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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nA bullish US President Donald Trump has proclaimed a \u201cnew American moment\u201d as he delivered his maiden State of the Union speech to Congress.<\/p>\n
In a primetime address, the Republican leader said he was \u201cextending an open hand\u201d to Democrats to work together.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump also said he was ordering Guantanamo Bay to be kept open, reversing an Obama-era directive to close the controversial detention camp.<\/p>\n
The American economy is booming but Mr Trump\u2019s approval rating languishes.<\/p>\n
In an upbeat message a world away from his apocalyptic \u201cAmerican carnage\u201d inaugural speech of just a year ago, Mr Trump said his administration was \u201cbuilding a safe, strong and proud America\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere has never been a better time to start living the American dream,\u201d he told lawmakers in a one-hour-and-20-minute speech.<\/p>\n
As many as 40 million television viewers were expected to tune in as he implored the nation to come together as \u201cone team, one people and one American family\u201d.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump made a plea for the kind of bipartisan co-operation that has been in short supply during a turbulent first year in office.<\/p>\n
The president, who has enraged Democrats by withdrawing protections for immigrants who entered the US illegally as children, offered an olive branch.<\/p>\n
\u201cTonight I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties, Democrats and Republicans, to protect our citizens, of every background, colour and creed.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he insisted on a border wall with Mexico and other concessions from Democrats as part of any over-arching immigration deal.<\/p>\n
Some Democrats booed when the president said he wanted to curtail an allowance for legal immigrants to bring family members into the country.<\/p>\n
Mr Trump again touted his pet plan to rebuild America\u2019s aging roads and other infrastructure, though he did not offer many details.<\/p>\n
The president said that 2.4 million jobs had been created on his watch.<\/p>\n
Since he came to office, the stock market has soared and the unemployment rate is at a 17-year low as the US continues its recovery from the recession of a decade ago.<\/p>\n
But had an average job approval last year of 38%, the lowest first-year rating for any president in the history of Gallup polling.<\/p>\n
How did Democrats respond?<\/h2>\n
Massachusetts congressman Joseph Kennedy III, a great-nephew of President John F Kennedy, delivered the Democratic rebuttal.<\/p>\n
He attempted to seize Mr Trump\u2019s political mantle by purporting to speak for \u201cAmericans who feel forgotten and forsaken\u201d.<\/p>\n
Bewailing a \u201cfractured country\u201d and depicting the Trump presidency as \u201cchaos\u201d, Mr Kennedy, 37, said: \u201cMany have spent the past year anxious, angry, afraid.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBullies may land a punch,\u201d he said. \u201cThey might leave a mark.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut they have never, not once, in the history of our United States, managed to match the strength and spirit of a people united in defence of their future.\u201d<\/p>\n
In one telling moment from Mr Trump\u2019s speech, members of the Democratic Congressional Black Caucus sat in stony-faced silence amid a standing ovation as the president noted African-American unemployment has hit a record low.<\/p>\n
About a dozen Democratic lawmakers said they would boycott Mr Trump\u2019s speech.<\/p>\n
One of them, California congresswoman Maxine Waters, told MSNBC: \u201cWhy would I take my time to go and sit and listen to a liar?\u201d<\/p>\n
Source: BBC<\/strong><\/p>\n![\"Homepage](\"https:\/\/ghanamma.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/Telesol-new-ad.jpg\")
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