure a free and fair election. Well, Republicans are saying look, the American people are going to go to the ballot box in 9-10 months. They are the ones who should be making the decision here, not US senators. Leave it up to the voters hands and let them decide about our democratic institutions, and whether President Trump was guilty of violating any of them.
GVS: Katherine Thank you, Katherine Gypson, VOA congressional correspondent.
(GRETA)
With the president successfully beating back Democratic efforts to oust him from office, the focus this week shifted to Iowa where Democratic candidates were busy campaigning for their party's nomination.
But a glitch in a new voting app appears to have thrown a monkey wrench into the vote counting process. More on that later. But first a bit of history on the Iowa caucus. For nearly 50 years, Iowa has played an outsized role in American presidential politics.
Why does a small state with a 92% white population, only a third the size of New York City have so much political clout in a nationwide race?
((EXPLAINER))
For starters… Iowa is first.
Iowa has been the first state to hold presidential contests since 1972.
Since 1976, Iowa has correctly chosen seven Democratic presidential nominees, including the last four: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Kerry and Al Gore.
The state is also noteworthy because of the way it chooses a nominee. It’s called a caucus.
On caucus day, voters gather in each precinct where meetings are held in schools, churches, libraries, and even private homes.
But instead of voting, supporters for each candidate divide themselves into groups, gathering in one corner of the room to show their support for a candidate.
The candidate with the largest caucuses will go on to win the state’s nomination, often getting a boost as they move on to primary contests in other states.
(GRETA)
A good performance in Iowa is not always the deciding factor in who ultimately wins a political party’s nomination.
But a poor showing in Iowa could have a huge impact on a candidate’s momentum and in his ability to raise money. That is especially true when the results are clear, which clearly was not the case this week.
Apparently a coding error delayed results from Monday night's important race for the Democratic party’s nomination for President.
For a look at how this might impact the Democratic leadership race and ultimately the 2020 election, we are joined by VOA senior national correspondent Jim Malone.
(GRETA AND JIM)
GVS: Jim, you know, you just can't make this stuff up. We thought Monday night we'd have the results from one state as we march on to the other states but we don't.
JM: yeah and you know there's been a long-time controversy. Should states do caucus voting, or go to a primary? The trend has been going to primaries. There's only a handful of states that have the caucuses. But Iowa has really made their reputation on that since about 1972. So they’re a singular kind of presence there that the candidates are used to going. It's interesting on the Republican side, you just go to the caucus site that night you vote, you go home. The Democrats have this complicated lineup. Who do you want, and sometimes try to convince their neighbors who to stick with.
GVS: But it’s not like voting hasn’t also, the voting has not been without problems here in this country, which is always perplexing to me. I can change planes in Doha, and get the hundred dollars out of my ATM machine and immediately records it back here in DC. But for some reason voting has just been just, you know, just bedeviled by it.
JM: Right. And you know they made clear that there's no hacking here by the Russians to all. But you know there's already a high level of anxiety about that heading into this election cycle so any kind of election, kind of problems are going to highlight that issue. And of course you know, what's the fallout been? The candidates didn't get that much of a boost. Those who did well, and we’re looking at Petet Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders and candidates who did less well perhaps. Joe Biden now, who's going to have to really have some sort of comeback in the next few weeks, I think, to remain relevant in this race.
GVS: And we should explain that Joe Biden, is the former Vice President of the United States. And so you know, a lot of people thought that he would have a commanding showing in Iowa.
JM: He was the front runner for much of the year going into the selection. Was ahead of the national polls, but there's questions about his age, and also what seemed to come out of Iowa was Democrats are looking for something or someone different. In some cases it's a revolutionary look at how we, you know, reform government in this country led by Bernie Sanders. Or a more moderate view by Pete Buttigieg. There's an age gap there - 40 years, by the way, between Buttigieg and Sanders.
