Indiana Lawmakers React to President Trump’s State of the Union
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Indiana’s political leaders are reacting to President Trump’s State of the Union address from Tuesday night.
Trump’s speech was the longest in U.S. history at about an hour and 48 minutes. He beat out his own record from last year when he spoke in front of Congress for 100 minutes.
Indiana Gov. Mike Braun released a statement soon after the speech ended, saying, “It is clear that the state of the Union is STRONG!”
“In just one year, we have seen illegal immigration come to a halt, massive drops in homicide rates, and trillions in reshored investments,” Gov. Braun said. “Our Nation’s economy is booming and Hoosiers are seeing the benefits.”
Indiana Republican Sen. Jim Banks thought the president’s State of the Union Address was a “great way to kick off America 250.”
“It was made even better by having the USA Men’s Hockey Gold Medal Champions in the audience,” said Sen. Banks.
Sen. Banks said President Trump is “strong, focused, and putting America First.”
“In just over a year, President Trump has secured the border, enacted the largest tax cut in history for working families, fixed the military recruitment crisis, deported over 600,000 illegal immigrants, and restored law and order to our streets,” added Banks.
U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-District 3) thought the president’s speech was one of his best.
“I thought the president did just a great job of laying out the successes that Republicans have had and that we had a lot of work to do and that we’re working hard to get America back on track,” said Rep. Stutzman.
Rep. Stutzman also believes that President Trump has tackled some of the country’s more important affordability issues like gas prices, food costs and interest rates.
Other Indiana Republicans also released statements, including Rep. Rudy Yakym, Rep. Jim Baird, and Rep. Jefferson Shreve, who said things like “America is back” and “Americans are much safer now under President Trump’s leadership.”
On the other side of the aisle, Indiana Democrats had a different reaction.
“The illusion of normal is now unsustainable,” said Indiana Democratic Party Chair Karen Tallian. “One year into Trump’s second term, the country is a mess and everything is expensive. Donald Trump’s lies included a promise to lower costs on day one. Instead, we have unaffordable healthcare, reduced medical facilities and illegal tariffs that cost the average household an extra $2,100 last year, all while Trump’s family and friends have managed to enrich themselves by $2.5 billion dollars in a single year through his self-dealing and crypto-schemes.”
Democrats also took issue with President Trump’s use of federal immigration agents.
“His promise of immigration reform has turned into murder on the streets by masked ICE agents with poor training but multi-billion dollar budgets, all while Americans continue to struggle to make ends meet,” Tallian added.
Rep. André Carson (D-District 7) did not attend Trump’s State of the Union address. He referred to it as a “spectacle.”
