Pelosi Pushes Trump To Put Off State Of The Union Amid Shutdown
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has disinvited President Trump from delivering the annual State of the Union address while the government is shut down, citing security problems — though the department of Homeland Security shot down her reasons for calling it off.
Pelosi asked Trump to postpone the planned Jan. 29 State of the Union speech, saying that with both the Secret Service and the Homeland Security Department entangled in the shutdown, the president should speak to Congress another time or he should deliver the address in writing.
Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen denied anyone’s safety is compromised, saying both agencies “are fully prepared to support and secure the State of the Union.”
Several Bay State pols sided with the House’s top Democrat, citing political reasons rather than security ones.
GOP strategist Ford O’Connell said, “This is bare-knuckle partisan politics, period. Pelosi does not want to give Trump a platform to lay out his case for border security.”
The Constitution requires that a president periodically give a report on the state of the union to Congress, but it doesn’t go into much detail as to how. George Washington and John Adams, the country’s first two presidents, delivered it in person, but Thomas Jefferson gave it in writing only, and over the next century, other presidents followed suit. Woodrow Wilson brought the in-person delivery back in 1913 as a tactic to try to get his fiscal policy passed. Since then, presidents have built on that, using the platform in increasingly showy and often effective ways to state their political cases to the country, said Boston University professor and presidential historian Thomas Whalen.
Will Washington Come Together After Trump's Nod To Democrats In SOTU Speech?
In his first-ever State of the Union (SOTU) address, U.S. President Donald Trump called for unity in Washington in a bid to get both parties on the same page and pass an agenda he said would bring tremendous benefit to Americans.
But at a time of bitter partisan rancor, many experts have expressed doubt whether unity will occur.
In a nationally televised speech, the president called for unity for the sake of serving the American people, saying "these are the people we were elected to serve," noting that his administration has boosted employment and enacted one of the biggest tax cuts in U.S. history -- which has sent the markets soaring.
Pushing for a 1 trillion U.S. dollar infrastructure spending bill, Trump told lawmakers in the audience that he was "asking both parties to come together" to produce a bill that will "fix the infrastructure deficit."
At the same time, he called for a multi-pronged immigration revamp in a bid to fix the nation's broken immigration system.
That included fixing the "deadly loopholes" that allow violent criminals to enter the United States illegally, noting a case a couple of years back in which MS-13 gang members -- a Hispanic gang with members illegally residing in the United States -- murdered two American high school girls.
The plan also called for a path to citizenship for nearly 2 million immigrants whose parents brought them illegally into the United States when they were minors.
"So let's come together" and "get the job done" he said, in an effort to reach out to Democrats.
"In his first year, he could pass legislation with only a majority. And this time around, when it comes to immigration and infrastructure, he's going to need some Democrats," Republican Strategist Ford O'Connell told Xinhua.
"And I think the big question here is...he gave a powerful speech and it was well delivered. But at the same time, is it going to make it easier to make a deal on immigration or infrastructure ? I think that's still up in the air," O'Connell said.
O'Connell said the real question for Trump will be how independent voters respond, at a time when the president has a very low approval rating among Democrats.
"Because if you look at the latest Fox News poll, Republicans are still with Trump, and Democrats are still against Trump. If he can find a way to get public opinion on his side with respect to (independents), he may be able to (pass his agenda)," he said.
Amid Divisive Debate Over Memo, Trump's Address To Call For Unity
As President Donald Trump prepares to deliver his first State of the Union address before Congress on Tuesday night, the investigation of Russia’s role in the 2016 election and the latest controversies to spin out of it continue to loom over his presidency.
Trump enters the chamber of the House of Representatives Tuesday with a 4.1 percent unemployment rate, a record high stock market, three straight quarters of strong economic growth, military victories in the Middle East, and many Americans already benefiting from the tax reform bill he signed last month.
However, he also enters the chamber with a special counsel investigation of possible ties between the Kremlin and his campaign ongoing, four former campaign aides facing criminal charges, multiple congressional probes, and accusations that he is trying to politicize the law enforcement and intelligence-gathering apparatuses of government.
“From Trump’s perspective, obviously he wants to be talking about the memo,” said Republican strategist Ford O’Connell. “I’m not so sure that he wants to be talking about it at the moment.”