GVS: What sort of complicating all this is that you have the far left like Senator Bernie Sanders, and then you have the more moderate Democrats, all vying for the same job - the nomination for president. But some Democrats are taking a longer view, saying, who can beat President Trump?
JM: That's right. I mean that was supposedly the guiding principle for all the people going to the caucus. But I think what we're seeing right now is a big divide in the Democratic party. That progressive versus moderate strain looks like it's going to get worse before it gets better. That can only help President Trump. Look he's had a remarkable week okay? He's about to beat the impeachment rap, his polls are going up, he just did State of the Union, the political landscape is shifting a bit this week. Now it doesn't mean it can't shift back, but the Democrats look like they may be in for a long divisive battle with no clear kind of nominee at this point. And that's unusual in this system.
GVS: Well the minute that this broke, this problem was developed on Monday night we thought we were going to get the results. The backup system, didn't work which was, you phone in the results to the central place in Iowa. And people were on hold for a long time, that didn't work, but the Republicans started tweeting things like “Well the Democrats had four years to get ready for this caucus, and they can't do it. And they want to, they want to run the entire country?
JM: Yeah, right.
GVS: I mean it's painful what’s happened to Democrats with this.
JM: Because it was a boon for their talking points. There's no doubt about it. So how do Democrats kind of, you know, come back from this? Sanders is favored to do well in the New Hampshire primary next week. The question will be who comes in second and third how close did they get, and where do we go from there? As I say, we have a lot more contests to go, and this race is going to develop incrementally. Iowa, usually windows the field. You had five people come out of Iowa, still viable. So that's unusual given historical precedent.
GVS: You know, Iowa’s been first for a long time, and there's been a lot of sort of the rest of states said you know, what about us? Why can't we be for first? And now with this problem and the fact that Iowa is 92% white population so it doesn't reflect, doesn't reflect the rest of country but they get the first swing at this.
JM: This is going to fuel the fires of Democrats who have long said look, Iowa should not be going first. It doesn't reflect the country. More broadly certainly doesn't reflect the demographics of the Democratic Party. So the whole caucus thing now especially for Democrats is going to be somewhat of a question mark. I noticed the Republicans in Iowa have come out to defend this system because they still like that Iowa first thing. But for Republicans, it's a much more simpler procedure.
GVS: You know it's interesting - I was out in Iowa for this, is that the Democrats, whoever wins in Iowa has gone on to be the nominee for the Democratic Party. In the Republican Party though in 2012 it was Senator Santorum who won Iowa but then it was Romney who got the nomination. And then in 2016, President Trump didn't win the Iowa caucus. On the Republican side was Ted Cruz.
JM: Well even among Democrats, seven out of 10 times the person has gone on to be the nominee. I mean Bill Clinton did not.
GVS: He didn't win either. Or New Hampshire.
JM: But the other example there is Barack Obama who used his victory in Iowa; in a state predominantly white as a springboard to the White House. So you've had though, you know, two Democrats who have done well in Iowa, eventually were elected president - Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.
GVS: All right, one quick question. Mayor Bloomberg who has, who is not in the Iowa caucus didn't participate, spent over $300 million in ads, so fabulously wealthy. Does he benefit from this chaos in Iowa?
JM: And we're going to see more of him. And the more there's disarray and uncertainty in the Democratic race, that's an opening for Bloomberg. Doesn't necessarily mean he can win but he’s going to be a factor.
GVS: you know, some of the senators who are running for president. They were not there in Iowa last week because they had been back here in Washington for the senate trial. Did that hurt them you think?
JM: It's possible but then Joe Biden wasn't in Washington, he was on the campaign trail and he did not benefit as much. Perhaps Pete Buttigieg benefited the most - offering sort of a new, different personality. Democrats often like that. They're looking for that new, younger person to come along, like Obama like Clinton.
GVS: You know Senator Elizabeth Warren was the front runner for so long and she you know she had recently run in Iowa. We don't have all the results yet, but now we go to New Hampshire, that's next door to Massachusetts, but it's also next door to Vermont where senator Bernie Sanders is from. He's expected to do better than she is there.
