I read the summation of Trump’s State of the Union speech from Tuesday evening. There were no surprises. As expected he praised himself for economic gains which began under President Obama’s administration. Trump didn’t veer away from the teleprompter, and will surely be praised by his failed party today. What I noticed was what he did not include in his speech.

Trump refused to address DACA. Chuck Schumer caved on the issue during the short shutdown, and the future of the “Dreamers” remains uncertain.

Trump has never mentioned the growing number of Americans falling below the poverty line, which stands at nearly 50 million today. The underlying cause is income inequality which Republicans refuse to accept as a reality. There are more low-income Americans than middle class today. The truth is that low-income and impoverished Americans compose nearly 50 percent of all of our nation’s people.

He didn’t mention the fact that America is falling behind most of the nations in the developed world in education. Rising costs and the virtual end of encouraging diversity in our colleges and universities has resulted in a less qualified work force in America.

Trump did not mention an 800 percent increase in hate crimes since his nomination in July of 2016. White supremacists have come out of the shadows now that they have a leader soiling the sheets in the White House.

Domestic, white terrorism is a greater danger to the people of our country than any foreign entity. This will be the third year in a row in which our nation experiences more mass shootings than days on the calendar.

He ignored the fact that his policies are isolating our nation from its former allies as Trump embraces dictators and tyrants. His refusal to accept the fact that climate change is the greatest danger to the future of the world is unacceptable to the people of every nation in the world other than Honduras and Syria.

Finally; President Obama moved our nation from the great recession caused by another Republican president, into full recovery mode. We have him to thank for our growing economy. Wall Street must be very grateful for the policies of a real president.

Republicans cannot deny that Trump’s tax reform is a gift to himself and the wealthy. By lowering the corporate tax rate and taxes for the wealthy, our nation will have less revenue and therefore cuts to necessary social programs will follow soon.

Trump’s biggest lie is that he will work with both parties. He is a dictator who will only conduct his presidency in a partisan manner. Democracy no longer exists in Washington.

Once again; please vote in November. We deserve better, and we have a powerful weapon; our vote.

Op-ed by James Turnage

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