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Local and state leaders react to President Trump's first State of the Union address

Posted at 11:53 PM, Jan 30, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-31 09:28:50-05

They applauded and cheered as they watched from Lee County Republican headquarters. Dozens gathered as President Trump delivered his first State of the Union address since taking office.

"He touched on the economy, taxes, oh my goodness," said Lee County Republican Executive Committee member Sheila Sweeney.

Sweeney says she excited to hear the president is going to bring jobs back to the auto industry.  She also likes his plan to give over a million immigrants a path to citizenship.

"Both sides should do something about immigration, it's a very important topic, they both need to come together and make a plan, like he said, Americans are dreamers as well as immigrants."

Sweeney says Trump should get all the credit for the improving economy.  Lee County Democratic Chair Yoseph Tedros says President Trump inherited a healthy economy from his predecessor.

"With the economy as good as it is, his approval range should be in the 60 or 70’s range, because people should be feeling good about the economy," said Tedros.

Other Democrats also sounded off about the president's speech including Senator Bill Nelson.

"We need a president who will not only call for more bipartisanship, but shows he’s willing to work in a bipartisan way," Nelson said in an email.

Nelson's counterpart in the Senate, Marco Rubio praised President Trump for reopening the Guantanamo Bay prison, which houses hundreds of terrorists.

Rep. Francis Rooney (R-Florida) praised Trump's tax cut passed late last year.

"The major tax reform we passed in Congress, and the President signed into law, has already brought new jobs, wage increases, worker bonuses and corporate investment in the United States.” Rooney said in an email.