JM: She needs to do well in New Hampshire. I think second place is probably in her sights. If she can't do that, there will be more questions about her. But again, If we move forward the next several weeks no one has a clear advantage so it's not going to be an incentive for many people to get out of the race. Why would you leave if there's no nominee apparent coming into the fall?
GVS: And what we didn't discuss, we don’t have to time for it, but we will again, is the fact that they've changed the whole rules of Democratic Party about some other voting but let's say that as a tease for next time. Jim, thank you.
JM: You bet.
GVS: Jim Malone, VOA senior national correspondent.
(GOODBYE)
That's all the time we have for today.
Stay Plugged In by liking us on Facebook at Voice of America.
You can also like my Facebook page at facebook-dot-com-forward-slash-Greta. And follow me on Twitter at Greta.
Thanks for being Plugged In.
(President Trump)
“Three years ago we launched the Great American Comeback”
US President Donald Trump…
Delivers his State of the Union address…
As his impeachment trials wraps up..
But even as Senate Republicans…
Shield the president from…
Removal…
New questions…
On the impact of the impeachment trial
On the 2020 elections.
And later…
Caucus confusion in Iowa…
A system crash…
Delays primary polling results…
Leaving Democratic presidential hopefuls..
Wondering who won..
And who lost.
What does it all mean…
In the race to the White House?
Find out on this episode of Plugged In..
And the “State of American Politics”
(WELCOME)
Hello and welcome to Plugged in. I'm Greta Van Susteren.
A very busy week in American politics, including chaos and confusion in the state of Iowa after a new voting app left Democratic presidential hopefuls and caucus goers wondering who won and who lost.
But that is not all. On Capitol Hill, senators voting on articles of impeachment, whether to oust President Trump or not.
We begin with the president's Tuesday night State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress. Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who initiated impeachment proceedings against the president - standing directly behind President Trump as he addressed Congress.
Here is some of what the president had to say.
(SOTU EXCERPTS – DONALD TRUMP)
In just 3 short years, we have shattered the mentality of American decline, and we have rejected the downsizing of America's destiny. We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never going back!
I am thrilled to report to you tonight that our economy is the best it has ever been. Our military is completely rebuilt, with its power being unmatched anywhere in the world -- and it is not even close. Our borders are secure. Our families are flourishing. Our values are renewed. Our pride is restored. And for all these reasons, I say to the people of our great country, and to the Members of Congress before me: The State of our Union is stronger than ever before!
I also promised our citizens that I would impose tariffs to confront China's massive theft of American jobs. Our strategy worked. Days ago, we signed the groundbreaking new agreement with China that will defend our workers, protect our intellectual property, bring billions of dollars into our treasury, and open vast new markets for products made and grown right here in the United States of America. For decades, China has taken advantage of the United States, now we have changed that but, at the same time, we have perhaps the best relationship we have ever had with China, including with President Xi. They respect what we have done because, quite frankly, they could never believe what they were able to get away with year after year, decade after decade, without someone in our country stepping up and saying: Enough. Now, we want to rebuild our country, and that is what we are doing.
As we restore American leadership throughout the world, we are once again standing up for freedom in our hemisphere. That is why my Administration reversed the failing policies of the previous administration on Cuba. We are supporting the hopes of Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans to restore democracy. The United States is leading a 59-nation diplomatic coalition against the socialist dictator of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.
Over 130 legislators in this chamber have endorsed legislation that would bankrupt our Nation by providing free taxpayer-funded healthcare to millions of illegal aliens, forcing taxpayers to subsidize free care for anyone in the world who unlawfully crosses our borders. These proposals would raid the Medicare benefits our seniors depend on, while acting as a powerful lure for illegal immigration. This is what is happening in California and other States -- their systems are totally out of control, costing taxpayers vast and unaffordable amounts of money. If forcing American taxpayers to provide unlimited free healthcare to illegal aliens sounds fair to you, then stand with the radical left. But if you believe that we should defend American patients and American seniors, then stand with me and pass legislation to prohibit free Government healthcare for illegal aliens!
