President Donald Trump will travel to the Capitol tonight to deliver one of his most highly anticipated speeches of the year: The State of the Union. Tonight, Trump will address the Supreme Court, foreign diplomats and a national television audience…
But not these members of Congress who will be skipping the event…
…Trump is slated to begin speaking at 9 pm ET.
Watch live below:
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Nearly a year ago, Trump won widespread acclaim when he addressed Congress and a prime-time TV audience from the Capitol, but by tradition a president’s first report on the state of the union – based on a constitutional requirement does not occur until after a year in office.
According to the Los Angeles Times, aides have promised an uplifting speech, which has stoked fears among conservatives that Trump might overreach in an attempt to sound “bipartisan.”
It’s widely believed that Trump’s plans to limit illegal and legal immigration will take center stage tonight. Investors and political analysts also expect Trump to emphasize his infrastructure initiative after a draft leaked last week.
That is, of course, after Trump finishes reviewing his accomplishments from his first year in office.
With investors on edge following the largest two-day drop for US stocks since September 2016, analysts are looking for Trump to strike an optimistic tone.
That was very much the approach from last year’s speech, which sent both the market, and Trump’s approval rating, higher.
As we noted earlier, analysts at Citigroup believe the market’s response will be driven by two considerations:
1. Whether the speech provides clues on the likely sequence of policy moving forward.
2. The tone of the speech in weighting ‘business friendly’ policy such as infrastructure spending vs. more contentious issues such as trade.
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They say it’s never too early to start campaigning and the Trump team has apparently taken this to heart. To help raise small donations for his 2020 run, Trump offered supporters a chance to see their name flashed on the campaign’s website during the speech – all for a small donation of at least $35, according to the Washington Post.
In a fundraising solicitation Monday, Trump offered those willing to pay at least $35 the opportunity to see their name displayed during a live-streaming of the address on the website.
“This is a movement,” the solicitation says. “It’s not about just one of us. It’s about ALL of us. Which is why your name deserves to be displayed during Tuesday night’s speech.”
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Last year’s ‘unofficial’ speech ran 60 minutes and 10 seconds – Will Trump beat that this year?
And here is the ubiquitous SOTU Address bingo to keep you busy during that hour…
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