'Great American comeback': Donald Trump addresses economy, national security in his third State of the Union speech

President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, on Wednesday, delivered the third State of the Union (SOTU) address at the US Capitol in Washington, on the eve of his expected acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial. He hailed his election as the start of "The Great American Comeback."

However, the US President avoided the topic of impeachment in his SOTU address. Trump instead talked about the economy, work-family issues, health care costs, immigration, and national security.

"Since my election, we have created seven million new jobs," declared Trump at the State of the Union address on Wednesday, adding that the US is thriving with the years of economic stagnation being over.

"Our borders are secure, our values are renewed and pride restored," he said.

Further, Trump said that "unlike so many who came before" him, he has managed to keep his promises of rejecting "the downsizing of America's destiny". The US President said, "We have shattered the mentality of American decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America's destiny," adding, "unlike so many who came before me, I keep my promises."

Talking about the US-China bilateral relations, Trump said, "Days ago we signed the deal with China which will protect our intellectual property rights," adding that the two countries still enjoy a cordial relationship. "For decades China had taken advantage of the US but we changed that but we still have a great relationship with China."

The US President was especially bold on this day. With Venezuelan Opposition Leader Juan Guaido sitting in the gallery, Trump vowed disputed Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro's "tyranny" in Venezuela will be "smashed and broken".

"Maduro is an illegitimate ruler, a tyrant who brutalizes his people. But Maduro's grip of tyranny will be smashed and broken," Trump said.

He also addressed the issue of the Novel Coronavirus epidemic that originated in China's Wuhan city and has since held the world on the scare. Trump informed that the US is coordinating with the Chinese government on all fronts to handle the epidemic in China.

Trump, using the speech to lay out his vision for a second four-year term, said a Democratic plan to expand government-funded health insurance amounted to a "socialist takeover" that would bankrupt the country, cut benefits for those who have them now and provide care to illegal immigrants

Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have proposed healthcare plans that would be entirely run by the government, a sharp departure from the current, private system in which millions of Americans get medical insurance from their employers.

Trump's lack of a healthcare plan has left him open to criticism that he has not put enough work into finding a way to reduce rising insurance costs that burden middle-class Americans.
"We will never let socialism destroy American healthcare!" Trump said.

Trump also revived his arguments that migrants should be stopped from crossing the southern US border and that so-called "sanctuary cities" where migrants are protected are wrong.

Several Democratic lawmakers, however, had boycotted the State of the Union speech, such as liberal firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This comes as Trump delivered the SOTU address in the middle of a Senate impeachment trial, initiated by the Democrats.