USA TODAY International Edition
State of the Union may also be platform for early victory lap
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump will use Tuesday’s State of the Union address to tout his record on the economy and – perhaps – take an early victory lap with the Senate impeachment trial expected to wrap up this week.
Trump, who ran on the slogan “Make America Great Again,” has dubbed this year’s speech “the Great American Comeback.”
“We’re going to talk about the achievements that we’ve made,” Trump told Fox News host Sean Hannity in a Super Bowl Sunday interview.
The address will take place before a joint session of Congress at 9 p. m. EST and offers Trump a high- profile platform to argue for his reelection. It comes a day after the first- in- the- nation Iowa caucus will put a spotlight on the contest among Democrats seeking their party’s nomination to run against Trump on Nov. 3.
While Trump may not mention impeachment or the election, there could still be moments of awkwardness in the House chamber where he will deliver his speech.
The president will be introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D- Calif. Trump and the speaker have had a fraught relationship since the Democratic takeover of the House in the 2018 midterms, and the tensions have only grown after the House vote last year to impeach the president over his dealings with Ukraine.
During Trump’s speech last year, Pelosi rose to her feet and clapped when the president called for an end to the “politics of revenge.” Video of her locking eyes with Trump while clapping went viral on social media.
Sitting in the audience during the speech will be 230 lawmakers – 229 Democrats and one independent – who voted in favor of an article of impeachment charging Trump with abuse of power over allegations he withheld mil
itary aid to Ukraine to pressure the country to investigate Joe Biden, the former vice president and a 2020 presidential candidate. A second article of impeachment, charging Trump with obstruction of Congress, got 229 votes.
Senators who are serving as jurors in the impeachment trial will also be in the audience, including several Democrats who are vying to replace him. The trial is expected to end Wednesday with a vote to acquit in the Republican- led Senate. Jessica Taylor, the Senate and Governors editor at the nonpartisan Cook Political Report, said the White House will look to use the speech as a “reset.” The question, she said, is whether Trump “will take the bait and talk about impeachment and the Democratic primary. ... Trump is just so unpredictable. Will he able to stay on script and stay on message?”
Aides said Trump will emphasize five themes in the speech.
Economy
Playing up the issue that will drive his reelection bid, Trump will stress what he calls a “blue- collar boom” and likely call for more tax cuts and reductions in government regulations. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to push new “middle- class tax cuts,” as well as breaks for businesses.
The economy has performed well under Trump, growing an average of about 2.5% annually during the three years of his term, more than the 2.2% post- recession average before he took office. And average monthly job gains of 191,000 in his tenure are similar to totals under President Barack Obama despite a 3.5% unemployment rate that marks a 50- year low and is making it tougher to find qualified workers. Trump is credited with spearheading federal tax cuts and spending increases that juiced economic growth to nearly 3% in 2018. But that stimulus during an economic expansion has swollen the federal deficit and could make it tougher for Congress to boost spending dramatically in the next recession. Trade fights with China and other countries have created some uncertainty about growth in the year ahead.
Working families
Trump plans to discuss job training initiatives and child care – a signature issue of Ivanka Trump, his daughter and a senior adviser. He is expected to call for tax credits to benefit parents who want to send their children to private schools, the “school choice” issue.
Health care
While touting proposals on on drug pricing and medical billing, Trump is also expected to brand Democratic health care plans as “socialist,” a claim he has also made on the campaign trail.
While failing to repeal Obama’s health care law, Trump has said he wants to promote plans to reduce drug prices, make medical billing more transparent, and give people more flexibility in choosing doctors and health plans.
Immigration
Trump will tout his plans to crack down on illegal immigration, including his proposed wall along the U. S.Mexico border. The president is expected to renew his call to discourage “sanctuary cities” that give shelter to undocumented immigrants.
Since taking office, Trump has touted a signature promise of his 2016 campaign: to build a wall along the U. S.- Mexico border.
The administration said this month that it had built 100 miles of border wall, but virtually all of that construction has replaced barriers that existed during the Obama administration. That despite a government shutdown in 2018 over wall funding and an emergency declaration that allowed Trump to free up military funding for the wall.
National security
Trump will discuss a litany of foreign policy challenges, from the Middle East and Iran to North Korea and China. He is expected to promote his proposed Middle East plan, his hopes for more nuclear talks with North Korea, and a new trade deal with China.
On Iran, Trump is likely to tout his decision to authorize a strike killing Qasem Soleimani, a powerful Iranian general responsible for the deaths of many American soldiers.
Trump and his advisers say Soleimani’s death has made the U. S. safer. And they argue Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran has crippled that country’s economy and made it harder for Tehran to finance terrorism. But some believe Trump’s actions, starting with his decision to withdraw from the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal, have made Iran a more provocative and dangerous force across the Middle East.
Can he change minds?
As Trump starts his fourth year in office, it may be difficult for him to change many minds with a single speech, analysts said, even the nationally televised State of the Union.
“He’s compiled an extensive record of policy accomplishments, judicial appointments and animosity,” said Stuart Rothenberg, a nonpartisan political analyst. “I think people who like him will like what he says, and anybody who doesn’t like him will dismiss what he says.”