WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump asked Congress on Tuesday night for help in expanding his agenda, as the polarizing president looked to cast his first month in office as an ode to working Americans and a "series of promises made and promises kept."
Aides previewing his address to a joint session of Congress said it would touch broadly on the populist-nationalist themes of Trump's presidency without delving deeply into policy. Advisers said the text was informed by the union workers, coal miners and other working people he has met in his early days in the White House, a period that has also included numerous meetings and high-level appointments with wealthy business executives.
"A new chapter of American greatness is now beginning," Trump said. "A new national pride is sweeping across our nation, and a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp."
The address, which replaces a State of the Union during a president's first year in office, provided Trump with the most formal occasion since his inauguration to sell his agenda to a public that remains sharply divided over his presidency.
Later in the speech, Trump planned to ask Congress to replace Obamacare with a proposal that will "expand choice, increase access, lower costs and at the same time provide better health care," according to excerpts released by the White House.
Such a plan has proved elusive to lawmakers in both parties because costs tend to rise as options increase. It is one reason Republicans have had trouble coalescing around a plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, even though the law is loathed by the party's base.
"Mandating every American to buy government-approved health insurance was never the right solution for America," Trump planned to say. "The way to make health insurance available to everyone is to lower the costs of health insurance and that is what we will do."
The excerpts suggested Trump would make a number of major promises that could be hard to accomplish without increasing the size of the federal deficit, something the president has vowed to avoid.
Trump will also make the case that his immigration crackdown will "raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions of dollars and make our communities safer for everyone" and that his administration will devise a "historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere."
"At the same time, we will provide massive tax relief for the middle class."
His promises span a variety of issues: "My administration wants to work with members in both parties to make childcare accessible and affordable to help insure new parents have paid family leave to invest in women's health, and to promote clean air and clean water and rebuild our military infrastructure," Trump planned to say.
Trump's aides previewed an uplifting and uniting speech, in contrast to some of the darker addresses Trump gave at his inauguration, the Republican National Convention and other milestone events.
"The time for small thinking is over," Trump was to say. "The time for trivial fights is behind us.
"We just need the courage to share the dreams that fill our hearts, the bravery to express the hopes that stir our souls and the confidence to turn those hopes and dreams to action. From now on, America will be empowered by our aspirations, not burdened by our fears."
Trump, whose White House operation matches his penchant for improvisation and uncertainty, continued to float new policy ideas for the speech in the final hours before its delivery, including the possibility that he might advocate for a comprehensive immigration overhaul or human space travel, for example. Deputy press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said both ideas interested Trump but could not say whether he planned to mention them.
Trump said a day earlier that he would ask Congress to approve a $54-billion increase in military spending _ or about 10 percent _ coupled with an equal reduction in non-defense domestic spending.
The plan is still in its infancy and subject to significant changes before real debate begins. But it could amount to substantial cuts in a variety of programs that protect the environment and support the poor and middle class.
Trump also has said he will rebuild the nation's roads, bridges, airports and other crumbling infrastructure, another costly program that he has linked to economic growth, and repeal and replace Obamacare, an issue that has proved especially challenging given his pledge to provide more affordable coverage while retaining health care for low-income Americans.
Budget analysts have been skeptical that Trump can accomplish all those goals while still keeping his promise to reduce the nation's deficit and debt. Trump has not been deterred. He reiterated his promise Tuesday to protect Social Security and other safety-net programs from any spending cuts.
"If the economy sails, then I'm right, because I said I'm not touching Social Security," Trump said in an interview on Fox News' "Fox & Friends."
Although Trump's trade policy and spending plans are at odds with many in his party, he is united with traditional conservatives on education. Trump was expected to expand on his campaign promise to spend more on charter and voucher programs, an issue that has already marshaled strong opposition from teachers unions who failed in their effort to stop the confirmation of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos.
Trump, an outsider who campaigned as a norm-shattering change agent, has framed the early part of his term with a series of quickly executed orders and actions intended to gut regulations, halt trade deals, ban travelers from certain Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S. and crack down on immigrants who came into the country illegally. While the orders have had varying degrees of effect _ the travel ban was blocked by the courts _ they have sent a strong message that Trump plans to move aggressively on his nationalist-populist agenda.
Trump planned to highlight that resolve Tuesday, reinforcing his message that illegal immigration poses a dire threat to security and the economy. Among his guests expected to sit by his wife, Melania, in the House gallery: three Californians whose relatives were killed by people in the U.S. illegally.
Trump's early actions, combative rhetoric and unpredictable interactions with foreign leaders have been popular with his core supporters. But the president's approval ratings have hit historic lows in many polls, which could undermine his agenda.
Asked to grade his performance by the hosts of "Fox & Friends," Trump gave himself a "C or a C-plus" on messaging, but an A for achievement and an A-plus for effort.
