Renewal of American spirit' in speech to Congress

President Donald Trump has said the US is witnessing a "renewal of the American spirit", as he delivered his first speech to Congress.

Adopting a measured, upbeat tone, the Republican 
president spoke of a "new chapter of American greatness".

Mr Trump condemned recent vandalism of Jewish 
cemeteries and a shooting in Kansas that left an Indian 
man dead.

His primetime address sought to bolster his low 
approval ratings after a bumpy start to his fledgling presidency.

At the outset of Tuesday night's hour-long speech, Mr 
Trump tackled recent suspected hate crimes, saying 
"we are a country that stands united in condemning hate 
and evil in all its very ugly forms".

On immigration, he dangled the intriguing possibility of a major policy shift towards a goal that eluded his two
 predecessors, insisting that "real and positive" reform 
was possible.

That line came hours after he told news anchors off the record at a White House lunch that he might be open to granting legal status to undocumented immigrants.

In his remarks on Capitol Hill, the president also talked
 tough on the issue, pledging to make US communities 
safer "by finally enforcing our immigration laws".

He defended his early actions in office, touting his 
moves to withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific 
Partnership trade deal and order work to start on a 
US-Mexico border wall.


It was a conventional presidential address, delivered
conventionally. Any other year, that would be unremarkable.

In the age of Trump, however, where the ordinary seems unlikely, Tuesday night's proceedings proved decidedly unexpected.

Many of the ideas were the same - the calls for increased border security, the denunciation of illegal immigrants, 
the pledge to rebuild the US by buying American and hiring American, the warning that US allies must pay their fair 
share - but the delivery was smoother. For once, Donald Trump's delivery was spoken, not shouted.

As is typical of such addresses, the text was light on
 policy and marinated in cliches and political pabulum, touching on most of Mr Trump's agenda in vague 
generalities.

The president did lay down some markers, however, particularly on priorities in the upcoming healthcare 
overhaul, the size of his infrastructure spending plan and, 
at least elliptically, his support for border taxes.

In the end Mr Trump did no harm and may have helped 
ease the concerns of Republicans rattled by a rocky start 
to his administration. Now Congress has to turn those promises into reality. Even with this speech, it will not be an easy task.

But the most thunderous ovation of the night came when a war widow wept as Mr Trump paid tribute to her husband.

Navy Seal Ryan Owens died in a controversial US raid on a
suspected al-Qaeda base in Yemen, days into Mr Trump's
presidency. Several Yemeni civilians, including children, 
were also believed to have been killed , leading to questions over the operation's readiness and effectiveness.

The navy seal's father refused to meet President Trump 
when his son's body was returned home last month.

"Ryan's legacy is etched into eternity," Mr Trump told
 the grieving Carryn Owens, who sobbed and looked 
upwards.

It was one of the rare moments when lawmakers on 
both sides of the aisle applauded.

Despite the president's appeal for both parties to "unite for 
the good of our country", Democratic lawmakers mostly 
sat in silence or openly laughed at parts of the speech.

Mr Trump's feel-good rallying cry for national unity, some noted, was in stark contrast to his doom-laden inauguration speech of a month ago.

In his concluding remarks, the president - whose political
honeymoon has been soured by acrimonious spats with 
the media - said "the time for trivial fights is behind us".

Among US First Lady Melania Trump's special guests 
in the gallery were three California residents whose 
relatives were killed by people in the US illegally.

At least a dozen Democrats brought as their guests 
young undocumented immigrants who came to the US 
as children.

Former Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear delivered the
Democratic rebuttal to the speech, accusing Republicans 
of planning to "rip affordable health insurance" from Americans and being "Wall Street's champion".

In a Fox News interview broadcast earlier on Tuesday, Mr Trump gave himself an overall "A plus" for effort, adding 
that "in terms of messaging, I would give myself a C or a C plus".

His popularity, however, has hit a historic low for modern
presidents after a month in office - just 44% of Americans think he is doing a good job, according to RealClearPolitics.

Mr Trump's young presidency has been overshadowed 
by missteps including a high-profile court defeat to his controversial travel ban and the firing of a top aide.