This will be a tremendous boon to our already very-strongly guarded southern border where, as we speak, a long, tall, and very powerful wall is being built. We have now completed over 100 miles and will have over 500 miles fully completed by early next year.
My Administration is also strongly defending our national security and combating radical Islamic terrorism. Last week, I announced a groundbreaking plan for peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Recognizing that all past attempts have failed, we must be determined and creative in order to stabilize the region and give millions of young people the change to realize a better future.
Three years ago, the barbarians of ISIS held over 20,000 square miles of territory in Iraq and Syria. Today, the ISIS territorial caliphate has been 100 percent destroyed, and the founder and leader of ISIS -- the bloodthirsty killer Al Baghdadi -- is dead!
In recent months, we have seen proud Iranians raise their voices against their oppressive rulers. The Iranian regime must abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons, stop spreading terror, death, and destruction, and start working for the good of its own people. Because of our powerful sanctions, the Iranian economy is doing very poorly. We can help them make it very good in a short period of time, but perhaps they are too proud or too foolish to ask for that help. We are here. Let's see which road they choose. It is totally up to them. As we defend American lives, we are working to end America's wars in the Middle East.
(GRETA)
Keeping with tradition, the opposing political party responded to the President’s address.
Here is part of that rebuttal by the state of Michigan’s Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.
(GOVERNOR GRETCHEN WHITMER, MICHIGAN)
It’s pretty simple. Democrats are trying to make your health care better. Republicans in Washington are trying to take it away.
It doesn’t matter what the president says about the stock market. What matters is that millions of people struggle to get by or don’t have enough money at the end of the month after paying for transportation, student loans, or prescription drugs.
American workers are hurting. In my own state. Our neighbors in Wisconsin. And Ohio. And Pennsylvania. All over the country. Wages have stagnated, while CEO pay has skyrocketed.
(GRETA)
President Trump spoke for 1 hour 22 minutes, interupted by applause from his Republican party.
He spoke about his accomplishments and about his vision for the future.
He did not mention his impeachment trial.
(GRETA and PATSY)
GVS: Joining us to talk about all this is VOA senior White House correspondent Patsy Widakuswara. Nice to see you Patsy.
PW: Happy to be here.
GVS: Okay Patsy. He touched on foreign policy and he said, among other things, he rejected the downsizing of the United States. What was he saying?
PW: So he's essentially giving the American people his vision of America right? Putting in line with everything that he has done before everything that he has said before in his campaign up to now, which is putting America first. So, we see that very much into each paragraph of his speech almost right? I mean, even when he's bringing up foreign policy is essentially talking about domestic policy. Case in point was when he introduced Juan Guaido, whom he acknowledged as the legitimate leader of Venezuela. Right after he introduced Juan Guaido, what he did was attack the Democrats on healthcare and on socialism. So these are some of the ways that he's using foreign policy to establish his dominance in domestic policy, including and for example in the trade deals: he mentioned trade deals with China, he mentioned trade deals with Canada and Mexico, and again, bringing up this notion that under Trump, under the Trump administration, the American economy is the strongest it's ever been.
GVS: Alright, so he has a huge focus, and he's a former businessman - huge focus on the economy. And in fairness, he is a familiar theme. He always talks about people not paying fair share and NATO, and that he thinks United States as he says, is getting ripped off by some of these other countries and prior trade deals. But he also talked about the killing of General Soleimani, the Iranian general. What did he say about that?
