Trump's State of the Union address comes at uncertain, even perilous, moment for his presidency: ANALYSIS
Donald Trump's State of the Union address comes at an uncertain, even perilous, moment for his presidency.
Trump will walk into the House chamber with the lowest approval ratings of his second term.
The latest ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll, released on Sunday, found that 60% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s overall job performance, while just 39% approve.
On the economy, 57% disapprove compared to 41% who approve. On immigration, 58% disapprove compared to 40% who approve -- a remarkable slide on issues that were once considered Trump’s strongest.
His speech comes just days after the Supreme Court knocked down a centerpiece of his economic and foreign policies -- tariffs -- in a 6-3 decision that so enraged him he lashed out at the justices who defied him as “very unpatriotic and disloyal to the Constitution” and swayed by foreign interests.
On tariffs, 64% of Americans disapprove while 34% approve.
Abroad, Trump has set the stage for what may be the biggest decision of his presidency so far: whether to go to war with Iran. He has amassed a military force in the Persian Gulf region that includes roughly half of America’s deployable airpower, the largest buildup of U.S. fighter jets there seen in recent years.
There will soon be two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East as the USS Gerald R Ford makes its way to the region, meaning there will be close to 120 Navy aircraft in the area. There will also be eleven destroyers in the Middle East, each equipped with dozens of Tomahawk cruise missiles that can strike targets 1,000 miles away..
On Iran, Trump faces the challenge of explaining to the American people why he may order another military strike. When the president did so last summer, there was a clear objective -- taking out Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The president hasn’t provided a clear rationale this time for why it would happen again. The ABC/Post/Ipsos poll finds 54% opposed to the Trump administration using the U.S. military to force change in other countries and just 20% in support.
In a vivid indication that the divisions in the country are reflected in Congress, a large number of Democrats are expected to skip the president’s speech entirely.
Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries will be there and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is also expected to attend the speech (although she has not confirmed that yet). But the number of Democratic no-shows is expected to be more than 50 and could be as high as 100 or more.
That could lead to a sight we have really never seen in a televised State of the Union address -- a large number of empty seats on the House floor.
At least a few justices of the Supreme Court are expected to attend.
As usual, they will have seats up front, and they will sit silently throughout the speech. But this time they will have to sit silently, listening to a president so angry about their most recent decision that he has called two of the justices -- Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett -- "an embarrassment to their families."
When asked earlier this week if the Supreme Court justices who ruled against him were still invited to the speech, Trump said, "Yeah, they are invited. Barely … barely." Then he added: "I couldn’t care less if they come."
But on that point, it is important to point out: Donald Trump isn’t the one giving out the invitations.
Congress is the host. In fact, by tradition, the president himself is an invited guest of the Speaker of the House.
