President Donald Trump is set to deliver his first State of the Union address of his second term on Tuesday, after 13 months of break-neck deregulation, a record number of executive actions, mass layoffs, federal deployments, and much more.
President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Watch our coverage live, starting at 6 p.m. EST, in the video player above.
Yet, with midterm elections on the horizon, a number of pain points threaten to overshadow the list of accomplishments Trump is sure to tout during his big, primetime speech.
On Friday, the Supreme Court delivered a major setback to Trump’s agenda when it struck down his sweeping tariffs. Americans have grown increasingly unsure about the president’s policies, including his economic leadership. A partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, brought on by Democratic opposition to Trump’s aggressive immigration enforcement, seems to have no end in sight. And questions about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation continue to dog his administration.
The goal of this annual address, as laid out in the U.S. Constitution, is to update Congress on how the country is doing and propose legislative priorities. It’s not yet clear how Trump, who’s stressed both unity and division in his past remarks, will approach this task.
Meanwhile, a burgeoning group of Democrats see a chance to change the conversation with their own events.
Here’s a short guide on how to watch this year’s State of the Union address.