3:09
- ABC News
- February 6, 2019
5 key takeaways from Trump's State of the Union
Trump called for unity despite past weeks of gridlock.
3:09
“No one has benefited more from our thriving economy than women, who have filled 58 percent of the new jobs created in the last year,” Trump said, triggering the applause.
“You weren’t supposed to do that,” Trump said to the group. “Don’t sit yet — you're going to like this,” he added.
“Exactly one century after Congress passed the Constitutional Amendment giving women the right to vote, we also have more women serving in Congress than ever before,” Trump said.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/sotu-34-gty-jc-190205_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
The white-clad bloc of Democratic women, who spent most of the speech seated expressionless, responded with louder cheers that were joined by bipartisan chants of “U.S.A.”
The president then highlighted his administration’s support for nationwide paid family leave, a policy his daughter Ivanka Trump worked on.
He also made a fast pivot to call on Congress to pass legislation banning late-term abortion.
“There could be no greater contrast to the beautiful image of a mother holding her infant child than the chilling displays our nation saw in recent days,” Trump said, specifically citing embattled Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s recent comments that stirred controversy.
“I am asking Congress to pass legislation to prohibit the late-term abortion of children who can feel pain in the mother's womb. Let us work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life. And let us reaffirm a fundamental truth: all children – born and unborn – are made in the holy image of God,” Trump said.
Trump’s comments prompted swift backlash from some women in the audience, like 2020 candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, the Democrat from California.
Politicians ?? should ?? not ?? tell ?? women ?? what ?? to ?? do ?? with ?? their ?? bodies. #SOTU
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) February 6, 2019
Trump used the speech to announce the next move forward with North Korea — a peace summit on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam.
Photos: PHOTOS: The State of the Union address
Though recent U.N. reports found North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs are still intact, despite promises of “complete denuclearization” after the last summit, held in June in Singapore, Trump promoted his message of peace with the news.
“If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea. Much work remains to be done, but my relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one,” Trump said.
“Chairman Kim and I will meet again on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam,” he announced.
Much has changed since the president’s State of the Union address a year ago. He now faces a divided Congress — and one that has more women and people of color than ever before.
Abrams was a manifestation of that change, both as a woman of color — the first African-American woman to give the State of the Union response — and as a new voice that rose out of 2018.
Even though she lost a tight race for Georgia governor last November, Abrams nevertheless was selected to be the face of the party in a speech seen by millions nationwide – a testament, experts have said, to the power Democrats believe Abrams holds to connect with a diverse electorate in a moment of American politics enveloped by the complexities of gender and race.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/Politics/stacey-abrams-response-abc-jc-190205_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
Abrams' words were further looked to in the aftermath of the scandal engulfing the Virginia governor — which she addressed without specifically referencing the calls for his resignation or the racist yearbook photo.
\"We must hold everyone from the highest offices to our own families accountable for racist words and deeds and call racism what it is — wrong,\" Abrams said.
\"We must hold everyone from the highest offices to our own families accountable for racist words and deeds and call racism what it is — wrong.\"
— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) February 6, 2019
Stacey Abrams calls out Trump's policies and rebukes racism in her historic response to Trump's #SOTU address https://t.co/FkS7StsH0t pic.twitter.com/2sfktzcEet
Abrams was more direct about the president, who many predicted she wouldn’t directly call out.
She defended Democrats against the president’s claims that the party wants “open borders,” saying “compassionate treatment at the border\" is not the same thing.
\"President Reagan understood this. President Obama understood this. Americans understand this. And Democrats stand ready to effectively secure our ports and borders. But we must all embrace that from agriculture to healthcare to entrepreneurship, America is made stronger by the presence of immigrants - not walls,\" Abrams said.
But Abrams emphasized a similar theme from the president about victory for the country, over one party.
\"So even as I am very disappointed by the President’s approach to our problems, I still don’t want him to fail. But we need him to tell the truth, and to respect his duties and the extraordinary diversity that defines America,\" Abrams said.
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