Just after nine o’clock tonight, President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress for the first time in five years.
Trump is making history: This is the first time the president has ever come back to Capitol Hill after five years to give a speech to a joint session.
The world has so drastically shifted since Trump last addressed Congress on Feb. 4, 2020. The Senate was about to acquit Trump in his first impeachment trial (where Ukraine and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky played an essential role). The Covid-19 pandemic was yet to ravage the United States or the world. In fact, Trump only mentioned coronavirus once during his address. Trump’s loss to Joe Biden was still nine months away, followed by the Jan. 6 insurrection.
This time, Trump will return to the House chamber as a second-term president at the apex of his power. House and Senate Republicans march in lockstep behind his remaking of the party and the country. Trump has morphed the GOP into a tariff-loving, isolationist gang that favors granting the president expansive powers while shrinking the influence of the legislative branch.
But Trump still faces serious challenges. His fraying relationship with Zelensky is giving lots of Republicans pause. Trump’s on-camera clash with Zelensky last week is being felt in Kyiv, Moscow, Europe and across the globe. Mega billionaire Elon Musk is slashing federal spending, even without Congress’ explicit buy-in. Consumer prices are still high. The U.S. economy is in overall good shape, although there are warning signs everywhere. Trump is slapping restrictive tariffs on allies and adversaries alike. He’s open to changing elements of Medicaid and other entitlement programs, although not the two biggest entitlements — Medicare and Social Security.
Yet this is Trump’s moment. He has roughly a year to get the bulk of his legislative agenda through Congress before the midterm elections, and the fight for the House closes that window.
The three things to watch for tonight:
1) Length. Trump’s addresses to Congress typically run for more than an hour. In 2017, Trump spoke for an hour. His 2018 address ran for 80 minutes, 2019 for 82 minutes and 2020 for 78 minutes. With Republicans in control of both chambers, expect there to be a lot of hollering and applause. Will Democrats boo, like Republicans did with Biden? It’s likely.
2) Theatrics. Trump is known for his theatrics during these speeches. Remember how he awarded the late Rush Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom during the State of the Union in 2020? What does Trump have up his sleeve this time? Will there be an appearance by a former Israeli hostage held by Hamas? There are several in town this week to meet with Trump.
3) What do Democrats do? Democrats loathe Trump — that’s no secret. They think he’s destroying democracy and the country’s future. They disagree with just about everything Trump does. But how many Democrats will protest? House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has said he doesn’t want any protests. We’ll see if lawmakers listen.
In this edition, we’ll use our reporting and analytical expertise to tell you what we’re focused on in all of our coverage areas. Please always feel free to get in touch. And thank you for reading.
