State of the Union: Trump Declares ‘New American Moment’ While Democrats See ‘Chaos’
President Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern, and The New York Times will be streaming it live on our website and on our app. Follow our coverage for the latest updates and analysis.
• The White House has released excerpts from the speech, as have the Democrats.
• The president will arrive at the Capitol amid remarkable tumult: Anger that he has declined to impose sanctions on Russia and worry over a Republican memo on the origins of the Russia investigation.
Crews prepared Statuary Hall ahead of the State of the Union address in the Capitol building. Credit Gabriella Demczuk for The New York Times
Ms. Guzman will say, in Spanish, that Mr. Trump “has pushed a dark and extremist agenda that damages our national values and endangers national security.”
“The President has attacked our families. He eliminated DACA and has threatened to deport young patriotic and brave Dreamers — who call the United States their home, because it is the only one they know.
The President has attacked those who are most vulnerable, ending protections for families fleeing persecution, from wars and from natural disasters. These people have acted in accordance with the law, they have paid taxes. The President has also failed in his duty to protect our families in Puerto Rico who were affected by hurricane Maria. This is unjust. This is unacceptable.
He has demeaned communities of color — launching a mass deportation agenda, and insulting the heritage of anyone who doesn’t look like him. He has imposed a hateful, immoral ban against our Muslim brothers and sisters.”
Sonny Perdue, agriculture secretary, designated survivor.
Yeah, there’s the first lady’s clothes or which big wig will fall asleep this year. But the State of the Union proceedings also have this bit of intrigue: Which cabinet official will earn the distinction of designated survivor?
The mystery this time was solved two hours before Mr. Trump was due to give his address on Tuesday, when the White House said that the honor would go to Mr. Perdue, the former governor of Georgia and the president’s agriculture secretary.
Glamorous in title but, thankfully, not so far in practice, the designated survivor does not attend the president’s address, and is poised to take over the commander-in-chief’s responsibilities in the event that catastrophe strikes the Capitol and wipes out most of the government. If tradition holds, Mr. Perdue will be watching from a distant and secure location while Mr. Trump speaks.
The short tenure of the designated survivor has an oversize presence in the public imagination: There is a TV series by the same title, about a low-profile cabinet member who suddenly assumes the presidency after a terror attack.
How might he measure up in the Oval Office? Mr. Perdue, a conservative Republican, shares something in common with Mr. Trump: As governor of Georgia, he faced ethical criticisms for not appearing to fully separate himself from his business interests. He once ran a grain and fertilizer business.
— Katie Rogers
“You’ve gotta have heart.”
Hours before his first State of the Union address, President Trump told a group of news anchors at a lunch in the White House that his first year in office has taught him that the biggest difference between excelling in business and performing his current job is that governing takes compassion.
“I’ve really learned a lot,” Mr. Trump told the reporters, according to a partial transcript of an off-the-record lunch released publicly by the White House. “In doing what I’m doing now, a lot of it is heart, a lot of it is compassion, a lot of it is far beyond money — such as immigration.”
Mr. Trump, who is expected to use Tuesday night’s speech to call for a bipartisan compromise that pairs legal status for a group of undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children with funding for a border wall, tougher enforcement and new restrictions on legal immigration, recently said he was hoping to sign a “bill of love.”
That tone is sharply at odds with the president’s approach on immigration thus far, which has included a travel ban against visitors from six countries, slashing refugee resettlement and revoking temporary protected status for people from El Salvador and Haiti. He has been more publicly conflicted about his decision last fall to rescind DACA, or Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program that has given legal status to certain people brought illegally to the United States as children.
“I’m telling you, the immigration is so easy to solve if it was purely a business matter, but it’s not,” Mr. Trump said. “And I think that’s something that I’ve learned maybe more than anything else: You have to — you govern with all of the instincts of a businessperson, but you have to add much more heart and soul into your decisions than you would ever have even thought of before.”
Here’s a peek at the transcript:
— Julie Hirschfeld Davis
Dreamers head to the Capitol — despite the risk.
