Thread by @jseldin

In preview of #SOTU on national security, @POTUS expected to say, "As a candidate for President, I pledged a new approach. Great nations do not fight endless wars"
re #Syria #Afghanistan #Iraq?

As for #Iran, @POTUS expected to say in #SOTU, "We will not avert our eyes from a regime that chants Death to America and threatens genocide against the Jewish People"

.@ODNIgov Dir Dan Coats and @CIA Dir Gina Haspel entering the House Chamber at Capitol for the #SOTU

.@POTUS enters to deliver the #SOTU

.@POTUS greeting the Chairman of @thejointstaff Gen. Joseph Dunford

.@POTUS takes the podium...

"My fellow Americans, we meet tonight at a moment of unlimited potential" he says "I stand here ready to work with you to achieve historic breakthroughs for all Americans"

US to "pursue a foreign policy that puts America's interests first," per @POTUS "There is a new opportunity in American politics if only we have the courage together to seize it"

"Victory is not winning for our party. Victory is winning for our country" says @POTUSj

"In 2019, we also celebrate 50 years since brave young pilots flew a quarter of a million miles through space to plant the American flag on the face of the moon" per @POTUS "This year, American astronauts will go back to space on American rockets"

"Now we must step boldly and bravely into the next chapter of this great American adventure" per @POTUS

"We must choose between greatness or gridlock, results or resistance, vision or vengeance, incredible progress or pointless destruction" per @POTUS "Tonight, I ask you to choose greatness"

"Our military is the most powerful on earth, by far, and America is winning each and every day," per @POTUS

"Members of Congress, the state of our Union is strong" Trump says to chants of "USA! USA!"

"An economic miracle is taking place in the #UnitedStates and the only thing that can stop it are foolish wars, politics or ridiculous partisan investigations" says @POTUS in #SOTU

"If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation. It just doesn't work that way," says @POTUS "We must be united at home to defeat our adversaries abroad"

"After 4 decades of rejection, we passed VA accountability so we can finally terminate those who mistreat our wonderful veterans," says @POTUS of @DeptVetAffairs

"America is a nation that believes in redemption" says @POTUS, speaking of reformed sentencing laws for non-violent offenders & the First Step Act

"Now, Republicans & Democrats must join forces again to confront an urgent nat'l crisis" per @POTUS "Congress has 10 days left to pass a bill that will fund our Government, protect our homeland & secure our southern border"

"Now is the time for the Congress to show the world that America is committed to ending illegal immigration and putting the ruthless coyotes, cartels, drug dealers & human traffickers out of business" per @POTUS

"As we speak, large, organized caravans are on the march to the #UnitedStates" per @POTUS "I have ordered another 3,750 troops to our southern border to prepare for the tremendous onslaught"

"This is a moral issue. The lawless state of our southern border is a threat to the safety, security and financial well‑being of all Americans" per @POTUS "We have a moral duty to create an immigration system that protects the lives and jobs of our citizens"

" Tolerance for illegal immigration is not compassionate" per @POTUS "It is actually very cruel"

"The savage gang, MS-13, now operates in 20 different American States and they almost all come through our southern border" says @POTUS "We are removing these gang members by the thousands but until we secure our border they're going to keep streaming right back in"

"Not one more American life should be lost because our Nation failed to control its very dangerous border" per @POTUS in #SOTU

"My administration has sent to Congress a commonsense proposal to end the crisis" per @POTUS "It includes humanitarian assistance, more law enforcement, drug detection at our ports, closing loopholes that enable child smuggling & plans for a new physical barrier, or wall"

"In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall but the proper wall never got built. I will get it built." says @POTUS in #SOTU

"Simply put, walls work and walls save lives" says @POTUS, to applause mostly from Republicans "So let's work together, compromise, and reach a deal that will truly make America safe"

"The final part of my agenda is to protect American security" says @POTUS in #SOTU "Over the last 2 years we have begun to fully rebuild the #UnitedStates military w/ $700 billion last year & $716 billion this year"

"We are also getting other nations to pay their fair share" per @POTUS, referencing @NATO

"As part of our military build-up, the #UnitedStates is developing a state-of-the-art missile defense system" says @POTUS "Under my administration, we will never apologize for advancing America's interests"

ON #INF Treaty, @POTUS says "We really have no choice" but to withdraw "While we followed the agreement to the letter, Russia repeatedly violated its terms. It's been going on for many years"

"Perhaps we can negotiate a different agreement, adding #China and others, or perhaps we can't, in which case, we will outspend and out-innovate all others by far" says @POTUS in #SOTU on missile defense

"we continue our historic push for peace on the #Korean Peninsula" per @POTUS "Our hostages have come home, nuclear testing has stopped, and there has not been a missile launch in 15 months"

"If I had not been elected President of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with #NorthKorea" says @POTUS "My relationship with Kim Jong Un is a good one" announcing mtg for Feb 27-28

"One of the most complex set of challenges we face and have for many years is in the Middle East" per @POTUS