PW: So he's essentially saying that he's taken out you know the terrorists, not just Soleimani but also Bakr al-Baghdadi. And so he's again projecting this image of strength, military strength abroad. And also mentioned that he had just recently released his Middle East Peace Plan, between Israel and Palestine. Now, obviously the data here is mixed because even though he released his Middle East Peace Plan. There is no involvement from the Palestinians. So all of these foreign policy accomplishments, come with notes that, you know, Democrats are sure to point out - that this is not entirely true. The Democrats are fact checking it. One thing that I do want to discuss with you, Greta today, is just the overall mood of the show, of the speech of the Union. Speech of the union is always political theater, and boy, what a show that we had last night.
GVS: Well this State of the Union, like other ones and former presidents of the opposing party, it does sort of speak to the aspirational; things that, you know, that all the presidents talk about what they have done in the past two years, one year, four years, whatever. But they also talk about what they want to do in the future. So you use the word political theory. It is indeed that, but it's also meant to inspire.
PW: Right and I think in terms of last night’s speech. It was a very forward-looking speech, it was a very positive speech. And this, I think, is the way that Trump is taking the playbook of Bill Clinton in 1999 when he was under the threat of impeachment. But also did not mention the word impeachment. I mean, Trump did not want mentioned the word impeachment. He barely alluded to it, and you know, we almost didn't believe Hogan Gidley, his Press Secretary yesterday morning when he said that the President wasn't going to mention the word impeachment. We thought that you know given the tendency of the president to go off script, he may allude to it in some way but he didn't. So in that way he learned from Bill Clinton in 1999. He did not go the route of Richard Nixon in 1974, when he famously said that one year of Watergate is enough.
GVS: And what's different about this time is, for instance, compared to like other times that we're not, we aren't having just started a war, I mean you know, it didn't have a lot of military in it, except for he said that he has bolstered the US military and got it more strength.
PW: Correct. And this is very much a speech that is geared towards his reelection you know. I mean, you can hear parts of his speech sounding a lot like a campaign rally. Now of course behind that rhetoric we also see this big display of the dynamics in American politics right now. Starting from, you know, right off the bat in the beginning when Nancy Pelosi extended her hand and he refused to shake it until all the way to the end, when she ripped up his speech, so indeed it was political theater.
GVS: It was. It's always fascinating to watch and prior so you've been counting how many time presidents have been arrested by the applause line. Any applause, typically comes almost all from his own his own party, whether it's a Democrat or Republican. But it's always fascinating to watch. Patsy, thank you.
PW: My pleasure.
GVS: Patsy Widakuswara, VOA senior White House correspondent.
(GRETA)
Keeping it on Capitol Hill, we turn now to the latest on the impeachment of President Trump.
History will remember Donald Trump as only the 3rd US president to be impeached.
But what will be the lasting impact of the impeachment process on the Trump administration and on the American people?
The United States is just months away from its next Presidential election.
Will President Trump be re-elected to a second term? Or will a democratic opponent win?
VOA Congressional Correspondent Katherine Gypson joins us.
(GRETA AND KATHERINE)
GVS: Nice to see you, Katherine.
KG: good to see you too.
GVS: Always these State of the Unions are a little bit different than the one that’s leading up to the next presidential election. Did you feel the politics there?
KG: Oh, certainly I think that watching that whole interplay between Nancy Pelosi, and Donald Trump. you know, remember Nancy Pelosi is the one person who can find a way to always get under Donald Trump's skin, and she was certainly doing that in the House chamber where President Trump had been impeached by the Democratic majority, less than two months ago. She did go out, she did extend that handshake, but then President Trump didn't accept it. And by the end of the speech, we of course had that extraordinary moment where she was ripping up the speech right behind him. It really spoke to the atmosphere that's been up here on Capitol Hill the past few weeks where everybody is pitted against each other, where there's no room for common ground, where quite frankly it's been exhausting to go through the Senate impeachment trial.
GVS: Well I think it's pretty obvious she did tear up the, the speech mean that I got. But I was unclear in watching last night when Nancy Pelosi, when President Trump came in, Nancy Pelosi standing behind him as he's handed the speech, the copy of the speech to her & Vice President Pence. I was not sure whether he dissed her, and didn't accept her extended arm or whether he didn't see it was looking at the vice president but clearly there's bad blood between the two.
