President Donald Trump told Congress on Tuesday he was open to immigration reform, shifting from his harsh rhetoric on illegal immigration in a speech that offered a more restrained tone than his election campaign and first month in the White House.
Trump, in a prime-time address to a country that remains divided over his leadership, set aside disputes with Democrats and the news media to deliver his most presidential performance to date, seeking to regain the confidence of Americans rattled by his leadership thus far.
The presidentโs speech was long on promises but short on specifics on how to achieve a challenging legislative agenda that could add dramatically to budget deficits. He wants a healthcare overhaul, broad tax cuts and a $1 trillion public-private initiative to rebuild degraded roads and bridges.
Trump built a base of support behind his presidential campaign by vowing to fight illegal immigration. In his speech, he took a more moderate tone, appealing to Republicans and Democrats to work together on immigration reform.
He said it was possible if both Republicans and Democrats in Congress were willing to compromise, although he also said US immigration should be based on a merit-based system, rather than relying on lower-skilled immigrants.
Comprehensive immigration reform eluded his two predecessors, Democrat Barack Obama and Republican George W Bush, because of deep divisions within Congress and among Americans over the issue. Trump said reform would raise wages and help more struggling families enter the middle class.
โI believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible, as long as we focus on the following goals: to improve jobs and wages for Americans, to strengthen our nationโs security, and to restore respect for our laws,โ said the Republican president.
Trumpโs first month in office was dominated by a fight over his temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority nations, repeated attacks on the news media and harsh personal criticism of judges who blocked his immigration order.
In his speech on Tuesday, he appeared to look for a reset, trying to move past a chaotic period that sowed doubts about his ability to govern effectively.
โThe time for trivial fights is behind us,โ he said.
Financial markets showed a muted reaction as Trump gave few specifics or new details.
Early signs showed Trumpโs speech drew a positive response. A CNN/ORC poll found 57 per cent of viewers thought Trumpโs speech was very positive and 69 per cent said they felt more optimistic about the future of the country.
โHeโs lost his foot and mouth disease,โ said Tom Beckwith, 71, of Seminole, Florida. โThis was a tremendous speech. Heโs cured.โ
Still, there was plenty of evidence of ongoing partisan divisions. In the chamber of the House of Representatives where Trump spoke, Democrats sometimes sat in silence and turned their thumbs down at his remarks. Many women lawmakers wore white in a subtle show of protest.
Democratic Senator Christopher Coons of Delaware called Trumpโs speech one of โthe most coherent public addresses heโs given in a month.โ
But Coons said he viewed Trumpโs forthcoming budget proposals as โgravely concerning,โ citing the presidentโs plan for paying for a defence buildup by cutting foreign aid and other programmes.
Much of Trumpโs speech focused on solving problems at home in line with his โAmerica firstโ rhetoric. Apart from criticising Obama for increasing the national debt, Trump did not mention the federal budget deficit, which will severely limit any new spending programs.
On immigration, Trump again pledged to build a wall on the US-Mexico border, but he made no mention this time of Mexico paying for it. He also said he would โshortly take new steps to keep our nation safe,โ referring to a new executive order he is to sign to replace one embroiled in the courts.
Trump focused part of the speech on foreign policy, stressing his support for Nato but insisting allies pay more for their defence.
In a possible nod to his bid to warm relations with Russia, which he did not mention by name,Trump said: โAmerica is willing to find new friends, and to forge new partnerships, where shared interests align.โ
Trump has been criticised for his praise of Russian President Vladimir Putin. A US congressional committee is investigating contacts between Trumpโs election campaign and Russia to see if there were any inappropriate communications.
โWe want harmony and stability, not war and conflict,โ said Trump, who said, however, he would embark on a big defence buildup.
โMASSIVE TAX RELIEFโ
Trump said he wanted to provide โmassive tax reliefโ to the middle class and cut corporate tax rates. But he did not offer specifics and failed to comment on the most pressing tax issue facing Congress, a proposed border adjustment tax to boost exports over imports.
Lawmakers have been looking to Trump for more leadership on an issue that has divided corporate America and Republicans in Congress.
Trump called on the Republican-led Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare with reforms that expand choice, increase access and lower costs.
Republicans remain divided on how to accomplish that goal and Democrats vehemently oppose tampering with a system that provides health insurance for millions of low-income Americans.
While Trumpโs comments lacked detail, it was the first time he publicly supported tax credits to help Americans purchase their own coverage, a nod to health insurers who say they are necessary to keep people in the market.
Former Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear said in the Democratic response to Trumpโs speech that โyou and your Republican allies in Congress seem determined to rip affordable health insurance away from millions of Americans who most need it.โ
In the most emotional moment of the night, Trump singled out Carryn Owens, the widow of US Navy Seal William โRyanโ Owens, who was killed in a raid on al Qaeda in Yemen.
Owens, tears streaming down her face, clasped her hands and looked upward from her spot in the balcony as lawmakers and the president applauded her in the longest ovation of Trumpโs hour-long speech.
Trump said the mission that her husband participated in obtained vital intelligence that could be used against Islamist militants, taking issue with news reports quoting US officials who said little was gained from the raid.