Calling for cooperation and united purpose, while still throwing red meat to core supporters, President Trump earned high praise from local Republican leaders and scorn from local Democrats as he delivered his first State of the Union Address Tuesday.
For Congressman Doug LaMalfa who represents most of the North State's interior, President Trump hit all the high notes.
“All in all it was, I think a really great effort tonight and I think laid things out in a common sense manner,” he said.
Meanwhile Democrats heard much to be alarmed over.
“Behind all the happy talk is a very serious break with reality,” Congressman John Garamendi said.
Garamendi represents Glenn, Colusa, Sutter and Yuba Counties, along with much of the delta region.
“The reality is, over the last year, this has been the most chaotic, dangerous administration that is in anybody’s living memory and probably back through the history books,” he said.
After praising rising stock prices, business confidence and job growth, Trump detailed his accomplishments: tax reform, chipping away at the Affordable Care Act, rolling back federal regulations, reducing immigration and taking a more confrontational approach with Iran and North Korea.
For LaMalfa, it was music to his ears. While some are put off by Trump’s tone or combative nature, LaMalfa said the proof was plain to see.
“Some people are upset over the words that are chosen or used sometimes," he said. "But, man, look at the results, look what it means for the things average Americans, what normal families are thinking about, what they need to prosper on their own and there’s a lot to be optimistic about."
After calling for an immigration deal offering no real concessions to Democrats and urging a second bump in military spending, Trump laid out two legislative priorities: reducing the cost of prescription drugs and a $1.5 trillion dollar infrastructure plan.
While avoiding endorsing the price tag, LaMalfa said locals could benefit.
“In our part of the state we have bridges that need to be replaced on I-5, and lanes added and repaired, and highway 70,” he said.
But Garamendi, who sits on a transportation related committee said Trump’s infrastructure plan belongs in a house of mirrors.
“His transportation proposal literally guts the existing transportation money,” he said. “There’s no new money, it simply shifts the responsibility from the federal government to the local governments.”