US President Donald Trump heads into his State of the Union address dogged by bruising midterm losses and sinking poll numbers, wounded by a blistering standoff with Democrats.
However, for the stately speech, he plans to embrace unity — at least for the night.
“Choosing Greatness” is the official White House theme.
Addressing the US at the weakest point of his presidency, Trump would seek to use the ceremonial moment to pitch a unifying vision and reset relations with Democrats.
The prime-time presidential set-piece on Tuesday night comes amid a bitter border wall fight that nearly derailed the speech altogether, but Trump is not expected to dwell on the rancor.
“I really think it’s going to be a speech that’s going to cover a lot of territory, but part of it’s going to be unity,” Trump told reporters this week.
While Trump might strive for a unifying tone for the evening, harsh rhetoric has been a constant of his presidency. Previous efforts by Trump to shift gears have been short-lived and have struck many as disingenuous, given the ferocity with which he often takes on Democrats.
Even on Friday, Trump was going after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi by name, calling her clueless and her ideas dangerous.
In his speech, Trump is expected to highlight rare bipartisan accomplishments from last year and push Democrats to work with him on issues of potential agreement, such as infrastructure, drug prices and vocational training.
Still, his recent struggles would be on full display as he addresses a room packed with Democrats and with Pelosi sitting right behind him.
Trump, who loves to build suspense, has teased that he could drop a big announcement in his speech, suggesting on Friday that he might make news on his threat to declare a national emergency to circumvent the US Congress in his quest to build his long-promised border wall.
“Well, I’m saying listen closely to the State of the Union. I think you’ll find it very exciting,” he said.
Trump is expected to address the border, continuing to press his case for the wall, but he is also expected to make a bigger pitch about what he sees as his achievements to date and his plans for the rest of the term, said several people familiar with the planning.
Officials were quick to say that the speech remains a work in progress, adding that Trump would tinker with it until the final moments.
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