Washington: US President Donald Trump began his State of the Union address on Tuesday, a speech where he plans to declare his policies have the job market and domestic manufacturing booming - hoping to convince increasingly wary Americans that the economy is stronger than many believe and that they should vote for more of the same by backing Republicans during November's midterm elections.
Republicans chanted “USA! USA!” as Trump, wearing a long red tie and a blue suit, stepped to the lectern in the House.
Most Democrats remained seated without applauding. Some of the party's lawmakers registered their opposition by refraining from attending the speech.
“It is indeed a turnaround for the ages,” Trump said early on.
Excerpts released by the White House before he began Tuesday's address said Trump will vow that, “Moving forward, factories, jobs, investment, and trillions of dollars will continue pouring into the United States of America." Trump is set to use his speech to champion his immigration crackdowns and slashing of the federal government, as well as 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.
“We have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before, and a turnaround for the ages,” Trump plans to say, according to the excerpts. “We will never go back to where we were just a short time ago.” 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 in which he personally won't be on the ballot could be a tall order.
It might 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. “It's going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about," said Trump, who promised a heavy dose of talk about the economy.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will argue that Republicans are best suited to continue tackling the public's concerns about the cost of living.
“The president's going to make the case that three more years with him in the White House and with Republicans on Capitol Hill we can finally achieve the American dream in this country again that we had in his first term but was lost because of Joe Biden and the Democrats over the past four years,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House.
The Olympic gold-medal-winning US men's hockey team visited the White House and was invited by Trump to attend his address. The US women's hockey team, who also won the gold medal, declined an invitation to the White House.
(Except for the headline, this article has not been edited by FPJ's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)
