In his address to the joint houses of Congress last week, President Donald Trump outlined his vision for the future of America. While such responses to a Presidential address are typically written in long-form by a single Editor, we at American Watchmen feel that at this time in our nation’s history it is most appropriate if our site were to publish a collaborative response by the editorial board as a whole.

To that end, we have decided to make use of a bulleted format. Outlining what we at American Watchmen see as both the pros and cons of President Trump’s first address.

Pros:

• When talking about violent crime and gun crime, especially in Chicago, he blamed the violence on criminals, and not on guns.
• Honoring the fallen Navy Seal and his wife was a pure class act.
• He even had Elizabeth Warren clapping at one point
• He gave a voice to the victims of crimes committed by illegal immigrants
• He emphasized making sure women had what they needed to start businesses and achieve the American Dream
• He addressed our crumbling infrastructure
• He started the address by recognizing Black History Month
• Trump signalled the death knell of the Bill Clinton wing of the Democratic Party.
• He addressed the devastating impacts of trade run amok.
• He discussed the benefits of a looser and more flexible FDA drug approval policy.
• Trump gave notice the heroin epidemic ravaging our nation is a bipartisan issue.
• Trump opened his address with a strong declaration of his and America’s continued support for the Jewish people while also condemning the recent spate of anti-semitic attacks and incidents throughout the country.

Cons:

• Sometimes he seemed to pause after each point, as if he was waiting for applause, sometimes it the pause seemed a little too long.
• President Trump claimed that manufacturing jobs would come, “roaring back to life” even though this is not likely to happen as many economists have noted.

The editors wish President Trump the best in his efforts to Make America Great Again and hope he succeeds.  If this speech is any indication he certainly can.