President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET, in a joint session of Congress with the Supreme Court attending. The speech is to be aired on all major television networks. (Last year he addressed a joint session of Congress, but, technically, newly-elected presidents don’t give a State of the Union address, so this will be his first.)
The president is expected to highlight his accomplishments while in office and the strong economy since his election. The speech will reportedly address five themes: the tax cut; immigration; trade; national security; and a $1 trillion infrastructure plan.
The president’s guests, whom he will likely introduce and talk about during the speech, include the parents of two young women murdered by Salvadoran MS-13 gang members, hurricane rescue workers, small business owners, first time home buyers, military heroes, firefighters, and adoptive parents.
A number of Democratic lawmakers are boycotting the speech. Many of the women present will be wearing black in solidarity with the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment.
Our custom, here at the Cranach blog, is to liveblog speeches like this. That is, I make comments–in the comment section of the blog post–as the speech unfolds, joined by readers who make comments of their own.
I’m on the road right now, with some obligations tonight, so I’m not sure that I’ll be able to listen to the speech live. I might be able to, but I can’t commit to doing so. Still, I urge you to avail yourself of this opportunity.
Get out your laptops while you tune into the speech. Come to this very post tonight, and make your comments, giving your reactions to what the president is saying.
Whether you are NeverTrump or AlwaysTrump or SometimesTrump, I’d really like to hear from you.
I’m turning this blog over to you. Please cover for me.
Photo, State of the Union entrance, 2011 by Pete Souza [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons. [In this presidential-point-of-view shot, see who you can recognize from 2011, when Barack Obama was walking up to the podium.]
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