Washington – Trump Puts Twitter Aside As He Prepares For Big Speech

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    A runner and a squirrel run past the U.S. Capitol building on the day of U.S. President Donald Trump's evening State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress at the Capitol in Washington, U.S. January 30, 2018.  REUTERS/Jim BourgWashington – President Donald Trump will herald a robust economy and push for bipartisan congressional action on immigration in Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, as he seeks to rally a deeply divided nation and boost his own sagging standing with Americans.

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    The speech marks the ceremonial kickoff of Trump’s second year in office and is traditionally a president’s biggest platform to speak to the nation. However, Trump has redefined presidential communications with his high-octane, filter-free Twitter account and there’s no guarantee that the carefully crafted speech will resonate beyond his next tweet.

    Trump was quiet Tuesday on Twitter, and the White House sought to focus attention on his big speech to Congress and millions of Americans watching at home. The White House said Trump has spent months giving aides “tidbits” about lines he wanted to use in the speech, and was assisted in its crafting by national security adviser H.R. McMaster and economy adviser Gary Cohn.

    While stocks have been falling this week, the economy has been strong and White House officials are hopeful the president can use the prime-time address to take credit. Though the trajectory of lower unemployment and higher growth began under his predecessor, Trump argues that the tax overhaul he signed into law late last year has boosted business confidence and will lead companies to reinvest in the United States.

    Considering the strength of the economy, Trump will step before lawmakers Tuesday night in a remarkably weak position. His approval rating has hovered in the 30s for much of his presidency and at the close of 2017, just 3 in 10 Americans said the United States was heading in the right direction, according to a poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. In the same survey, 67 percent of Americans said the country was more divided because of Trump.

    It’s unlikely Trump will be able to rely on a robust legislative agenda to reverse those numbers in 2018. Congress has struggled with the basic function of funding the government, prompting a brief government shutdown earlier this month that was resolved only with a short-term fix that pushed the spending deadline to Feb. 8.

    Against the backdrop of the spending fight, Republicans and Democrats are also wrestling with the future of some 700,000 young immigrants living in the United States illegally. Trump has vowed to protect the so-called Dreamers from deportation, but is also calling for changes to legal immigration that are controversial with both parties.

    “We’re going to get something done, we hope bipartisan,” Trump told reporters Monday, before giving his speech a practice run-through in the White House map room. “The Republicans really don’t have the votes to get it done in any other way. So it has to be bipartisan.”

    Though Democrats are eager to reach a resolution for the young immigrants, the party is hardly in the mood to compromise with Trump ahead of the midterm elections. Lawmakers see Trump’s unpopularity as a key to their success in November, and are eager to mobilize Democratic voters itching to deliver the president and his party a defeat at the ballot box.

    Trump also is expected to use the speech to talk about the fate of the controversial U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to a senior administration official who was not authorized to publicly discuss details of the speech and spoke on condition of anonymity. Trump, who vowed during his campaign to load Guantanamo up with “bad dudes,” has long been expected to rescind President Barack Obama’s 2009 order to close the prison and issue his own stating his administration’s policy to keep it open.

    Seeking to set the tone for their election-year strategy, party leaders have tapped Massachusetts Rep. Joe Kennedy, the grandson of Robert F. Kennedy, to deliver a post-speech rebuttal aimed at casting Democrats, not Trump, as champions of the middle class.

    Democrats are also looking to make their mark in other ways. A handful of lawmakers are planning to boycott the president’s remarks. And several Democratic women plan to wear black to protest sexual harassment, an issue that has tarnished several lawmakers in both parties. Trump himself has been accused of assault or harassment by more than a dozen women, accusations he has denied. The Wall Street Journal reported this month that the president’s lawyer arranged a payment to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, to prevent her from talking about her alleged encounter with the future president.

    First lady Melania Trump, who has largely stayed out of the spotlight following those allegations, will attend Tuesday’s address, according to the White House. She’ll be joined in the audience by several guests whose stories amplify the president’s agenda, including an Ohio welder who the White House says will benefit from the new tax law and the parents of two Long Island teenagers who were believed to have been killed by MS-13 gang members.


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    13 Comments
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    6 years ago

    Yes all I can say is its a great economy thanks to our president.

    Yes returns are similar to Obama’s first year. But during Obama’s first year there really was no more downward spiral left. Stocks still had intrinsic value. Unlss the dollar plotzes companies are always worth something. At 7,500 it was was well below its value. Of course it will rise unless you really mess up. Under trump stocks were probably over priced from day one. To add value to an overpriced system is far harder and greater. And I expect I correction too. (today the dow is down 350 points) But added value is still far harder to achieve and thats directly thanks to president Trump.

    Also thanks for beating ISIL

    A rubashkin thank you for freeing him . We know he wasn’t “pardoned” but it makes no difference.

    And a huge thanks for Jerusalem.

    ralph1527
    ralph1527
    6 years ago

    Imagine !!!! Didn’t think that was possible .

    takeittothem
    takeittothem
    6 years ago

    Over 100 down yesterday. About 370 down today. El boasting Capitane will say how wonderful everything is. Tomorrow, when it crashes another 500 points, he’ll look like the fool he is.
    As for Obama, in his first year he prevented a major recession, maybe even a major depression. But keep on knocking him.

    takeittothem
    takeittothem
    6 years ago

    ‘magnificent success’
    wow
    he has lowered the decency bar for America, that’s his ‘magnificent success’
    and why were Charlie rose and others fired, while this lecher stays in the white house. makes me want to puke.