By Steve Holland and Jeff Mason WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump told Congress on Tuesday he was open to immigration reform, shifting from his harsh rhetoric on illegal immigration in a speech that offered a more restrained tone than his election campaign and first month in the White House. Trump, in a prime-time address to a country that remains divided over his leadership, emphasized his desire to focus on problems at home by boosting the U.S. economy with tax reform, a $1 trillion infrastructure effort and an overhaul of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, known as Obamacare. After a first month in office dominated by a fight over his temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority nations, Trump looked for a reset to move past a chaotic period that sowed doubts about his ability to govern effectively.
A policeman providing security for Francois Hollande accidentally fired his gun as the French president was giving a speech, injuring two people in the VIP area of the crowd, an official said. "It was an accidental shot by a police officer which injured two waiters, or at least one waiter and an (event) employee. The injuries aren't life threatening," local government chief Pierre N'Gahane said.
For the first time since he took office, President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress tonight at 9:00 pm ET. It will be the most substantial speech he has given since his inauguration and will serve as an opportunity for him to highlight the accomplishments he and his team have made over the past month and a half. It will also give him a chance to give Congress his opinion on the progress they have made directly.
ABC News was able to get its hands on a list of talking points for the address, which include tax reform, regulatory rollbacks, access to education, making life easier for working parents, the increased budget for the US military and "the disaster of Obamacare." ABC's source claims that these are subjects Trump wants to work with Congress on in the coming weeks and months of his presidency.
On Monday, press secretary Sean Spicer told the press that the theme of Trump's address would be "the renewal of the American spirit." With all of the bomb threats to Jewish Community Centers, US citizens being detained in airports for hours on end and ongoing concerns about Russia, that's going to be a tall task.
Trump has certainly been busy in his first few weeks in office, but many of the most noteworthy battles are being fought in Congress. Trump's cabinet nominees received an unprecedented amount of pushback from Democratic politicians and the repeal of Obamacare has come to a halt as the GOP struggles to grapple with the fact that a majority of Americans are now saying they want to keep it.
The address is expected to begin at 9:00 p.m. ET. We've embedded a stream from NBC News below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9o_WDqG2x_4