Democratic lawmakers have decided to put a face on the difficult negotiations happening in Congress over the fate of young, undocumented immigrants brought to the country as children. They are bringing scores of such “Dreamers” to the Capitol for Tuesday night’s State of the Union address.
Representative Nancy Pelosi’s guest, Melody Klingenfuss, is just one of them. Born in Guatemala, she was brought to Los Angeles when she was 9, earned a degree in communications and political science from California State University, Los Angeles, a master’s degree from the University of Southern California, then won protection under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2015.
“Tonight, when President Trump looks into the gallery during his State of the Union, he will see the dignity, courage and patriotism of dozens of Dreamers,” said Ms. Pelosi, the House Democratic leader.
But there is a flip side. Representative Paul Gosar, Republican of Arizona, has called the cops.
So much for the warm welcome.
Mr. Gosar’s fellow Arizona Republican, Senator Jeff Flake, didn’t take kindly to his colleague’s citizen’s arrest.
Are we facing a “Constitutional crisis”?
The Trump administration’s announcement on Monday that it would not impose sanctions on countries that buy Russian military equipment sparked an angry response in Congress, where the Senate and House overwhelmingly approved the sanctions to punish Russia for interfering in the 2016 election.
Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri who faces a difficult re-election campaign this year, set the tone with a blast on Twitter.
That concern is bipartisan, at least in some quarters of the Republican Party. Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, was flummoxed by the administration’s decision:
“That bill passed with only two dissenting votes in the Senate. It was not partisan in the least,” she said on CNN. “The one thing we know for sure already is the Russians did attempt to meddle in our elections, and not only should there be a price to pay in terms of sanctions, but also we need to put safeguards in place right now for the elections for this year, because we know that the Russians have not given up on their disinformation campaign and their attempt to sow discord in this country and also to undermine faith in democratic institutions.”
Testifying before a Senate panel on Tuesday morning, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said his department had followed instructions under the sanctions law and drawn up a list of Russian targets for sanctions. An imposition of sanctions could still follow.
Senator Bob Corker, Republican of Tennessee and one of the authors of the sanctions legislation, declined to criticize the administration’s actions. He did say, “I look forward” to the implementation of the sanctions.
Speaker Ryan weighs in on Russia memo.
Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin spent part of the morning before Mr. Trump’s speech tamping down expectations about a secretive Republican memo that some House members have claimed contains evidence that could undercut the Russia investigation.
In a closed-door meeting of House Republicans this morning, Mr. Ryan “implored” his fellow lawmakers not to overstate the facts of the memo, which the House Intelligence Committee voted to release Monday night. And he urged them not to tie the contentious document — which Democrats call dangerously misleading — to the work of the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, according to a person in the room.
Mr. Ryan reiterated some of those points during a public news conference an hour later, saying that he had faith in the F.B.I. and Justice Department’s broadly and that he thought Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, the man overseeing the Russia investigation, was “doing a fine job.” Still, Mr. Ryan defended the Republicans’ overall approach, saying that they were following proper processes and that only transparency would lead to accountability at the agencies.
Live Video and Analysis at 9 p.m Eastern: The State of the Union
President Trump is delivering his first formal State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. Join our correspondents for live commentary and analysis of the speech.
That was not enough to quiet the most ardent proponents of the notion that federal law enforcement agents have conspired to bring down the Trump White House. Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, called on the president to release the memo during the State of the Union.
— Nicholas Fandos
About those stock market brags, Mr. President.
President Trump loves to brag about the stock market setting record highs, but on the day of his first State of the Union speech, the market isn’t loving him back — for reasons that probably have nothing to do with him or his policies.
Stocks fell sharply at their opening this morning and have stayed down all day. As of 2:30 p.m., the Dow Jones industrial average was down nearly 400 points, or about 1.7 percent, from Monday’s close. The S&P 500 was down about 1.4 percent.
It appeared that the sell-off was driven by rising bond yields and a tumble in health insurer stocks, on the news that Amazon, JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway are launching a health care effort.
As of midafternoon, Mr. Trump had not tweeted about the market news.
