State of the Union to Highlight Economy and Immigration

Aide won't disclose what Trump will say about his impeachment Tuesday
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Feb 1, 2020 9:00 AM CST
Trump's Address to Highlight Economy and Immigration
President Trump and his wife, Melania, leave the White House for Florida on Friday.   (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Trump will use next week's State of the Union to promote what he calls the "Great American comeback," according to a senior administration official. The speech comes at a moment when Trump is hoping to put his Senate impeachment trial behind him. White House officials say. Trump wants to use the nationally televised address to highlight his administration's efforts to bolster the economy, tighten immigration rules and lower prescription drug costs just as his reelection effort accelerate, the AP reports. "I think it's safe to say the speech will celebrate American economic and military strength and present an optimistic vision of America's future," said the senior administration official, who briefed reporters on the speech that Trump is scheduled to deliver before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

But for the second straight year, Trump will deliver his speech with a cloud over his presidency as his Senate impeachment edges to a rancorous close. Last year, Trump was forced to postpone his speech because of the longest government shutdown in the nation's history, triggered by bitter partisan battle over his push for funding for a wall along the US-Mexico border. The official who briefed reporters declined to comment on how the speech will address impeachment. White House officials stressed Friday that the president was determined to offer an optimistic message. Trump has invited Army veteran Tony Rankins, who has battled post-traumatic stress disorder and drug addiction, and Raul Ortiz, a deputy chief of the Border Patrol, to be among his guests at the speech.

(More State of the Union address stories.)

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