‘The Great American Comeback’: How to watch Trump’s third State of the Union address
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is set to deliver his third State of the Union address Tuesday, less than two months after the House voted to impeach him and a day before the Senate is scheduled to vote on whether to remove him from office.
The circumstances are unusual but not unique. President Bill Clinton delivered his 1999 State of the Union address on Jan. 19 after being impeached on Dec. 18, 1998, and before he was acquitted in the Senate on Feb. 12, 1999.
In his previous speeches before both houses of Congress, Trump has taken a more traditionally presidential tone than the combative one he employs in his campaign rallies and many of his news conferences. Political observers will be watching to see how the context of his impeachment affects the spirit of this year’s address.
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Here are the details on what we know about Tuesday night’s speech:
When and where will it air?
Trump is scheduled to begin his speech at 9 p.m. EST. The major television networks (CBS, NBC, ABC and PBS) will air it, as will cable news networks such as Fox News, Fox Business Network, CNN, MSNBC and C-SPAN.
The speech will also be live-streamed by those networks and most news organizations, including USA TODAY. You can also follow live updates on the speech from the USA TODAY network.
What is Trump expected to say?
Trump has said the theme of this year’s speech is the “the Great American Comeback.” A day after the chaotic caucuses in Iowa launched the beginning of the 2020 primary season, the president is expected to highlight the reasons he believes he has earned another four years in the White House.
“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.
Aides said Trump will touch on five main themes in his speech: the economic successes of his first term, programs to help working families – such as tax credits to facilitate school choice, health care, immigration and national security issues such as the killing of top Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani, his recently unveiled Middle East peace plan and the efforts to convince North Korea to abandon its development of nuclear weapons.
Who are the president’s guests?
In recent decades, it has become tradition for the president to bring guests to the State of the Union and to mention them during the speech in order to honor them for a heroic act or to use them to illustrate the impact of a given policy on individuals.
This year, Trump will bring Raul Ortiz, who has worked for the Border Patrol for nearly three decades and was promoted to deputy chief last week. His other guest will be Tony Rankins, an Army veteran and recovering addict who found work doing construction in a Cincinnati “opportunity zone,” a low-income area where companies can receive tax breaks for investments under Trump’s 2017 tax cuts.
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Who is giving the Democratic response?
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will deliver the Democratic Party’s response to Trump’s speech and Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, will give the Spanish-language response.
“I’m honored to discuss the Democratic Party’s vision of action for our nation from East Lansing High School, where my daughters are learning and preparing for the future,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Democrats across the country have a plan to improve education, fix our infrastructure, expand and protect health care coverage, and build an economy that works for everyone. Our nation deserves this type of leadership, and we are ready to take action to get it done.”
Contributing: David Jackson, USA TODAY; Jason Williams, Cincinnati Enquirer