— James Tankersley
The president and the black felt marker.
One constant refrain from White House officials when it comes to State of the Union speeches is this: the president was personally involved in drafting the speech.
It was no different on Tuesday as officials in President Trump’s White House described a “robust,” monthslong process in which Mr. Trump actively reviewed drafts of the speech and repeatedly made suggestions of phrases or anecdotes or words that he wanted to be used when he delivers the address.
The speech was assembled over weeks, with agency heads and cabinet secretaries offering suggestions on accomplishments that the president should highlight or priorities he could push for. Speech-writing meetings at the White House with Stephen Miller, the president’s top speechwriter, John F. Kelly, the chief of staff, and others were coordinated by Rob Porter, the president’s staff secretary.
Aides said that in the last two weeks, Mr. Trump received printed drafts of the speech — with ample margins — and used a black felt marker to make additions, deletions and changes. They said he often edited the drafts in the Oval Office, but sometimes would come down from the residence in the morning with a new draft that he had marked up overnight.
— Michael D. Shear
Trump donors get their names in lights.
As the president prepares to speak, his campaign is preparing to cash in.
In a text message to supporters, the Trump campaign offered a few seconds of quasi-fame to donors who give money before his speech. Their names will appear as the speech streams on the Trump campaign website.
“This is a movement,” reads the State of the Union donation form on the campaign site, “which is why your name deserves to be displayed during tonight’s speech.” The Trump campaign offered similar recognition to small donors in the run-up to the Republican National Convention in 2016.
While campaigns regularly raise money based on major events, the Trump campaign’s solicitation is unusual. The names of donors giving more than $200 in a single election cycle must be reported to the Federal Election Commission and are public record, but the voluntary disclosure of the names of small donors is uncommon. Additionally, previous presidents’ campaigns did not raise money for re-election so early in their first term. Former President Barack Obama’s campaign did not file paperwork with the Federal Election Commission and begin raising money until the third year of his presidency.
— Rachel Shorey
Four Supreme Court justices will be in the crowd.
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. has called the State of the Union address “a political pep rally.” But he is expected to attend tonight, along with three colleagues: Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Elena Kagan and Neil M. Gorsuch, whom President Trump appointed to the court last year.
Among the missing will be Justice Clarence Thomas, who has said that he cannot tolerate “the catcalls, the whooping and hollering and under-the-breath comments.” Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., who has called the addresses “very political events” and “very awkward,” is also not expected to attend.
Justice Alito famously mouthed “not true” at the address in 2010 after President Obama’s loose characterization of the Supreme Court’s decision in the Citizens United campaign finance case.
Three members of the court will be out of town tonight: Justices Anthony M. Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.
The justices who do attend usually make coordinated choices about what statements from the president are uncontroversial enough to warrant applause.
That is hard, Justice Alito said in 2010, because presidents “will fake you out.” They may start with something bland, he said, like, “ ‘Isn’t this the greatest country in the world?’ “
“So you get up and you start to clap,” he said, “and the president will say, ‘Because we are conducting a surge in Iraq’ or ‘Because we are going to enact health care reform,’ and then you immediately have to stop.”
— Adam Liptak
The State of the Union guest list
The White House released on Monday the list of people President Trump and his wife, Melania, invited to attend the State of the Union address.
An eclectic cohort will join the first lady: emergency medical workers, service members and faces of Mr. Trump’s tax and immigration overhaul narratives. Here are a few of the people you’ll see:
David Dahlberg, a fire prevention technician, who saved 62 children and staff members from a blaze-encircled summer camp in July during the wildfires in Southern California.
Officer Ryan Holets, of the Albuquerque Police Department, who, according to the White House, was twice shot at during his time as an officer. He and his wife adopted a child from parents who were addicted to opioids.
Steve Staub and Sandy Keplinger, who are the leaders of a Dayton, Ohio, contract manufacturing company focused on metal fabrication. They founded Staub Manufacturing Solutions two decades ago. Over the past year, the company acquired a new building and saw a 60 percent increase in employees — from 23 to 37. Crediting the passage of the tax law, the company gave large Christmas bonuses to all employees.
