It’s that time of year again. With Pelosi perched on his shoulder, President Trump will deliver his 2nd State of The Union address tonight (after last year’s marathon 80-minute oration). However, Trump’s call for cooperation did little to change the atmosphere of bitter partisan acrimony that has only intensified in Washington over the past year.
After a divisive year that featured partisan battles over the confirmation of SCOTUS Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Trump’s zero-tolerance border policies and – most recently – the government shutdown, according to Conway, Trump is once again planning to strike a conciliatory tone to try and silence critics who joke that his speech would be more aptly referred to as “the State of Disunion”.
“This president is going to call for an end to the politics of resistance, retribution and call for more comity,” Conway said, spelling out the last word.
Many of President Trump’s recent decisions have been controversial among both Republicans (the trade war, his decision to pull troops from Syria and Afghanistan) and Democrats (immigration, the wall, the shutdown). And as the president seeks to rally support as the 2020 campaign season gets underway, previews of the speech published by the Hill, the New York Times and NBC News suggest that Trump will spend the bulk of his time touting his victories and selling his policies to the public, while calling for Democrats and Republicans to find common ground on issues like passing a sweeping infrastructure bill. The “optimistic” tone will go a long way toward setting out Trump’s goals for the coming year.
Some key highlights include:
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*TRUMP TO SAY HIS AGENDA IS AGENDA OF AMERICAN PEOPLE
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*TRUMP TO ANNOUNCE 2-DAY MEET WITH KIM IN SOTU SPEECH
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*TRUMP TO SAY IMMIGRATION SYSTEM NEEDS TO PROTECT LIVES, JOBS
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*TRUMP: ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION DIVIDES WORKING, POLITICAL CLASSES
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*TRUMP TO SAY GREAT NATIONS DON’T FIGHT ENDLESS WARS
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*TRUMP TO REITERATE CALL FOR CHEAPER DRUGS
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*TRUMP TO URGE BOTH PARTIES TO UNITE FOR INFRASTRUCTURE PLAN
Watch Live, starting at 2100ET…
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But, if you find yourself drifting off – like during the Super Bowl – here are some prop bets (courtesy of ActionNetwork.com)
Will Trump say “thanks” or “thank you” first?
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Thanks +300 (25% chance)
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Thank You -500 (83.8% chance)
What will be the length of Trump’s speech?
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One hour or longer -250 (71.4% chance)
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Less than one hour +140 (37% chance)
What color will Trump’s tie be?
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Red -120 (54.5% chance)
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Blue +110 (52.4% chance)
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Other +450 (18.2% chance)
Will Trump say Caravans?
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Yes +275 (26.7% chance)
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No -450 (81.8% chance)
Will Trump say Fake News?
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Yes +800 (11.1% chance)
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No -2500 (96.2% chance)
Will Trump say Make America Great Again?
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Yes -550 (84.6% chance)
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No +325 (23.5% chance)
Will Trump say National Emergency?
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Yes +275 (26.7% chance)
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No -450 (81.8% chance)
Will Trump say Witch Hunt?
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Yes +1200 (7.7% chance)
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No -5000 (98% chance)
Which will be said more times during Trump’s Speech?
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Wall -600 (85.7% chance)
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Huge +400 (20% chance)
How many times will “Kavanaugh” be mentioned?
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Over 1.5 -115 (53.5% chance)
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Under 1.5 -115 (53.5% chance)
Will Chuck Schumer or Nancy Pelosi stand and clap for Trump?
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Yes +200 (33.3% chance)
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No -300 (75% chance)
Will Alexandria Ocasio Cortez stand at any point during Trump’s speech?
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Yes -220 (68.8% chance)
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No +180 (35.7% chance)
How many times will Trump say “Democrats”?
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Over 2.5 -300 (75% chance)
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Under 2.5 +200 (33.3% chance)
How many times will Trump say “Crisis”?
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Over 3.5 -105 (51.2% chance)
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Under 3.5 -135 (57.4% chance)
And finally – though we implore responsibility – here is the SOTU drinking game (source)…
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And because we are fair and balanced – here is The Democratic Party’s response by Stacey Abrams…
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*ABRAMS TO HIGHLIGHT FREE, FAIR ELECTIONS IN RESPONSE TO TRUMP
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*ABRAMS SAYS SHUTDOWN WAS A `STUNT’ ENGINEERED BY TRUMP
via ZeroHedge News http://bit.ly/2DmmaX9 Tyler Durden