"Our brave troops have now been fighting in the Middle East for almost 19 years. In #Afghanistan and #Iraq, nearly 7,000 American heroes have given their lives"

"We have spent more than $7 trillion in the Middle East" says @POTUS "As a candidate for President, I pledged a new approach. Great nations do not fight endless wars"

"When I took office, #ISIS controlled more than 20,000 square miles in Iraq and Syria" says @POTUS "Now, we have liberated virtually all of that territory from the grip of these bloodthirsty monsters"

"As we work with our allies to destroy the remnants of #ISIS, it is time to give our brave warriors in #Syria a warm welcome home" says @POTUS "I have also accelerated our negotiations to reach a political settlement in #Afghanistan"

"The opposing side is also happy to be negotiating" @POTUS says of #Taliban "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"

" As we make progress in these negotiations, we will be able to reduce our troop presence and focus on counterterrorism" per @POTUS "We do not know whether we will achieve an agreement but we do know that after 2 decades of war, the hour has come to at least try for peace"

"Above all, friend and foe alike must never doubt this Nation's power and will to defend our people" adds @POTUS, noting US forces tracking & killing one of the leaders of the attack on the #USSCole last month

"My Administration has acted decisively to confront the world's leading state sponsor of terror - the radical regime in Iran" says @POTUS "They do bad, bad things"

"Last fall, we put in place the toughest sanctions ever imposed on a country" @POTUS says of #Iran and US withdrawing from #JCPOA " We will not avert our eyes from a regime that chants death to America and threatens genocide against the Jewish people"

"We must never ignore the vile poison of anti-Semitism," adds @POTUS in #SOTU " With one voice, we must confront this hatred anywhere and everywhere it occurs"

.@POTUS praises #WWII vets, says "Everything that has come since-our triumph over communism, our giant leaps of science&discovery, our unrivaled progress toward equality&justice-all of it is possible thanks to the blood and tears&courage & vision of the Americans who came before"

"Think of this Capitol. Think of this very chamber, where lawmakers before you voted to end slavery, to build the railroads & the highways, to defeat fascism, to secure civil rights, to face down an evil empires," says @POTUS

"What will we do with this moment? How will we be remembered?" asks @POTUS in #SOTU

"Our most exciting journeys still await. Our biggest victories are still to come. We have not yet begun to dream"

"We must choose whether we are defined by our differences or whether we dare to transcend them" says @POTUS "We must choose whether we will squander our inheritance or whether we will proudly declare that we are Americans"

"This is the time to re-ignite the American imagination" says @POTUS in #SOTU "This is our future, our fate, and our choice to make. I am asking you to choose greatness"

"We must keep America first in our hearts" says @POTUS "We must keep freedom alive in our souls. And we must always keep faith in America's destiny..."

"...one nation, under God, must be the hope and the promise and the light and the glory among all the nations of the world!"

"God bless you, God bless America," concludes @POTUS

Statement from @DHSgov @SecNielsen reacting to the #SOTU

"Make no mistake, there is a humanitarian and security crisis at our border that will continue to worsen if Congress fails to act...It is time Congress recognizes the facts on the ground and takes this problem seriously"

Reaction ot #SOTU from @StateDept @SecPompeo:

"History will remember this period not only for what America has achieved on its own, but for the partnerships we have built with strong, sovereign, and independent nations and the contributions we have inspired from our partners"

Reaction from @TheJusticeDept and acting Attorney General Whitaker

Reaction from National Security Action - a group headed by former @BarackObama Nat'l Security Advisor @nedprice - calls @POTUS description of US in the world today "in a word, delusional"

Democratic response from #Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams

"Our power & strength as Americans lives in our hard work, in our belief in more... We live in a nation where opportunity is possible"

"Together, we are coming for America, for a better America" says Abrams in Democratic Response, calling gvt shutdown "a stunt" by @POTUS "One that defied every tenet of fairness & abandoned not just our ppl but our values"

"Compassionate treatment at the border is not the same as open borders" per Abrams "Americans understand this"

"Democrats stand ready to effectively secure our ports and borders. But we must all embrace that from agriculture to healthcare to entrepreneurship, America is made stronger by the presence of immigrants, not walls" says Abrams

"In this time of division and crisis, we must come together and stand for&with, 1 another" says Abrams "America has stumbled time and again on its quest towards justice&equality. But w/each generation, we have revisited our fundamental truths & where we falter, we make amends"

"Even as I am very disappointed by the President’s approach to our problems, I still don’t want him to fail" says Abrams "But we need him to tell the truth and to respect his duties and the extraordinary diversity that defines America"

"America wins by fighting for our shared values against all enemies-foreign and domestic" says Abrams "That is who we are. And when we do so, never wavering, the state of our union will always be strong"

Response to #SOTU from @DeptofDefense Acting Sec @DepSecDef Pat Shanahan:

"Under President Trump's leadership, we are focused on the full implementation of the National Defense Strategy:increasing lethality, strengthening alliances partnerships&reforming the way we do business"