The White House - 1600 Daily: African American History Month and the Bonds of Patriotism

Ji Seong-ho at the State of the Union | January 30, 2018 (Official White House Photo by D. Myles Cullen)

African American History Month and the Bonds of Patriotism
In his Proclamation this week honoring African American History Month, President Donald J. Trump drew attention to a special theme this year: “African Americans in Times of War.”
“For far too long, African Americans bravely fought and died in the name of freedom, while at the same time struggling to attain equality, respect, and the full privileges of citizenship,” the President wrote. “Because of their love of country, these heroes insisted on serving and defending America despite racial prejudice, unequal treatment, diminished opportunities, and segregation.”
As he did during his State of the Union Address this week, President Trump used personal stories from real Americans to illustrate the significance of this struggle. “We remember soldiers like Sergeant Henry Johnson of the Harlem Hellfighters, the all-black National Guard unit that was among the first American forces to arrive in France during World War I,” the President wrote.
Johnson was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and a Purple Heart.
Read more about these heroes and President Trump’s Proclamation here.

Randomness cannot have a place in our immigration system
In his State of the Union Address Tuesday, President Trump called on Congress to finally solve the immigration and border security problems that have plagued America for far too long.

“Tonight, I am extending an open hand to work with members of both parties, Democrats and Republicans, to protect our citizens of every background, color, religion, and creed,” the President said. “We have proposed new legislation that will fix our immigration laws and support our ICE and Border Patrol agents.”
It is crucial that any new immigration law replace randomness with merit in our system:

• Replacing the visa lottery system will reduce waitlists in nuclear family-based and high-skilled employment immigration
• Basing immigration on merit rather than chance will energize the U.S. economy and help low-wage American workers
• Ending the systemic vulnerabilities of the current visa system will reduce national security risk as well as rampant fraud and abuse

Read more: Randomness cannot have a place in our immigration system
Bonus read: “Trump’s immigration deal is, well, the real deal,” says Washington Examiner

President Trump addresses Republican Member Conference
The President traveled to West Virginia yesterday to speak to the 2018 House and Senate Republican Member Conference. He thanked legislators for the GOP’s numerous achievements during his first year in office—none bigger than December’s tax overhaul—and looked forward to what 2018 will hold.
A few highlights:

• “We know that, for Americans, nothing — absolutely nothing — is out of reach because we don’t know the meaning of the word ‘quit.’”
• “[Eliminating] the individual mandate by itself is a big, powerful bill. That was just added on to what we did with the massive tax cuts.”
• “We can fix bad trade deals and negotiate new ones that are fair. And the most important word to me, on trade, is ‘reciprocal.’ . . . If they’re going to do it to us, we’re going to do it to them.”
• “One of the strengths of the Republican Party is that we’re a big tent with many diverse views, but the one thing we can all agree on — and that’s that, in every decision, we make our highest priority to serve and to protect the American people.”

Watch the President’s speech to Republicans here. 

POTUS TODAY

This morning, President Trump will meet with North Korean defectors in the Oval Office. In the afternoon, the President will visit the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol National Targeting Center, where he will tour the facility and participate in a Customs and Border Protection roundtable.
Today, Vice President Mike Pence will participate in a phone call with President Ashraf Ghani of Afghanistan. The Vice President will then depart for Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he will deliver remarks at a Rick Saccone for Congress event. Later, the Vice President will deliver remarks at America First Policies’ “Tax Cuts to Put America First” event.