President Trump
Donald John TrumpSchiff: Nunes gave Trump 'secretly altered' version of memo Davis: ‘Deep state’ existed in ’16 – but it elected Trump Former Trump legal spokesman to testify to Mueller about undisclosed call: report MORE on Monday accused Democrats of "treasonous" behavior during his State of the Union address, escalating partisan tensions during a crucial stretch for Congress.
Trump took aim at Democratic lawmakers who refused to applaud during his speech last week when he mentioned his achievements during his first year in office, a reaction he called “un-American.”
"Can we call that treason? Why not?" the president said during a speech in Ohio. "They certainly didn't seem to love our country very much."
Trump signaled that Democrats’ refusal to cheer “very positive news” in his speech, such as low unemployment rates for Hispanics and African-Americans, will make it difficult for him to work with them on government spending and immigration.
He said the Democrats "would rather see Trump do badly than our country do well," calling their behavior "very selfish."
Lawmakers are facing a Thursday deadline to fund the government and must act by March 5 to preserve protections for young immigrants living illegally in the U.S., both issues that have been stalled by partisan gridlock.
The president used the 47-minute speech as a warm-up act for the 2018 midterm elections, even though the White House billed it as an official event, and not a political one, meaning taxpayers footed the bill.
He took repeated shots at Democratic congressional leaders Rep. Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro PelosiPence rips Pelosi for describing ,000 as 'crumbs' The Memo: Trump sticks to his guns on immigration agenda Manchin responds to Pence attacks: ‘This is why Washington sucks’ MORE (Calif.) and Sen. Chuck Schumer
Charles (Chuck) Ellis SchumerSchumer: Nunes intent on undermining 'rule of law' with altered memo Manchin responds to Pence attacks: ‘This is why Washington sucks’ What Trump didn't say in his State of the Union address MORE (N.Y.) and praised Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Renacci
James (Jim) B. RenacciHouse GOP highlights 16 ‘On the Radar’ candidates Author Vance won't run for Senate in Ohio Overnight Finance: Latest as shutdown looms | House Freedom Caucus may have deal with GOP leaders | Senate Dems look to force McConnell to negotiate | Whip list - Tight vote in Senate | Trump baffles GOP with tweet MORE, who is running for Senate in the fall.
Trump also attacked Democratic incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown
Sherrod Campbell BrownDems press Trump for 'Buy American' proposals in infrastructure plan AFL-CIO president: Trump has been a 'disappointment' Dems rip Trump's Fed pick as Senate panel mulls three key nominees MORE (Ohio) for voting against his tax overhaul, which the president said is bolstering the economy.
"We had no Democrats. Nobody. Not one, including your other senator. He voted against it,” Trump said. “If they ever took over, your taxes would go way up and you would see some bad things happen.”
A jobs report released Friday showed the economy adding 200,000 jobs in January. It also showed some wage growth, another data point suggesting a strengthening economy.
But Trump’s speech came against a backdrop of a precipitous sell-off in U.S. stock markets.
Cable networks showed the Dow Jones average plummet as Trump spoke. Losses were around 500 to 600 points down when Trump began his speech but was down more than 1,000 points when Fox News and CNN broke away to cover the market drop.
The Dow was down nearly 1,500 points at 3:12 p.m., after enduring a previous fall last week. But in a sign of the volatility, it rose about 400 points minutes later. It closed down more than 1,100 points, erasing its gains for the year.
Stocks are falling in part because investors fear rising inflation will lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates.
But Trump has repeatedly highlighted the rising stock market as a sign of his economic stewardship and Monday’s losses muddied his economic message.
Trump spoke at Sheffer Corporation, a suburban Cincinnati manufacturer that handed out $1,000 bonuses to its 126 employees after the GOP tax reform bill became law.
The president invited a handful of workers on stage to share how the tax cut helped them and they mentioned using the money for pay for new houses and their children’s college educations.
The president took credit for enticing major corporations to invest in the U.S. states and create jobs, tying it to his economic agenda.
“You can work hard, but if you don’t have the right leader setting the right tone, in all fairness — I’m not even saying — I am nonbraggadocious,” he said.
The tone of Monday’s speech was a sharp break from Trump’s State of the Union address when he appealed to Democrats and Republicans to work together to pass major legislation on immigration and infrastructure.
“Tonight, I call upon all of us to set aside our differences, to seek out common ground, and to summon the unity we need to deliver for the people,” the president said during his address. “This is really the key. These are the people we were elected to serve.”
But hope for bipartisan unity quickly faded after the divisive reception the speech received.
Trump also stoked partisan tensions by authorizing the release of a memo drafted by congressional Republicans that accused the FBI of political bias in the Russia investigation.
The president appeared to reference the memo in his Ohio speech.
"Oh, but did we catch them in the act or not?” he said. “You know what I'm talking. Oh, did we catch them in the act? They are very embarrassed. They never thought they were going to get caught. We caught them. It's so much fun, like, the great sleuth."
Democrats have disputed the contents of the memo, saying it contains false and misleading information.
House Intelligence Committee ranking member Rep. Adam Schiff
Adam Bennett SchiffSchumer: Nunes intent on undermining 'rule of law' with altered memo Schiff: Nunes gave Trump 'secretly altered' version of memo Several lawmakers have seen intelligence behind Nunes memo MORE (D-Calif.) is seeking to release a counter memo that is designed to rebut the GOP document. The White House has said it is open to approving its publication.
Trump attacked the California Democrat on Twitter earlier Monday, writing that, “Little Adam Schiff, who is desperate to run for higher office, is one of the biggest liars and leakers in Washington, right up there with Comey, Warner, Brennan and Clapper!”
Updated at 4:07 p.m.
