WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama knocked Republican presidential candidates for anti-Muslim rhetoric and accused critics on Tuesday of playing into the hands of Islamic State in a speech aimed at setting an optimistic tone for his last year in office.
Obama, delivering his last State of the Union speech to Congress before leaving office next year, said it was fiction to declare the United States was in economic decline or getting weaker on the international stage.
In a direct slap at Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, Obama said insulting Muslims hurt the United States and “betrayed” its identity.
“When politicians insult Muslims … that doesn’t make us safer,” he said, drawing applause from the crowd in the House chamber. “It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals.”
Businessman Trump is leading the Republican field in the race for the Nov. 8 election to replace Obama. Trump has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, ideas Obama strongly opposes.
The Democratic president said critics played into Islamic State’s hands by comparing the fight against the militant group to World War III, even as he acknowledged that the group and al-Qaida posed a direct threat to the American people.
“Masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting in apartments or garages, they pose an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped. But they do not threaten our national existence,” Obama said.
The remarks were a repudiation of criticism of his strategy against Islamic State, which Republicans have called insufficient.
Obama’s address came as 10 sailors aboard two U.S. Navy boats were taken into Iranian custody. Iran told the United States the crew members would be “promptly” returned, U.S. officials said. The event gave Republicans further fodder to criticize Obama’s nuclear deal with Tehran.
Obama did not address the issue in his speech. The White House said late Tuesday plans were in place for the sailors to be returned early Wednesday.
The address was one of Obama’s few remaining chances to capture the attention of millions of Americans before November’s election of a new president who will take office next January.
Obama stuck to themes he hopes will define his legacy.
He emphasized areas where compromise was possible with Republicans in Congress including criminal justice reform, trade and poverty reduction.
He called for lawmakers to ratify a Pacific trade pact, advance tighter gun laws and lift an embargo on Cuba.
The president also said he regretted not having been able to elevate U.S. political discourse during his time in office.
To help “fix” U.S. politics, Obama pressed for an end to “gerrymandering,” the practice of drawing voting districts in ways that gives advantage to a particular party; reducing the influence of “dark money” or political spending in which funding sources do not have to be disclosed; and making voting easier.
Obama also said he had tasked Vice President Joe Biden, whose son died last year of cancer, to lead an effort to find a cure for the disease.
Politics loomed over the speech.
Obama is eager for a Democrat to win the White House to preserve his legacy, but anger over his policies and fears about security threats have helped push nontraditional candidates to the fore in the Republican and, to a lesser extent, the Democratic races to succeed him.
Self-described “socialist” Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, is giving former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton tough competition in early voting states for the Democratic primary contest.
In a statement after Obama’s address, Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said, “The president is right to describe this as a time of extraordinary change, and I believe we face some huge challenges. Even though we have nearly 8 million new jobs and ended the wars in the Middle East, there are still families all across the country struggling to make ends meet and we face extraordinary challenges to our security at home and abroad. We’ve come a long way but still have a long way to go.
“I’m also glad that President Obama used this opportunity to call for cooperation and a higher level of debate between the parties,” Pingree said. “And I hope politicians follow his lead and reject the politics of division that targets people based on their race and religion.
Pingree brought a Yarmouth man, Tabin Tangila mesu Kamba, to sit in the House Chamber and watch the speech as her guest. Tangila mesu Kamba was an activist in his home country of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In 2011, the presidential election there generated a great deal of chaos and violence, which caused Tabin to fear for his safety. He fled to the United States and was granted asylum status in Maine.
Rep. Bruce Poliquin, R-Maine, said Tuesday night in a news release that he was “ready” to work together to face issues but criticized the president’s speech for its support of what Poliquin called “failed policies.”
