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State of the Union - live: Women wear white in powerful message as Trump vows to ban late-term abortion

Follow the latest updates as Mr Trump prepares to deliver his second State of the Union address to a divided Congress

Clark Mindock
New York
,Chris Riotta,Joe Sommerlad
Wednesday 06 February 2019 06:12 GMT
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State of the Union: Trump asks Congress to end late term abortion

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Donald Trump is delivering the second State of the Union address of his presidency, where he has the opportunity to lay out his vision for the last two years of his first term in office and beyond.

With a damaging and politically contentious 35-day government shutdown having just ended in Washington, the president stands before a joint session in the House chamber — where is expected to make sweeping calls for unity in a time of dramatic division and to promote lofty efforts like the eradication of HIV by 2030.

But, Mr Trump’s audience in the House chamber will be noticeably different from his address last year. Flanked behind him and to his left will sit Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who proved to be a formidable political foil to Mr Trump during those shutdown negotiations last month after her party took control of the lower chamber during the 2018 midterm elections.

Follow live updates below

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The president is pledging to bring the US back to space on its own terms this year, after years of reliance on foreign space programmes to bring US astronauts to space after the space shuttle fleet was retired.

"This year American astronauts will go back to space on American rockets," Mr Trump said, to bipartisan applause.

Mr Trump then tied the triumphs during the Second World War and American space travel into a common goal for Americans.

"In the 20th century, America saved freedom, transformed science, and redefined the middle class standard of living for the entire world to see.  Now, we must step boldly and bravely into the next chapter of this Great American Adventure, and we must create a new standard of living for the 21st century," Mr Trump said.

Clark Mindock6 February 2019 02:16

The president has called on his colleagues in Congress to work together in the coming years to "unlock the extraordinary promise of America's future".

"Together, we can break decades of political stalemate. We can bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions, and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future," Mr Trump said. " The decision is ours to make".

The calls for bipartisan solutions received considerable support from the room, including Ms Pelosi. But, notably, freshman Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did not clap in support of his statements.

Clark Mindock6 February 2019 02:17

Mr Trump has touted job growth during his administration, saying that the US has overseen an addition of over five million jobs, and that wages are growing at one of the fastest rates in recent decades.

"We are just getting started," Mr Trump said.

Clark Mindock6 February 2019 02:18

The president said that the US is considered to be "far and away the hottest economy — not even close".

Clark Mindock6 February 2019 02:19

The president is painting a rosy picture of the US economy, and claims that more people are working in the US than at any point in history. He pegged that number at 157m workers.

He also touted his controversial tax cuts that heavily benefited the wealth in America, and said that the US has all but eliminated the estate tax for farmers in America.

Clark Mindock6 February 2019 02:21

Mr Trump is now saying that his administration has cut more regulations than any other administration during "its entire tenure".

Those cuts include regulations to keep American waterways clean, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from coal plants ad others.

Clark Mindock6 February 2019 02:22

The president has now said that the United States is the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the world, before claiming that the US is now the leading exporter of energy in the world.

He says the US economy is now "the envy" of the world.

Clark Mindock6 February 2019 02:23

"Members of Congress, the state of our union is strong," Mr Trump said.

Clark Mindock6 February 2019 02:24

On the president's point about the US being the leading producer of oil and gas in the world, the US Energy Information Agency estimated that America surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia sometime late last year in production.

"We have unleashed a revolution in American Energy – the United States is now the number one producer of oil and natural gas in the world," he said in his speech.

Clark Mindock6 February 2019 02:25

Mr Trump has now called the US economy a "miracle" before taking a stab at planned congressional investigations into his campaign and organizations, and appearing to call for an end to US wars abroad.

"After 24 months of rapid progress, our economy is the envy of the world, our military is the most powerful on earth, and America is winning each and every day," he said.

The only things that can stop the US are "foolish wars politics, or ridiculous partisan investigations", Mr Trump said.

Clark Mindock6 February 2019 02:26

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