KG: Right. I mean if you watch it and go back and watch it, you can see that that little moment happens very quickly because of course, the President is handing a copy of his speech to the Vice President and to Nancy Pelosi, but then he was already kind of turning around to start his speech when she extended the hand. So I’d really be curious to know whether he actually saw it, if he knew what was going on in the moment. That may not have been the disk that everybody played it off to be.
KG: have you heard any democrats say well the speech was pretty good. Or have you heard any republicans say the speech wasn't good?
KG: That's a great question because that's really how things happen up here on Capitol Hill. you come out you talk to the democrats after, anything that President Trump does, and they will say, you know, look, there was nothing here. That was a partisan political rally that we just heard. a couple of Democrats actually walked out in the middle of the speech during certain sections about undocumented immigrants, that type of thing. And then you go to the other side with the republicans who say that it was quite frankly, one of the best State of the Union speeches they've ever seen, particularly because of those political theater moments that President Trump is so good at. We had some really standout moments where things that have never happened in the State of the Union before happened last night that will make it a memorable State of the Union speech.
GVS: and of course, meanwhile, you know, while this is going on, the president announces the state of the union, how the United States is doing, is that you've got this impeachment trial going on, where one party, it’s pretty safe to say, is seeking to throw the president out for two reasons, two articles of impeachment. So you've got that drama going on during the day.
KG: Right, exactly. It was this incredible day up on Capitol Hill, where you had US senators taking to the senate floor to talk through their decision to either acquit President Trump of those two charges of impeachment articles of impeachment or to remove him from office. and then you have them all going and flooding into the House chamber to listen to that President give a speech, first time it's ever happened here in the United States.
GVS: and to give the viewers a little taste of this, both sides delivered in that impeachment powerful closing statements. impeachment manager Adam Schiff urges senators to vote with their conscience, the President's lawyer Jay sekulow, calling the impeachment proceedings, a farce- Here it is.
SCHIFF: You and we represent the American people, the ones at home and at work, who are hoping that their country will remain what it is always believed it to be a beacon of hope of democracy and of inspiration to those striving around the world to create their own more perfect unions. For those who are standing up to lawlessness, and to tyranny.
SEKULOW: What the House Democrats have done to this nation to the constitution to the office of the president to the President himself, and to this body is outrageous. They have cheapened the awesome power of impeachment. And unfortunately, of course the country is not better for that.
GVS: Katherine, when you listened to that-- everybody watched the same trial, listened to the same speech last night. but when you talk to Republicans and Democrats it’s as though they saw a different trial and a different speech.
KG: that's absolutely right and I think that's one of the longer term consequences of the senate impeachment trial is that it really speaks to how each side is really viewing American democracy and the checks and balances in the US system of government really differently. there's a way of thinking about how our democratic institutions are working now that each side sees completely differently. Democrats said that they had to rush this impeachment trial because they had to address what they said was alleged election interference in the upcoming presidential election in November. They said it was imminent that they had to address this, to ensure a free and fair election. Well, Republicans are saying look, the American people are going to go to the ballot box in 9-10 months. They are the ones who should be making the decision here, not US senators. Leave it up to the voters hands and let them decide about our democratic institutions, and whether President Trump was guilty of violating any of them.
GVS: Katherine Thank you, Katherine Gypson, VOA congressional correspondent.
(GRETA)
With the president successfully beating back Democratic efforts to oust him from office, the focus this week shifted to Iowa where Democratic candidates were busy campaigning for their party's nomination.
But a glitch in a new voting app appears to have thrown a monkey wrench into the vote counting process. More on that later. But first a bit of history on the Iowa caucus. For nearly 50 years, Iowa has played an outsized role in American presidential politics.
