Trump touts a 'new American moment' in first State of the Union address

Screenshot via CNN

Donald Trump.

• President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night, on what has already been an eventful first few weeks of his second year in office.
• During Trump's big speech, given at the Capitol in front of a majority Republican Congress, and guests, the president declared a "new American moment," saying "There has never been a better time to start living the American dream."
• Trump focused largely on jobs and the economy and US victories in the war against extremists abroad.
• His remarks come 24 hours after one of the most pivotal moments in his presidency; in which the FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe was forced out of the bureau after months of blistering attacks from Trump, and the possible release of a GOP memo seen as critical of the FBI and DOJ also loomed - posing further threat to the Russia investigation.

President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Trump focused largely on jobs and the economy in touting what he called a "new American moment," saying "There has never been a better time to start living the American dream."

"We want every American to know the dignity of a hard day's work; we want every child to be safe in their home at night, and we want every citizen to be proud of this land that we love." Trump said.

Trump pointed to the major overhaul of the US tax code, which he signed into law in December, and touted the flurry of employee bonuses that followed.

"Since we passed tax cuts, roughly 3 million workers have already gotten tax cut bonuses - many of them thousands of dollars per worker," Trump said.

Multiple industries - including airlines, telecommunications, consumer electronics companies, and retail among others - have announced one-time payments in response to the new tax law.

But the news around tax law hasn't all been positive. After Walmart announced it would give bonuses to longtime employees and raise it minimum wage to $11 an hour, it announced massive layoffs the same day.

Rebuilding trust and economic growth

Trump highlighted a need for accountability. Evolving the rhetoric of his 2016 campaign a bit, in which he vowed to rebuild Americans' confidence in government by draining "the swamp," Trump took a newer tack, saying his administration has sought to "restore the bonds of trust between our citizens and their government."

For Trump, that effort includes trimming down regulations that he has described as a roadblock to economic progress. He also reemphasized his goal to restore America to equal footing with the rest of the world in terms of trade, declaring that America has "turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals that sacrificed our prosperity and shipped away our companies, our jobs and our nation's wealth."

Trump continued: "So, to every citizen watching at home tonight, no matter where you have been or where you have come from, this is your time. If you work hard, if you believe in yourself, if you believe in America, then you can dream anything, be anything. And together, we can achieve absolutely anything."

The story is developing. Refresh this page for updates.