Trump's speech: Minn. delegation hears some places for possible compromise

Gone were Trump's usual verbal slings and arrows. On Tuesday night members of the House and Senate heard a restrained and hopeful Trump.

In the hourlong speech, the president returned to his campaign themes of restoring manufacturing jobs, boosting infrastructure spending, cracking down on violent crime, and strictly enforcing immigration laws.

"I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength. And it is a message deeply delivered from my heart."

Minnesota U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer, a Republican from Delano and an early Trump supporter, says it was a great night for the president, and he set exactly the right tone.

"He talked about trying to get Republicans and Democrats alike to work together. He talked about doing great things. Not small things, doing great things. Being bold," he said. "He talked about breaking the cycle of poverty. Who can be against that? Breaking the cycle of violence in the inner city."

Emmer says Democrats in Congress need to set aside partisan differences and work with the president on areas of common interest. He expressed optimism Trump could win over skeptical Democrats once he provides more details of his policy proposals.

The president called for a trillion dollars in public and private spending on roads, bridges, and other big construction projects.

U.S. Rep. Betty McCollum, a St. Paul DFLer, says she'd love to work with Trump on infrastructure. But she wants to see the fine print — in particular, what may be cut to pay for it.

"Details matter. They matter greatly," she said. "So to ask me to blindly promise to go along with something when I don't know what the reality of that holds in the future is something that my constituents don't expect me to do. In fact, they told me not to do it."

McCollum says she's also willing to help with improvements to the Affordable Care Act, but remains concerned about Republican promises to repeal it without an adequate replacement.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz also says Trump's speech was short on details. The DFLer won re-election last fall in a southern Minnesota district that Trump carried by 15 points.

Walz says the president's push for job creation is something no one can disagree with. But he says there's a lot of apprehension in farm country about what Trump's threatened tariffs on imports will mean for agricultural exports.

"If you think we're going to put tariffs on and they're not going to retaliate, you do not know much about international economics," he said. "And so I'm very, very nervous about that piece of it because it doesn't start with shutting off imports from folks. It doesn't start by demonizing every other country. It starts by having some good faith in your trade partners."

U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen also has concerns about trade. The Republican was re-elected in the west Twin Cities metro, a district Hillary Clinton won by 9 points.

Paulsen, who disavowed Trump during the campaign, says he liked the president's messages on the economy and health care. But Paulsen says he wanted to hear more about the positive aspects of doing business overseas.

"I want to see a robust trade agenda stay on the forefront for our economic opportunity, because we have so much potential to sell American goods and services. And that would be the one area where I think there was the opportunity for more focus."

Paulsen says the speech Tuesday night marked the start of Trump's governing mode. Like Emmer, Paulsen says he's hopeful this shift in tone will lead to a new spirit of unity in a sharply divided Congress.