Immigration was a major focus of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Trump also addressed several other topics of particular interest to Texans, including infrastructure and Hurricane Harvey.
Trump referred to “dreamers” during the speech, not referring to DACA recipients who are often called Dreamers, but to American citizens.
Brandon Rottinghaus, political science professor at the University of Houston says Trump’s rhetoric is unlikely to bring a solution to the impasse over DACA.
“Trying to build a bridge to this solution is not going to be done through this kind of rhetoric,” Rottinghaus says, “and I think the White House knows it.”
Rottinghaus says the speech included many contrasting themes – positive exhortations about the American Dream and dark imagery about gang violence.
“He offered these pillars that he uses as a way to buttress the policy he wants to put out there,” Rottinghaus says. “The problem is that some of those pillars – for some constituencies – they’re rotten and crumbling.”
Trump also pitched a $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan, which Rottinghaus says would be a boon for Texas if enacted.
“I think this would be an area of bipartisan support,” Rottinghaus says. “The catch is how to pay for it.”
Written by Shelly Brisbin.
