WASHINGTON—U.S. President Donald Trump emphasized what he said were the dangers posed by illegal immigrants in a State of the Union address that veered between a call for bipartisan unity and hard-line stands on immigration and national security.

Trump, using conciliatory language and a solemn tone, began by asking Republicans and Democrats to set aside their differences and “summon the unity we need to deliver for the people.” The country, he said, should see itself as “one team, one people, and one American family.”

His rare call for harmony, however, gave way to the kind of aggressive immigration rhetoric that has thrilled his base but made much of the country uneasy. As he did in campaign speeches, he called attention to crimes committed by Hispanic gang members — summoning an ovation for the parents of girls murdered by members of the MS-13 gang.

“I want you to know that 320 million hearts are right now breaking for you,” Trump said in one of the most emotional moments of the night. “We love you, thank you. While we cannot imagine the depth of your sorrow, but we can make sure that other families never have to endure this pain.”

Trump reiterated his bargaining position on the impasse over the fate of the “DREAMers,” immigrants brought to the U.S. without authorization when they were children. In exchange for granting permanent legal status to the DREAMers, Trump has asked Democrats to accept a $25-billion investment in his proposed wall on the Mexican border, plus steep cuts to legal immigration.

“For decades, open borders have allowed drugs and gangs to pour into our most vulnerable communities. They have allowed millions of low-wage workers to compete for jobs and wages against the poorest Americans. Most tragically, they have caused the loss of many innocent lives,” he said.

Trump has expressed sympathy for the DREAMers in the past. This time, in perhaps his most memorable line, he said: “Americans are dreamers, too.”

Democrats and DREAMers accused Trump of exploiting tragedy for political purposes.

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“How disturbing it is that Trump would use the pain of these families to try to criminalize immigrants and drive his anti-immigrant agenda,” DREAMer advocacy group United We Dream said on Twitter.

Trump also tossed red meat to his base on subjects other than immigration. He spoke pointedly of how “we proudly stand for the national anthem,” an unmistakable shot at NFL players protesting police brutality.

The only breaking news of the night was another right-wing stand. Trump announced that he had signed an executive order to ensure the Guantanamo Bay prison for accused terrorists — which his predecessor Barack Obama had failed to close — would remain open.

Trump’s first official State of the Union — last year’s address, a month into his tenure, doesn’t technically count — came with his poll numbers up slightly from past months but still historically low for a president just a year into his term. The run-up to the speech was dominated by news related to the ongoing investigation into his campaign’s links to Russia and to his fraught relationships with his own Justice Department and FBI.

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Though much of the substance of the speech was familiar, Trump couched it in the kind of flowery language and poignant human anecdotes he has often avoided. He told moving stories about survivors of North Korean brutality and the military battle against Daesh, also known as the Islamic State.

The question hovering over this lofty rhetoric, as always, was whether he would attempt to deploy it for more than a single prime-time hour.

Trump has enthusiastically attempted to exploit the country’s racial and political divides. The traditionally presidential persona of his scripted moments, including last year’s well-received first address to a joint session Congress, have always given way quickly to the angry and accusatorial behaviour that appears to come more naturally.

Trump devoted a lengthy section to his biggest legislative achievement, the tax cuts he signed into law in December, and to an economy and stock market experiencing strong growth. He noted that several major companies have given their employees bonuses they have attributed to the tax law and that others have announced major new investments.

U.S. President Donald Trump addresses trade deals in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. Canada is currently re-negotiating NAFTA with the U.S. and Mexico.

“There has never been a better time to start living the American Dream,” Trump said. “So to every citizen watching at home tonight: no matter where you have been, or where you 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, you can be anything, and together, we can achieve anything.”

Trump offered neither explicit reassurance nor obvious reason for alarm to observers concerned about the fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement. He discussed trade only briefly and vaguely, skipping the harsh criticism of NAFTA that used to punctuate his campaign speeches.

“America has finally 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,” he said. “The era of economic surrender is over. From now on, we expect trading relationships to be fair and to be reciprocal. We will work to fix bad trade deals and negotiate new ones. And they’ll be good ones, but they’ll be fair.”

Trump said the country has entered a “new American moment” — a phrase used by Hillary Clinton, the Democrat he defeated in the election, in a 2010 speech as secretary of state.

Trump littered the speech with false claims about terrorists and the economy. And he offered few specifics on some of the major topics he discussed.

He promised again that the prices of prescription drugs “will come down,” for example, but he did not explain how. He vowed again to solve the opioid crisis, but again declined to issue any plan. And his long-delayed infrastructure proposal remained only a broad outline.

Trump avoided his most incendiary rhetoric on North Korea. He vowed, though, to take a hard line.

Representative Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts delivered the Democratic Response to U.S. President Trump's State of the Union. Kennedy said the Trump administration is dividing the country with false choices and targeting laws that protect people. (The Associated Press)

“Past experience has taught us that complacency and concessions only invite aggression and provocation. I will not repeat the mistakes of past administrations that got us into this dangerous position,” he said.

The official Democratic response was to be delivered by Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy. Kennedy planned to paint Trump as a bully, according to excerpts of his speech.

“It would be easy to dismiss the past year as chaos. Partisanship. Politics. But it’s far bigger than that. This administration isn’t just targeting the laws that protect us, they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection,” Kennedy said in the excerpts.

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