Trump Delivers SOTU, Speaks of Border Wall, Venezuela, Future Summit

By Staff, Agencies

US President Donald Trump delivered his second State of the Union address after the speech was postponed by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for almost two weeks over the government shutdown.

Speaking in the chamber of the House of Representatives on Tuesday, Trump once again pledged to build a wall along the US border with Mexico to prevent immigrants, whom he called “criminals,” from crossing into the US.

Trump has made his hardline stance on immigration an integral part of his presidency and has promised to build a wall along the Mexican border to curb the flow of migrants from Mexico and Central America.

His latest remarks come as he and Congress will need to try and find a solution to avert another government shutdown on February 15 even though he and Pelosi are still at an impasse over the wall.

Trump announced during the speech that his second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was slated for late February in Vietnam.

He then defended his decision to accelerate an end to the war in Afghanistan and to pull US troops out of Syria.

“Our brave troops have now been fighting in the Middle East for almost 19 years,” Trump said. “As a candidate for president, I pledged a new approach. Great nations do not fight endless wars.”

On Afghanistan, the president said he had sped up talks with the Taliban terrorist group, claiming that the two sides are able to find a political solution to the crisis in the war-torn country.

“I have also accelerated our negotiations to reach a political settlement in Afghanistan. Our troops have fought with unmatched valor -- and thanks to their bravery, we are now able to pursue a political solution to this long and bloody conflict.”

On China, Trump said that his country’s aggressive trade talks with China would put an end to what he described as Beijing’s "theft" of American jobs and wealth.

"We are now making it clear to China that after years of targeting our industries, and stealing our intellectual property, the theft of American jobs and wealth has come to an end."

Besides, Trump hailed his decision to pull the US out of a nuclear agreement reached between Iran and the world powers, once again accusing the Islamic Republic of ‘sponsoring terrorism.’

He then reiterated his support for Venezuela’s self-proclaimed ‘interim president’ Juan Guaido, calling the government of President Nicolas Maduro a ‘brutal’ one.

“We stand with the Venezuelan people in their noble quest for freedom — and we condemn the brutality of the Maduro regime, whose socialist policies have turned that nation from being the wealthiest in South America into a state of abject poverty and despair.”

Separately, Trump doubled down on his decision to suspend US' participation in a landmark Cold War-era arms control treaty with Russia.

On Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the US will withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces [INF] Treaty with Russia over claims that Moscow had been violating the key pact and jeopardizing Washington’s security interests.

During his speech, Trump made the same claim, saying, “While we followed the agreement to the letter, Russia repeatedly violated its terms. It’s been going on for many years.”