The state of the union

Justin Yost, Editorial Writer

I’m writing this on Tuesday night, shortly before President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union speech. At the time of writing I have only small excerpts of the speech that the White House has sent out before the actual address. Trump intends to state that his administration’s policies, deregulation and national security have spurred a “new American moment.”

Well, he’s not wrong. His policies, mainly on national security and immigration, have spurred a new American moment. Only this isn’t the moment, in my opinion, many Americans want. Trump’s administration has revoked many concessions on citizenship for “dreamers,” people who were brought to America illegally as children. They have stated they will not grant citizenship without $25 billion in taxpayer money for Trump’s border wall. The same wall that Mexico was supposed to pay for. Essentially holding Dreamers hostage.

On the deregulation part of this, some of what the administration has done has been helpful to companies. Others have the potential to harm not only America but the world. There are many deregulations within the Environmental Protection Agency that could potentially harm the environment and humans. One example of this was reported in the New York Times. According to the Times the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid, which was once an ingredient used in stain-resistant carpets and nonstick pans, has been a struggle for the EPA to stop from contaminating drinking water. This chemical has been linked to kidney cancer, birth defects, immune system disorders and other serious health problems. A top Trump administration appointee wanted to rewrite a rule to make it harder to track the health consequences. This is just one of more than a dozen revisions demanded by the appointee.

Many other deregulation decisions by this administration, with the help of Republicans in congress, is moving America in the wrong direction. Once a world leader in the fight against climate change, the United States is now taking a very backwards stance on anything that gets in the way of the outdated fossil fuel industry. This has one very easy cause. Many in Congress and the Trump administration are bankrolled by fossil fuel giants.

The president will talk about the gains his administration has made against ISIS. He will concede that more work needs to be done, and that is supported by the disastrous past nine days overseas. More than 130 people have been killed in four terrorist attacks. The Taliban have claimed two, while ISIS has claimed the others.

It remains to be seen what all Trump will say during his speech. I just ask we all look at his actions rather than the words that will be said Tuesday night.