“The president is insistent on maintaining some of the most flawed parts of Obamacare, a health care law that has had devastating effects on families in Maine and has crippled our local businesses. The president has made clear his intent on attacking law-abiding citizens and blaming our Second Amendment right for terror attacks on American soil. He also demonstrated, once again, his misunderstanding of the national security threats that our nation faces today by doubling-down on his position to keep Guantanamo Bay open and to proceed with a dangerous nuclear deal with Iran, the world’s leading state-sponsor of terrorism,” he said.
However, Poliquin applauded the president for addressing one of Maine’s greatest challenges.
“I am glad the president mentioned the opioid and heroin crisis that is ravaging our country, especially our communities in Maine,” he continued. “This is a critical, bipartisan issue and I am glad the president has brought national attention to it tonight.”
Poliquin brought with him 90-year-old Norman Rossignol of Bangor, an Army veteran of World War II and the Korean War who fought in the Battle of the Bulge and a Bronze Star. Poliquin said he’s “so proud” to represent Rossignol and other veterans. “I thank them whenever I have the chance for their sacrifices to keep us safe and free.”
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, in a release issued Tuesday night called Obama’s speech a “powerful vision for the future of our country.”
“I also heard him call for a better politics, for civility and for a reasoned debate that rises to meet the seriousness of the issues before us. I agree,” he continued. “ And in the final year of his presidency, I hope he will lead by example and more deeply engage — not sideline — Congress to advance the work of the American people.
“Because, as we head into this year, there is no doubt that we will continue to face difficult challenges — from confronting the ever-present threat of terrorism to fighting the drug epidemic tearing at the fabric of our communities to improving our economy and creating more jobs. But if we can come together — Republicans, Independents, and Democrats alike — to find common-ground, then I am confident we can overcome the partisanship and election year politics to accomplish something meaningful for the American people.”
King brought with him Earl Adams of Pittston, an independent who served as Maine’s adjutant general from 1995 to 2001, when King was governor. Adams helped lead the Maine National Guard’s response to the 1998 ice storm.
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, in a statement issued Tuesday night commended Obama for urging both sides of the aisle to come together to address issues but also expressed concern about the lack of an explicit strategy to deal with terrorism.
“I was pleased to hear the president call for our country to come together to tackle the challenges we face,” Collins said. “The problems, both at home and abroad, are too important to be stymied by incivility, extremism or hyper-partisanship. I hope that the president will follow through on his call for cooperation and work in a bipartisan fashion rather than resorting to executive orders which exacerbate political tensions and circumvent Congress. The president’s support for a greater investment in biomedical research has broad, bipartisan appeal and is an example of where we can work together to advance more effective treatments and even cures or a means of prevention of diseases that affect so many American families.
“I am concerned that the president did not present a strategy for dealing with terrorism,” she continued. “While President Obama is certainly correct that Islamist extremist groups do not pose a threat to our country’s existence, he does not appear to have a comprehensive strategy for defeating ISIS, al-Qaida and similar terrorist groups that seek to harm Americans and our allies.”
Collins brought with her Portland lawyer Betsey McCandless, a friend.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, giving the Republican response to Obama’s address, took a softer tone on immigration than the harsh rhetoric often heard from her party’s presidential candidates.
The 43-year-old daughter of Indian immigrants noted in a speech delivered from Columbia, the South Carolina state capital, that “immigrants have been coming to our shores for generations to live the dream that is America.”
“During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices,” she said. “We must resist that temptation. No one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws and love our traditions should ever feel unwelcome in this country.”
Haley attacked the Democratic president’s fiscal policy and landmark health care law, known as Obamacare. She promised that if a Republican wins the November election, working families’ taxes will be cut and “runaway” U.S. spending will be constrained.
In some of her most eloquent remarks, Haley recalled the Charleston shootings and subsequent reaction.
“Our state was struck with shock, pain and fear. But our people would not allow hate to win. We didn’t have violence, we had vigils. We didn’t have riots, we had hugs.”
In a criticism of the growing divisiveness and acrimony in U.S. politics, Haley advised, “Some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference. That is just not true … when the sound is quieter, you can actually hear what someone else is saying. And that can make a world of difference.”