"One thing that was different about his State of the Union was ... President Reagan, who was the first president I was aware of coming out of high school, talked about the 'shining city on the hill.' I heard that last night," Hern said by telephone Wednesday morning.

An ardent supporter of President Donald Trump during his successful campaign, the Tulsa Republican said the night allowed Trump to lay out Republican accomplishments of the past two years and illustrated the differences between Republicans and Democrats.

Like many Republicans, he criticized Democrats for not responding to Trump's call to end late-term abortion and for enhanced border security.

Democrats counter that the procedure is rarely used and then only when the woman's life is in danger or the fetus is either dead or not viable.

Hern said his family's experience with birth defects leads him to believe the procedure should be outlawed.

"Who are we to play God to determine something like that," he said.

He said he believes Trump's idea of enhanced border security involves 234 additional miles of fencing or walls in urban areas and increased use of technology in other areas. Hern said that's based on recommendations from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Trump himself has been more vague about what he means by a wall. During his successful presidential campaign, he talked about a "great wall" but more recently has said a wall along the entire 2,000-mile border isn't necessary.

Hern said the important thing is that thousands of immigrants are arriving in the country illegally every year, and that number needs to be brought down.

Hern noted that the number of Americans working continues to rise along with wages.

"No one can deny we're creating jobs," he said.

New jobs during the first 24 months of the Trump administration has been about the same as during the last 24 months of the Obama administration, and that continued growth helped push unemployment to near-record lows late last year.

Hern said the most stirring moments of Tuesday's speech were the introductions of several World War II veterans, the Holocaust survivor one of them survived, and the introduction of retired astronaut Edwin Aldrin, who was part of the first moon mission.

"When you realize all we've done as a country," Hern said, "it makes you proud."