What to Expect from President Trump's First State of the Union Address
On Tuesday, Donald Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address to an incredibly divided nation—a recent Gallup poll put the President's approval rating somewhere around 38 percent. And as has become the norm in the first year of the Trump administration, there will be protests. The speech will take place before a joint session of Congress at 9:00 P.M. ET and will be carried live by all the major television networks as well as streaming online by C-Span, Twitter, the White House YouTube channel, Facebook, and the networks themselves.
As for the speech itself, details are slowly starting to emerge. A senior administration official has told CBS News that "the tone will be one of bipartisanship." The Hill is reporting that Trump has five goals with the speech that include: pressuring Congress on immigration, laying out an infrastructure plan, claiming victory on the economy, prepping for the midterms, and perhaps "shaking things up," which really could mean just about anything when it comes to this President.
Here's what to expect from the resistance:
Boycotts: Some Democrats in Congress will not be attending, including California's Maxine Waters, Washington's Pramila Jayapal, and Oregon's Earl Blumenauer. Georgia rep and iconic activist John Lewis will also be skipping the speech, telling MSNBC, “I cannot in all good conscience be in a room, with what he has said about so many Americans. I just cannot do it. It wouldn’t be honest with myself."
Wearing black: In a move organized by Jackie Speier of California, female Democrats plan to follow Hollywood's lead and dress in black in support of women who have been the victims of sexual harassment and misconduct. Rep. Louise Frankel, the chairwoman of the Democratic Women's Working Group, has said she plans to give her guest ticket to someone involved with the Me Too movement, and we wouldn't be surprised if other representatives followed suit.
People's State of the Union event: A number of anti-Trump celebrities—like Mark Ruffalo, Cynthia Nixon, and Michael Moore—will attend the People's State of the Union in New York City the night before the speech. Moveon.org will live stream the event on Facebook.
State of the Dream initiative: Alyssa Milano is spearheading the State of the Dream online initiative, which will showcase 60-second videos of people sharing their dreams for the country. She writes, “Our digital #StateOfTheDream address will support our dreamers and immigrants, call for a DREAM Act, lean into the Senate, fundraiser for United We Dream, and express our vision for a more inclusive, progressive America.”
Motorcade route protestors: A group called Resist DC is organizing protestors to line the motorcade route along Independence Avenue that President Trump will be traveling en route to his speech. They wrote on their Facebook page, "Building on the momentum of the tens of thousands that showed up for the anniversary of the Women's March, the State of the Union brings the opportunity to show the President firsthand—where he can SEE us—how many people oppose his awful governance of the country."
Red pins for Recy Nash: Representative Bonnie Coleman, the cochairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus on Black Women and Girls, is planning to wear a red pin in honor of Recy Nash, the woman Oprah talked about in her Golden Globes speech, and wants others to do the same. She also plans to bring Nash's niece as her guest.
Carmen Yulin Cruz: New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand will have the mayor of San Juan, Puerto Rico—and fellow Trump Twitter target—Carmen Yulin Cruz as her guest.
A rebuttal en español: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has tapped Elizabeth Guzman, the first Latina elected to the Virginia House, to deliver a formal rebuttal in Spanish following the State of the Union. In the past, Spanish-speaking politicians have translated their rebuttals from English, but Guzman has written an original speech that focuses on her experiences as an immigrant and encourages Latinos to join the Democratic party to counter Trump's anti-immigrant agenda and unresolved DACA policies. The speech will air on Univision, Telemundo, and CNN en Español. Rep. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts will offer the official Democratic response to the president in English.
We will update this post as new information is announced.
