Trump's State of Union to Champion Wins02/24 06:15

   President Donald Trump will use Tuesday's State of the Union to champion his 
immigration crackdowns, his slashing of the federal government, 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.

   WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump will use Tuesday's State of the 
Union to champion his immigration crackdowns, his slashing of the federal 
government, 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.

   The Republican hopes he can convince increasingly wary Americans that his 
policies have improved their lives while ensuring that the U.S. economy is 
stronger than many believe -- and that they should vote for more of the same in 
November.

   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 where he 
personally won't be on the ballot is a tall order for any president. But it 
could 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.

   The president is also expected to decry the Supreme Court ruling against his 
signature tariff policies and talk about his attempts to maneuver around that 
decision without depending on Congress or spooking financial markets. He's also 
likely to urge lawmakers to increase military funding and tighten voter 
identification requirements, while defending immigration operations that have 
drawn bipartisan criticism following the shooting deaths of two American 
citizens.

   Jeff Shesol, a former speechwriter for Democratic President Bill Clinton, 
said Trump has typically used State of the Union addresses to offer more 
conventional tones than his usual bombast -- but he's still apt to exaggerate 
repeatedly.

   "His job, for the sake of his party, is to show the silver lining," Shesol 
said. "But if he's going to insist that the silver lining is gold, no one's 
buying it. And it will be a very difficult position on the campaign trail for 
Republicans to defend."

   Michael Waldman, Clinton's former chief speechwriter, said second-term 
presidents "have a tough job because what they all want to say is, 'Hey, look 
what a great job I've been doing -- why don't you love me?'"

   Affordability questions loom large

   No matter what his prepared remarks say, Trump relishes deviating into 
personal grievances, meaning Tuesday will probably feature topics like denying 
that he lost the 2020 presidential election.

   His lack of messaging discipline has been on display after concerns about 
high costs of living helped propel Democratic wins around the country on 
Election Day last November. The White House subsequently promised that the 
president would travel the country nearly every week to reassure Americans he 
was taking affordability seriously. But Trump has spent more time blaming 
Democrats and scoffing at the notion that kitchen-table issues demand attention.

   Trump instead boasts of having tamed inflation and says he has the economy 
humming given that the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently exceeded 50,000 
points for the first time.

   Such gains don't feel tangible to those without stock portfolios, however. 
There also are persistent fears that tariffs stoked higher prices, which could 
eventually hurt the economy and job creation. Economic growth slowed the last 
three months of last year.

   Waldman, now president of the Brennan Center for Justice, which advocates 
for democracy, civil liberties and fair elections, said previous presidents 
faced similar instances of "economic disquiet."

   That created a question of "how much do you sell vs. feeling the pain of the 
electorate," he said.

   Shesol noted that Trump has "always believed -- going back to his real 
estate days -- that he can sell anyone on anything."

   "He's still doing that. But the problem is, you can't tell somebody who has 
lost their job and can't get a new one that things are going great," Shesol 
said. "He can't sell people on a reality that for them, and frankly for most 
Americans, does not exist."

   It is potentially politically perilous ahead of November elections that 
could deliver congressional wins to Democrats, just as 2018's "blue wave" 
created a strong check to his administration during his first term.

   Several Democrats in Congress, meanwhile, plan to skip Tuesday's speech in 
protest, instead attending a rally known as the "People's State of the Union" 
on Washington's National Mall.

   Foreign policy in focus

   Trump's address comes as two U.S. aircraft carriers have been dispatched to 
the Middle East amid tensions with Iran.

   The president will recount how U.S. airstrikes last summer pounded Tehran's 
nuclear capabilities, and laud the raid that ousted Venezuelan President 
Nicolas Nicols Maduro, as well as his administration's brokering of a 
ceasefire in Israel's war with Hamas in Gaza.

   But he also strained U.S. military alliances with NATO, thanks to his push 
to seize Greenland from Denmark and his failure to take a harder line with 
Russian President Vladimir Putin in seeking an end to its war in Ukraine.

   Making any foreign policy feel relevant to Americans back home is never easy.

   Jennifer Anju Grossman, a former speechwriter for Republican President 
George H.W. Bush and current CEO of the Atlas Society, which promotes the ideas 
of author and philosopher Ayn Rand, said Trump can make clear that Maduro's 
socialist policies wrecked Venezuela's economy to the point where one of the 
world's richest oil countries struggled to meet its own energy needs.

   Now, oil from that country will help lower American gas prices.

   Still, when it comes to overseas developments, she said, "I think it's going 
to be a bit of a challenge to make clear why this is relevant to the domestic 
situation."