Trump prepares to make first State of the Union address
WASHINGTON — Fresh off a major legislative victory and presiding over an economy on the upswing, President Donald Trump will make his first State of the Union address Tuesday.
The theme of his Tuesday night address to Congress and the country is “Building a safe, strong and proud America,” and the president is looking to showcase accomplishments of his first year while setting the tone for the second.
Trump will state the case that all groups of people have benefited during his watch, according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to preview the speech for the record and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The annual address is a big set piece for any president, a prime-time window to address millions of voters. Every word is reviewed, every presidential guest carefully chosen, every sentence rehearsed. The stakes are enormous for Trump, hoping to further build on the successes of his
12 months in office.
Five themes are expected to dominate: the economy and the tax overhaul, infrastructure, immigration, trade, and terrorism and global threats.
Selling the GOP’s tax plan is an election-year project as Republicans look to retain their majority in Congress. The tax changes are seen as essential to powering the ambitious projections of economic growth, and Trump is expected to cite the numerous benefits to the public.
Trump also plans to outline a nearly $2 trillion plan that to trigger $1 trillion or more in public and private spending on roads, bridges and other public works projects.
On immigration, he will promote a new compromise proposal for $25 billion for a wall along the Mexican border, as well as a path to citizenship for hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants brought to the United States as children.
Trump’s trade talk will reflect what he discussed at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland on Friday: a preference for one-on-one deals instead of multilateral agreements.
The public should get an update on the fight against terrorism, including a decisive victory over ISIS forces in Iraq, and an assessment of international threats, including North Korea.
The White House says one of Trump’s guests for the speech will be someone who has been touched by the opioid crisis.
Trump and members of his Cabinet are expected to travel in the days after the speech to drive home its themes.
Sometimes, the address is a high-water mark for a president.
In 2002, Republican George W. Bush used the speech to define the “axis of evil” — Iran, Iraq, and North Korea — that he believed supported terrorism and sought weapons of mass destruction.
In 1996, Democrat Bill Clinton declared that the “era of big government is over” after emerging from a shutdown fight.
The White House, led by policy adviser Stephen Miller and staff secretary Rob Porter, has spent weeks on the speech, seeking input from Cabinet secretaries and agency leaders. Several drafts have circu- lated throughout the West Wing and the president has weighed in with handwritten notes.
A White House official said the speech-writing process has helped cut through the “hangover” of passing the tax bill just before the holidays and kept officials more focused on issues than they might otherwise have been through Trump’s trip this past week.
Trump did address a joint session of Congress in 2017, though it was not technically a State of the Union speech because it occurred barely a month into his term.