Confident Trump gets set for first State of the Union
Despite controversies, ‘we are on the right track’
WASHINGTON – After a turn on the world stage, President Trump prepared for one of the most-watched political events of the year: the State of the Union Address.
Trump and his aides exuded confidence over his prime-time speech to Congress on Tuesday despite low approval ratings and an investigation by special counsel Robert Mueller.
“Our economy is better than it has been in many decades,” Trump tweeted Sunday. “Businesses are coming back to America like never before ... Unemployment is nearing record lows. We are on the right track!”
Offering a State of the Union teaser during last week’s visit to a global economic conference in Davos, Switzerland, Trump said, “The world is witnessing the resurgence of a strong and prosperous America.”
About a year after being sworn into office, Trump will offer his State of the Union while facing pivotal events:
Russia testimony
Attorneys for Trump and Mueller are negotiating a possible interview of the president.
Mueller’s team is looking for possible links between Trump’s campaign and Russians who are accused of trying to influence the 2016 presidential election via stolen emails and phony news reports about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.
Mueller is investigating whether Trump sought to obstruct the Russia inquiry through actions that included the firing in May of James Comey as FBI director.
As Trump spoke with economic leaders in Davos, The New York Times reported that Trump ordered Mueller’s firing in June but backed off after White House counsel Don McGahn threatened to resign. Trump derided the story as “fake news.”
At the White House last week, Trump said he looked forward to testifying and was willing to do so under oath. His lawyers said the interview with Mueller was subject to negotiations on the circumstances of the testimony, including time limits and areas of questioning, as well as whether the interview would be done under oath.
Another shutdown?
Congress ended a three-day shutdown a week ago by passing a temporary spending plan, but it expires Feb. 8, a week from Thursday.
Budget negotiations involving the White House and congressional Republicans and Democrats center on the same dispute that led to the first shutdown: immigration.
Immigration talks
While Trump spoke in Davos, his aides unveiled an immigration plan calling for tighter security provisions at the border, including a $25 billion trust fund for Trump’s long-advocated wall along the U.S.-Mexican border.
The Trump administration seeks to meet Democratic demands by reviving the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and to block deportation of “DREAMers,” young people brought into the USA illegally by their parents.
The administration’s plan includes a path to citizenship for up to 1.8 million people who qualify under DACA.
Some Democrats said the plan’s call to limit family-based migration and other programs is designed to restrict legal immigration, especially for Hispanics. “They are part of the Trump administration’s unmistakable campaign to make America white again,” House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said in response to the plan.
Trump and aides hope his speech will launch a second-year agenda that includes a major infrastructure program, new trade rules with other countries and more federal deregulation, as well as immigration and a military buildup.