AUSTIN (KXAN) — As President Donald Trump addressed Congress and the American people Tuesday night, Texas leaders issued statements on what they thought of the address.
Trump addressed Congress and the American people about his first weeks in office and discussed topics involving the nation’s economy, immigration and foreign police, according to The Associated Press.
Reactions in the House from legislators involved placards calling out “lies,” and even Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was ejected from the House chamber after he “heckled the president early in his speech,” according to The Hill.
Those reactions continued at a state level, with some of those statements from Texas leaders below.
Gov. Greg Abbott
Gov. Greg Abbott issued the following statement on Trump’s address, which was provided by his office below:
“Tonight, President Donald Trump laid out the bold and historic accomplishments that he and his Administration achieved in less than two months. The moment President Trump took the oath of office, he swiftly went to work to keep the promises he made to Americans. In just seven weeks, President Trump cut unnecessary government bureaucracy and brought in billions of dollars in new investments that ushered in a manufacturing revival in the United States. His Administration has cracked down on the unprecedented illegal immigration crisis created by former President Joe Biden, which allowed criminal illegal immigrants into the country who took the lives of innocent Americans—including 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray from Houston. With illegal border crossings now at record lows that haven’t been seen in decades, Texas will continue to partner with the Trump Administration in their border and homeland security operations to arrest, detain, and deport illegal immigrants.
President Trump’s vision for the next four years is clear, and I look forward to working with him to renew the American Dream.”
Sen. John Cornyn
U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, released the following statement on Trump’s address below:
“Tonight, President Trump laid out his vision to renew the American dream, which he is already putting into action at an unprecedented pace. In just over six weeks, the President has made historic strides to reduce illegal immigration, cut waste and fraud, get our economy back on track, and restore American dominance on the world stage. Nowhere is this success more apparent than our southern border, where U.S. Customs and Border Protection are reporting record low crossings. That’s called deterrence, and Texans are safer for it.
“President Trump delivered a message of peace, prosperity, and strength in tonight’s address, which was a welcome change after four years of failure and weakness under Joe Biden. I look forward to continuing to work alongside President Trump and my colleagues in Congress to enact his America First agenda and fulfill his promises to the American people.”
Rep. Lloyd Doggett
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, along with several of his colleagues, held up “FALSE” signs in response to Trump’s joint address. His office issued the following statement below:
“While some of my equally outraged colleagues chose not to attend, I chose to confront Trump face-to-face and confront his lies one by one. Unlike a Republican colleague who yelled out ‘You lie!’ years ago during a Joint Session speech by President Obama, I chose to raise a sign saying ‘FALSE.’ Trump doesn’t like fact-checking since so many of his claims don’t match the facts. The People’s House must not be left unchecked to a wannabe tyrant spewing lies.
“This speech coincides with Trump’s imposition of his new 25% grocery tax on fresh produce and everything else upon which we rely from Mexico and Canada. Despite his repeated promises, he has done nothing to lower prices, and now he’s spiking them. He promised to protect our healthcare and not undermine the Affordable Care Act, and to ‘love’ Medicaid, but these are just more broken promises. I’m concerned about the way he has permitted Elon Musk to callously disrupt the lives of so many and about Trump’s power grabs. But I think most Central Texans will particularly feel the impact when they grab something off the store shelf for which they’ll be paying more because Trump broke his promises.”
