Viewers’ guide
What you need to know for Trump’s landmark address tonight.
President Trump will take the podium on the floor of the House of Representatives on Tuesday night for his first State of the Union Address.
He addressed Congress last February, but that was not technically a State of the Union Address. New presidents are not expected to deliver one only a few weeks after starting the job.
Here’s what viewers can expect from Tuesday’s address:
What time does it start?
The president will begin speaking shortly after 9 p.m. ET, but the politics nerds among us will tune in a half-hour early to watch the “red carpet” arrivals of Cabinet officials, military brass, the Supreme Court and other dignitaries who are announced by the doorkeeper, then proceed down the aisle to their seats.
How long will it last?
Expect the speech to last about an hour, give or take 15 minutes.
What will Trump talk about?
State of the Union Addresses traditionally serve as a platform for the president to spell out his agenda for the upcoming year, usually with references to funding requests that will be included in the budget the president proposes a week or so after the speech.
The president’s budget request has become a forgotten document. Not only has Congress not acted on the budget request Trump issued last year, it has not even been able to pass a full government spending plan for 2018, which is why the country keeps lurching from shutdown threat to shutdown threat.
We may not get much in the way of spending details, but Trump is likely to offer a broad agenda, ranging from his pursuit of a wall on the U.S.-Mexican border to a massive infrastructure proposal he is likely to roll out in the next few weeks. He will probably revisit remarks he made to global economic leaders last week in Davos, Switzerland, where he highlighted a strong U.S. economy and said the USA is “open for business.”
This year’s overarching theme: Trump will say that under his leader- ship, America is becoming “safe, strong and proud.”
Who has the counterargument?
After Trump speaks, Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass. — grandson of former senator Robert Kennedy — will offer the opposing views in a brief televised response. The Democrats also will offer a Spanish-language response by Virginia state House Del. Elizabeth Guzmán, whose victory over an eight-term Republican incumbent highlighted election night gains in November for Democrats in the Commonwealth.
Who will be in the chamber?
Since Ronald Reagan, presidents have invited guests to the State of the Union Address to highlight key policy areas. Expect Trump to introduce workers or business owners who benefit from the sweeping tax overhaul he signed in December, and perhaps a family affected by the opioid crisis.
One of the emotional highlights of last year’s speech was when Trump acknowledged Carryn Owens, the widow of William “Ryan” Owens, who died a month earlier in a commando raid in Yemen that targeted the al-Qaeda terrorist network.
Democrats plan to bring guests, including “DREAMers” — young people brought to the USA illegally as children, whose temporary deportation protections were canceled by Trump last fall.
Who will protest?
An array of demonstrations is planned inside and outside the House chamber. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers are likely to wear black to symbolize the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment; this is a not-so-subtle dig at Trump, who has repeatedly been accused of sexual misbehavior.
Several members of the Congressional Black Caucus are boycotting the speech, including Rep. Frederica Wilson, D-Fla., who got involved in a war of words with Trump in October after she overheard his call to the wife of a soldier killed in Niger and said Trump was disrespectful.
Actor/activist Alyssa Milano will host an online protest Tuesday using the hashtag #StateOfTheDream to raise money for an immigrant rights organization.