Wednesday 5th February 2020 - 06:05 (GMT)
President Trump delivered a typically energetic, boastful and optimistic speech during his third State of the Union address yesterday evening. In somewhat surreal scenes, the President addressed congress in the same chamber his recent impeachment trial has been unfolding over the past seven weeks.
Rather than using this platform to defend himself, the President decided to use the nationally televised speech to bolster his run for a second term in the White House later this year. In scenes that wouldn’t look out of place on The Apprentice, Trump spent one hour twenty-minutes reminding the country about the economic benefits his current term has bought.
A new Morning Consult poll released yesterday indicated that a majority of Americans say the economy is their top issue going into the 2020 election, with the US scheduled to vote on Tuesday 3rd November.
Claiming responsibility for what he described as “The great American comeback”, Trump also declared: “America's enemies are on the run, America's fortunes are on the rise and America's future is blazing bright. In just three 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.”
Not all those in attendance were impressed. The President appeared to snub the offer of a handshake from house speaker, Nancy Pelosi, who then retaliated by ripping apart her copy of his speech in full view of the chamber.