Four parents whose daughters, the authorities say, were most likely killed by members of the MS-13 gang: Elizabeth Alvarado and Robert Mickens, who lost Nisa Mickens, 15; and Evelyn Rodriguez and Freddy Cuevas, who lost Kayla Cuevas, 16. The teenagers were killed in 2016 on Long Island.
— Emily Baumgaertner
Lawmakers to wear black for Time’s Up.
After the women of Hollywood, the women of Congress.
Taking a cue from the call that went out before the Golden Globes for all attendees to wear black in support of Time’s Up and its spotlight on systemic sexual harassment, members of the Democratic Women’s Working Group — Representatives Lois Frankel of Florida, Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey and Jackie Speier of California — invited all members of Congress (men included) to wear black to the State of the Union.
So far, a number of House members have complied, including Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader.
It is not, as it happens, the first time women have used clothing to send a message: at Mr. Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress last year, many of them wore suffragist white. In both cases, they let their clothes do the talking for them.
— Vanessa Friedman
Voices from speechwriters past.
Jonathan Horn, speechwriter for former President George W. Bush, has these thoughts:
“That’s part of the problem for Donald Trump going into the State of the Union. He could come out with a very traditional State of the Union and for a normal president, that would help set the agenda for at least, you know, maybe a few weeks. In Washington, you’d plan other policy speeches to follow up on certain aspects of the State of the Union and there would be an entire rollout around the State of the Union.
I think with this president, you would expect it would be much shorter. Even if there is a surprise — Oh, look, Donald Trump sounded presidential — but then the next day there could be a tweet, and then, you know, work on a very, very long speech is overshadowed by a 280 characters.
That’s my one prediction. In some sense, whatever he ultimately says is overshadowed by a 280-character tweet.”
Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice at N.Y.U. School of Law and a speechwriter for former President Bill Clinton, also weighed in:
“The power of that podium is not just the audience watching. It’s the sense that the president is somebody who speaks for the whole country. And the way he has governed over the past year has been so filled with denunciations and racial division and flat-out falsehoods that he doesn’t have a lot in the tank when it comes to credibility for anybody who isn’t already an avid supporter.
Often, these State of the Union addresses can be a time when the panoply of the presidency can give whoever the president is, sort of, a second chance with a lot of people. I’d be surprised if that’s the case here.”
Cody Keenan, chief speechwriter for former President Barack Obama, also had concerns:
“President Obama always wanted to close his State of the Union addresses with an argument about the state of our politics. You know, what can we do to make them better? What can we do to be better citizens? I always remember reading criticisms the next day, certainly from the left, saying why is he wasting real estate in the speech on that? It’s never going to happen.
“Well, that’s part of leadership. You know, there’s a vision of what we should be, even if the odds of us getting there in one year or eight years is pretty slim.”
— Interviews by Michael D. Shear
Unfamiliar with the guests in the first lady’s box? Here’s some history.
Who Gets Invited to the State of the Union?
Ronald Reagan invited Lenny Skutnik, who saved a woman from drowning after a plane crash, to the State of the Union in 1982. Since, presidents have kept the tradition of inviting guests.
By CHRIS CIRILLO and AINARA TIEFENTHÄLER on Publish Date January 30, 2018. Photo by Ronald Reagan Presidential Library via YouTube. Watch in Times Video »Democrats turn to a Kennedy to respond.
He’s a fresh face with an old name.
Representative Joseph P. Kennedy III, Democrat of Massachusetts, will deliver the official Democratic response to the president, marking something of a national emergence for the 37-year-old, earnest, diffident third-term congressman.
It’s a tough act: the response by the party out of power has often fallen flat. And this time, Mr. Kennedy will have competition. Representative Maxine Waters, the firebrand Democrat from Southern California, will deliver a different response on BET. Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent with a loyal following on the left, will respond on Facebook.
— Katharine Q. Seelye
President Trump is expected to tick off accomplishments from his first year in office during his first State of the Union address.
