Arizona Republicans applaud Trump’s State of the Union address

PHOENIX – Rep. Debbie Lesko called her first State of the Union speech “awesome,” a positive reaction echoed by her fellow Arizona Republicans after President Donald Trump addressed the nation Tuesday night.

“I thought it was awesome. … I thought President Trump did a great job,” Lesko told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Chad Benson Show.

Lesko was first elected to Congress in an April 2018 special election, and voters in November sent her back for a full term.

“I really thought it was a great speech,” the Phoenix Republican said. “I thought he covered a lot of different things.

“I’m glad he talked about how great the economy is doing. Coming from Arizona, I’m a huge supporter of securing our southern borders. I’m glad he talked about it.”

Rep. David Schweikert told KTAR News 92.3 FM that Trump’s speech covered a lot of territory, and he praised the president’s calls for bipartisanship.

“You can only hope that some of these things that should cross party lines will be embraced,” he said.

“I was a little concerned about some of the reactions I was seeing on the floor, but we’ll know over the next couple of weeks.”

Rep. Andy Biggs told KTAR News 92.3 FM that he applauded a line by Trump that denounced socialism in the United States.

“I thought that was powerful considering the forces we have in Congress today,” he said Tuesday night.

Biggs also praised Trump’s persistence for a border wall, calling it powerful, but said he wished Trump would have been more emphatic on drug trafficking.

“I wanted him to really hammer home that we have an active drug trafficking corridor all along our Southern border,” he said.

Arizona’s Morning News will react to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address starting at 5 a.m. Wednesday.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ashley Flood contributed to this report.

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