Why does a small state with a 92% white population, only a third the size of New York City have so much political clout in a nationwide race?
((EXPLAINER))
For starters… Iowa is first.
Iowa has been the first state to hold presidential contests since 1972.
Since 1976, Iowa has correctly chosen seven Democratic presidential nominees, including the last four: Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Kerry and Al Gore.
The state is also noteworthy because of the way it chooses a nominee. It’s called a caucus.
On caucus day, voters gather in each precinct where meetings are held in schools, churches, libraries, and even private homes.
But instead of voting, supporters for each candidate divide themselves into groups, gathering in one corner of the room to show their support for a candidate.
The candidate with the largest caucuses will go on to win the state’s nomination, often getting a boost as they move on to primary contests in other states.
(GRETA)
A good performance in Iowa is not always the deciding factor in who ultimately wins a political party’s nomination.
But a poor showing in Iowa could have a huge impact on a candidate’s momentum and in his ability to raise money. That is especially true when the results are clear, which clearly was not the case this week.
Apparently a coding error delayed results from Monday night's important race for the Democratic party’s nomination for President.
For a look at how this might impact the Democratic leadership race and ultimately the 2020 election, we are joined by VOA senior national correspondent Jim Malone.
(GRETA AND JIM)
GVS: Jim, you know, you just can't make this stuff up. We thought Monday night we'd have the results from one state as we march on to the other states but we don't.
JM: yeah and you know there's been a long-time controversy. Should states do caucus voting, or go to a primary? The trend has been going to primaries. There's only a handful of states that have the caucuses. But Iowa has really made their reputation on that since about 1972. So they’re a singular kind of presence there that the candidates are used to going. It's interesting on the Republican side, you just go to the caucus site that night you vote, you go home. The Democrats have this complicated lineup. Who do you want, and sometimes try to convince their neighbors who to stick with.
GVS: But it’s not like voting hasn’t also, the voting has not been without problems here in this country, which is always perplexing to me. I can change planes in Doha, and get the hundred dollars out of my ATM machine and immediately records it back here in DC. But for some reason voting has just been just, you know, just bedeviled by it.
JM: Right. And you know they made clear that there's no hacking here by the Russians to all. But you know there's already a high level of anxiety about that heading into this election cycle so any kind of election, kind of problems are going to highlight that issue. And of course you know, what's the fallout been? The candidates didn't get that much of a boost. Those who did well, and we’re looking at Petet Buttigieg and Bernie Sanders and candidates who did less well perhaps. Joe Biden now, who's going to have to really have some sort of comeback in the next few weeks, I think, to remain relevant in this race.
GVS: And we should explain that Joe Biden, is the former Vice President of the United States. And so you know, a lot of people thought that he would have a commanding showing in Iowa.
JM: He was the front runner for much of the year going into the selection. Was ahead of the national polls, but there's questions about his age, and also what seemed to come out of Iowa was Democrats are looking for something or someone different. In some cases it's a revolutionary look at how we, you know, reform government in this country led by Bernie Sanders. Or a more moderate view by Pete Buttigieg. There's an age gap there - 40 years, by the way, between Buttigieg and Sanders.
GVS: What sort of complicating all this is that you have the far left like Senator Bernie Sanders, and then you have the more moderate Democrats, all vying for the same job - the nomination for president. But some Democrats are taking a longer view, saying, who can beat President Trump?
JM: That's right. I mean that was supposedly the guiding principle for all the people going to the caucus. But I think what we're seeing right now is a big divide in the Democratic party. That progressive versus moderate strain looks like it's going to get worse before it gets better. That can only help President Trump. Look he's had a remarkable week okay? He's about to beat the impeachment rap, his polls are going up, he just did State of the Union, the political landscape is shifting a bit this week. Now it doesn't mean it can't shift back, but the Democrats look like they may be in for a long divisive battle with no clear kind of nominee at this point. And that's unusual in this system.
