VENETIA, Pa. — Tony and Michelle Ripepi always make sure their children are civically engaged, from following local and national elections to watching big decisions, speeches and moments coming from the White House.

“We make it a point to discuss current events so that they are aware of what is going on in the world, so for us, watching the State of the Union address given by any president is a family affair,” Michelle said.

Tuesday evening was no different as the couple sat in their Pennsylvania living room with their children, Lillie, Natalie, Tony and John.

One constant theme throughout President Trump’s speech, in particular for the kids, was the decision by Democrats not to stand and applaud, especially on issues like border security or historic low unemployment rates, or some of the more emotional personal stories the president highlighted.

“I just wonder if they thought this through past their politics, on many of these things all of America is applauding while they are sitting,” said 14-year-old Natalie.

Lillie, 15, a freshman at Peters Township High School, was particularly interested in the president’s focus on immigration, in particular DACA.

“I do believe that the DACA kids should be allowed to stay here,” said Lillie, who just completed a school paper on DACA. “It is the only home they have known, but I also think they should go through the legal process to become citizens.”

On the wall, she was adamant: “Build it.”

“I was happy with what he said about the criteria that Dreamers had to meet to become citizens, like education, good morals,” she said.

Both Tony, 54, and Michelle, 41, voted for Trump is 2016. Tony is a grandson of immigrants and a highly regarded chief of surgery at a suburban Pittsburgh hospital. Michelle went to Carnegie Mellon University, is a breast cancer survivor and director of operations at the Ripepi home, driving the kids to piano lessons, tennis and hockey games and practices while also helping with her husband’s practice.

They are the upper-middle-class suburban voters who live in a blue-collar. upper-middle-class exurb whose vote most pollsters missed in their calculations on who would support Trump in 2016.

Tony, who remains skeptical that the president will become part of the swamp on DACA, was thrilled when Trump said “all Americans are dreamers.”

“What a line, now that is what I am talking about,” he said.

“I am in favor of the Dreamers being kept in the United States as legal residents, not as citizens until they meet the normal benchmarks on the pathway to citizenship,” he said.

He also loved Trump’s decision to keep Guantanamo Bay open.

Michelle is completely happy with Trump’s policies, but “I’d just wish he would stay off of Twitter, it is embarrassing.”

She was looking for decorum in the speech and she got it.

“Whoever wrote this speech deserves a promotion,” she said.

“This speech is about us, there were no mentions of ‘I’ or ‘me.’ All he did was talking about taking us to a better place, it was aspirational, compassionate and strong,” she said.