WASHINGTON(National Times)- President Donald Trump will use Tuesday\u2019s State of the Union to champion his immigration crackdowns, his slashing of the federal government, his push to preserve widespread tariffs that the Supreme Court just struck down and his ability to direct quick-hit military actions around the world, including in Iran and Venezuela. Watch live as President Donald Trump delivers his 2026 State of the Union address followed by Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger\u2019s Democratic response. The Republican hopes he can convince increasingly wary Americans that his policies have improved their lives while ensuring that the U.S. economy is stronger than many believe \u2014 and that they should vote for more of the same in November. The balancing act of celebrating his whirlwind first year back in the White House while making a convincing case for his party in midterm races where he personally won\u2019t be on the ballot is a tall order for any president. But it could prove especially delicate for Trump, given how happy he is to veer off script and ignore carefully crafted messaging. A main theme will be that the country is booming with a rise in domestic manufacturing and new jobs, despite many Americans not feeling that way. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about,\u201d said Trump, who promised a heavy dose of talk about the economy. The president is also expected to decry the Supreme Court ruling against his signature tariff policies and talk about his attempts to maneuver around that decision without depending on Congress or spooking financial markets. He\u2019s also likely to urge lawmakers to increase military funding and tighten voter identification requirements, while defending immigration operations that have drawn bipartisan criticism following the shooting deaths of two American citizens. Jeff Shesol, a former speechwriter for Democratic President Bill Clinton, said Trump has typically used State of the Union addresses to offer more conventional tones than his usual bombast \u2014 but he\u2019s still apt to exaggerate repeatedly. \u201cHis job, for the sake of his party, is to show the silver lining,\u201d Shesol said. \u201cBut if he\u2019s going to insist that the silver lining is gold, no one\u2019s buying it. And it will be a very difficult position on the campaign trail for Republicans to defend.\u201d Michael Waldman, Clinton\u2019s former chief speechwriter, said second-term presidents \u201chave a tough job because what they all want to say is, \u2018Hey, look what a great job I\u2019ve been doing \u2014 why don\u2019t you love me?\u2019\u201d No matter what his prepared remarks say, Trump relishes deviating into personal grievances, meaning Tuesday will probably feature topics like denying that he lost the 2020 presidential election. His lack of messaging discipline has been on display after concerns about high costs of living helped propel Democratic wins around the country on Election Day last November. The White House subsequently promised that the president would travel the country nearly every week to reassure Americans he was taking affordability seriously. But Trump has spent more time blaming Democrats and scoffing at the notion that kitchen-table issues demand attention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON(National Times)- President Donald Trump will use Tuesday\u2019s State of the Union to champion his immigration crackdowns, his slashing of the federal government, his push to preserve widespread tariffs that the Supreme Court just struck down and his ability to direct quick-hit military actions around the world, including in Iran and Venezuela. Watch live as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121281,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n