10 Christian reactions to Trump's State of the Union address

By Samuel Smith, Deputy Managing Editor Wednesday, February 06, 2019

President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. on Feb. 5, 2019. | PHOTO: WHITEHOUSE/ JOYCE N. BOGHOSIAN

President Donald Trump’s wide-ranging second State of the Union address Tuesday night, his first before a divided Congress, has drawn mixed responses from Christian leaders.

Trump’s remarks lasted nearly 90 minutes and touched on a range of political topics: reinforced his call for a border wall, defended his plans in the Middle East, honored various special guests, slammed what he called “partisan investigations” and provided an overview of the political accomplishments of the last year.

Trump even announced that he would have another meeting with North Korea’s Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un later this month in Vietnam.

As a faction has emerged on the political left that has embraced the idea of democratic socialism, Trump boldly declared in his speech that the U.S. will never be a “socialist” nation.

At times, the president praised bipartisan accomplishments such as the passage of the criminal justice reform bill FIRST STEP Act. In an appeal to the new Democrat-led House of Representatives, Trump even praised the fact that there are more women in the workplace (and in Congress) than ever before.

While some conservative Christian leaders praised Trump for affirming the dignity of unborn children and calling for Congress to pass a ban on late-term abortions, left-leaning Christian leaders were not happy with the defense he provided of his administration’s staunch immigration policies.

As the government could be in danger of another government shutdown stemming from Trump’s desire for a barrier on the U.S. southern border in the coming days, Trump asserted in his speech that “walls work and walls save lives.”

In the following pages, are 10 Christian reactions to Trump’s State of the Union address.