What did President Trump say in his first State of the Union address?

Careful choice of words

Washington PostIn his first State of the Union address, Mr. Trump will mention many important achievements in economics, society, trade and national security, White House officials said.

Also according to White House officials, in contrast to the "nationalist" tone of his inaugural address, Mr. Trump's State of the Union Address contains "positive elements of American values ​​that help connect Americans with patriotism."

With the theme “Building a safe, strong and proud America”, the State of the Union Address is expected to recreate the vision of “reforming the American spirit” that Mr. Trump once put forward in his speech before both houses of the US Congress in February 2017.

An assistant to Mr. Trump revealed that over the past few months, President Donald Trump has painstakingly prepared every sentence, every word, every paragraph that he believes can best convey the message he wants to send to all American people.

Mr. Trump also wants to use his State of the Union address to demonstrate that he is a new type of leader, daring to set aside standards that he considers outdated in order to achieve great achievements in his first year in office and aim for greater goals in the future.

There are still doubts

However, according to experts, a big question for President Donald Trump is whether he can convince the majority of Americans - who have a record low approval rating for him - to believe in what he claims.

Former US House Speaker Newt Gingrich commented: "I hope he will give a speech worthy of the White House boss and will put forward a series of proposals to bring the American people closer together. I do not think, in this speech, he wants to divide the American people. He needs to represent a united America."

Former Republican Senator Judd Gregg recommended that, in this State of the Union Address, Mr. Trump needs to put aside the tendency to “personalize” every issue. Instead, the US President needs to look at the bigger picture: “Optimism will be the most important keyword, however, optimism is not arrogance.”

The State of the Union address was delivered by Mr. Trump in the context that the Republican Party is under great pressure from the Democratic Party in the race for seats in both houses of the US Congress. This may make it difficult for the Republican Party to "wholeheartedly" focus on Mr. Trump, leading to his position as President being severely shaken.

Furthermore, the US President must also pay attention to the investigation by Special Prosecutor Robert S. Mueller regarding the allegations of Russian interference in the US election in favor of Mr. Trump. In the worst case scenario, Mr. Trump may have to testify.

However, Mr. Trump is not the first President to face great challenges and deliver the State of the Union Address in the most "hot water" moment. The US President can learn from his predecessors about how they behaved in the "storm".

In his 1974 State of the Union Address, then-US President Richard Nixon brilliantly demonstrated his effort to brush aside the scandal that was about to engulf his career by confronting it head-on.

President Nixon stressed: “I believe it is time for the investigations related to that scandal to end. One year is enough for Watergate.”

Twenty-four years later, then-US President Bill Clinton delivered his State of the Union address less than a week after the Monica Lewinsky scandal. There was speculation that he would resign.

A day before the State of the Union address, Clinton's aides arranged a press conference to give reporters a chance to interview him about the scandal. At the time, Clinton maintained, "I did not have an improper relationship with Ms. Lewinsky."

A year later, while his impeachment was still going on in the US Senate, Mr. Clinton delivered his State of the Union address in the House of Representatives, where he devoted all his time to mentioning “the longest and most expansive economic expansion in American history” and his plan to protect Social Security.

However, the government of US President Donald Trump is skeptical about its difficulty in having a "convincing" vision and plan that makes the American people forget the remaining problems in the country like its two predecessors Nixon and Clinton.

Trump's "trump cards"

However, White House officials asserted that Mr. Trump also has “a lot to share” in this first State of the Union Address. Accordingly, the most important domestic issue is the citizenship status for illegal asylum seekers in the United States.

President Trump is likely to accept concessions in exchange for his $25 billion border wall being passed and Democrats agreeing to tighten immigration laws.

Meanwhile, the North Korean nuclear threat will also be mentioned. In addition, Mr. Trump is also expected to reaffirm the message he gave at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland: America is always open to trade with all countries./.