GVS: Well the minute that this broke, this problem was developed on Monday night we thought we were going to get the results. The backup system, didn't work which was, you phone in the results to the central place in Iowa. And people were on hold for a long time, that didn't work, but the Republicans started tweeting things like “Well the Democrats had four years to get ready for this caucus, and they can't do it. And they want to, they want to run the entire country?
JM: Yeah, right.
GVS: I mean it's painful what’s happened to Democrats with this.
JM: Because it was a boon for their talking points. There's no doubt about it. So how do Democrats kind of, you know, come back from this? Sanders is favored to do well in the New Hampshire primary next week. The question will be who comes in second and third how close did they get, and where do we go from there? As I say, we have a lot more contests to go, and this race is going to develop incrementally. Iowa, usually windows the field. You had five people come out of Iowa, still viable. So that's unusual given historical precedent.
GVS: You know, Iowa’s been first for a long time, and there's been a lot of sort of the rest of states said you know, what about us? Why can't we be for first? And now with this problem and the fact that Iowa is 92% white population so it doesn't reflect, doesn't reflect the rest of country but they get the first swing at this.
JM: This is going to fuel the fires of Democrats who have long said look, Iowa should not be going first. It doesn't reflect the country. More broadly certainly doesn't reflect the demographics of the Democratic Party. So the whole caucus thing now especially for Democrats is going to be somewhat of a question mark. I noticed the Republicans in Iowa have come out to defend this system because they still like that Iowa first thing. But for Republicans, it's a much more simpler procedure.
GVS: You know it's interesting - I was out in Iowa for this, is that the Democrats, whoever wins in Iowa has gone on to be the nominee for the Democratic Party. In the Republican Party though in 2012 it was Senator Santorum who won Iowa but then it was Romney who got the nomination. And then in 2016, President Trump didn't win the Iowa caucus. On the Republican side was Ted Cruz.
JM: Well even among Democrats, seven out of 10 times the person has gone on to be the nominee. I mean Bill Clinton did not.
GVS: He didn't win either. Or New Hampshire.
JM: But the other example there is Barack Obama who used his victory in Iowa; in a state predominantly white as a springboard to the White House. So you've had though, you know, two Democrats who have done well in Iowa, eventually were elected president - Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.
GVS: All right, one quick question. Mayor Bloomberg who has, who is not in the Iowa caucus didn't participate, spent over $300 million in ads, so fabulously wealthy. Does he benefit from this chaos in Iowa?
JM: And we're going to see more of him. And the more there's disarray and uncertainty in the Democratic race, that's an opening for Bloomberg. Doesn't necessarily mean he can win but he’s going to be a factor.
GVS: you know, some of the senators who are running for president. They were not there in Iowa last week because they had been back here in Washington for the senate trial. Did that hurt them you think?
JM: It's possible but then Joe Biden wasn't in Washington, he was on the campaign trail and he did not benefit as much. Perhaps Pete Buttigieg benefited the most - offering sort of a new, different personality. Democrats often like that. They're looking for that new, younger person to come along, like Obama like Clinton.
GVS: You know Senator Elizabeth Warren was the front runner for so long and she you know she had recently run in Iowa. We don't have all the results yet, but now we go to New Hampshire, that's next door to Massachusetts, but it's also next door to Vermont where senator Bernie Sanders is from. He's expected to do better than she is there.
JM: She needs to do well in New Hampshire. I think second place is probably in her sights. If she can't do that, there will be more questions about her. But again, If we move forward the next several weeks no one has a clear advantage so it's not going to be an incentive for many people to get out of the race. Why would you leave if there's no nominee apparent coming into the fall?
GVS: And what we didn't discuss, we don’t have to time for it, but we will again, is the fact that they've changed the whole rules of Democratic Party about some other voting but let's say that as a tease for next time. Jim, thank you.
JM: You bet.
GVS: Jim Malone, VOA senior national correspondent.
(GOODBYE)
That's all the time we have for today.
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