Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer slammed US President Donald Trump in advance of his State of the Union speech, claiming that the “state of the Trump administration” is mired in “chaos and incompetence.”
“The president will say predictably that the state of our Union is strong, but the truth is the state of the Trump economy is failing America’s middle class,” Schumer said. “The state of the Trump administration is embroiled in chaos and incompetence.”
Schumer blasted Trump over his economic, tax and health policies, as well as his foreign policy and the changes in his Cabinet.
“The president makes these off the cuff decisions based on how someone looks and we all pay the price. […] Continuity and effectiveness of American government has been deeply compromised by the turmoil and turnover at the White House,” he said.
The booming economy has been one of the key results of Trump’s policies throughout the first half of his presidency. According to Trading Economics, the unemployment rate in the US has reached 3.7%, the lowest level since 1953. GDP growth also reached an average of 3.4% in the third quarter, twice the rate that it was during the previous administration. Trump has implemented the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which aimed to boost business expansion by cutting corporate taxes and taxes for middle-class American families.
Trump is expected to give his speech on Tuesday, 5 February before Congress, Supreme Court Justices and members of his cabinet. The address was rescheduled after the partial government shutdown, which lasted 35 days and became the longest in US history.
Trump will call on Congress to compromise on a number of key issues such as immigration and trade, according to a senior administration official cited by the Hill.
“I want to see our country united,” Trump said last week during a pre-speech lunch with network news anchors. “If I could unite the country, I would consider it a tremendous success.”