That said, O’Connell doubts the memo discussion will drastically alter the public’s reception of Trump’s speech any more than various other Russia-related stories will.
“I don’t think it’s going to have any impact on the speech,” he said. “It’s not like the Russia probe hasn’t been hanging over the president’s head since he took office.”
Obama Marks Start Of 2016 White House Race With State of Union Speech
In an opening salvo for the 2016 race for the White House, U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday night touted the U.S. economic comeback and spelled out his party' vision for the country's future during a nationally broadcast speech viewed by millions of Americans.
Rather than following the usual State of the Union protocol of going through a laundry list of initiatives, the president instead underscored the partial U.S. economic rebound in a nationally televised annual State of the Union speech.
Experts contend that the speech was aimed at sending a clear message to the public and spelling out Democrats' vision for the country in the lead up to the 2016 race to the White House.
Republican strategist Ford O'Connell also told Xinhua that Obama's focus of this speech was to look forward to 2016. "He's trying to frame the race heading forward by focusing on economic mobility and stagnant wages," he said.
"The question is can Republicans come up with a set of solutions or at least a road map of solutions to beat the Democrats to the punch. If they can, they have a great shot of winning the White House in 2016," O'Connell said.
"Republicans win (the midterms) because people didn't agree with all of their policy plans. They won because most Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction and they don't think the economy is growing fast enough," O'Connell said.
Obama To Deliver State of Union Address Amid Rising Threat Of Global Terror
U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to address the rising threat of global terrorism at Tuesday's annual State of the Union address, just weeks after the bloody massacres in Paris that shocked France and nations worldwide.
Experts and officials fret other radical groups may be emboldened by those slayings and could be eying the U.S. as a possible target. At the same time, critics accused Obama of showing little leadership on the issue, which they say was spotlighted by the U.S. president's no-show at an anti-terrorism rally in Paris last week that drew 40 world leaders including the heads of Germany, Britain and Israel.
Republican strategist Ford O'Connell told Xinhua that while Obama will address Americans' concerns over terrorism, the topic is unlikely to comprise the bulk of the speech. "The terrorism part, I can't see him spending a lot of time on it, but obviously his approval ratings are (low) and a lot of Americans don't think he is focusing on (terrorism) in the best way," he said.
"Security is going to be over the next three or four years one of the top three or four issues...It's something that Americans are concerned about," O'Connell said.
News Analysis: Obama Delivers Annual Address Amid U.S. Jobs Crisis, Political Gridlock
President Barack Obama delivered the annual State of the Union address Tuesday night amid an ongoing U.S. jobs crisis, a widening income gap and the continuing political logjam in Washington.
Obama made an effort to showcase recent U.S. economic improvements, pointing to a manufacturing sector that is adding jobs and a surging oil industry, calling 2014 a "breakthrough" year for the country.
But while many metrics show an economy making a comeback, it still feels like a recession for large chunks of the population, with the labor participation rate at a decades-long low, millions without jobs and a growing rich-poor income gap.
Obama addressed those concerns in his nationally televised speech, saying those at the top had "never done better," but "upward mobility has stalled," adding too many Americans are out of work or just making ends meet.
Republican strategist Ford O'Connell told Xinhua Obama's speech was an effort to "put a positive spin on a bad situation," and the address was more about appearance than substance ahead of the elections.
"I think he realized he's on the verge of being a lame duck president but he also recognized the importance of having an upbeat, hopeful tone," he said.
While Obama spoke in his speech of getting Americans back to work, some experts said voters might have grown tired of Obama's characteristic uplifting rhetoric and want to see real results, in the form of more jobs, faster growth and higher wages.
News Analysis: Obama's State Of Union Address Unlikely To Prompt Action In Congress
U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver the annual State of the Union address on Tuesday at a time when the passage of any major legislation is unlikely.
Obama's job approval has dropped sharply on the botched rollout of his signature healthcare overhaul legislation, or Obamacare, and the U.S. labor participation rate is at a decades-long low nearly five years into the recovery from the worst recession in decades.
Moreover, Obama's poor relations with Republicans in Congress make unlikely the passage of any second-term legislation, with some experts pinning the blame on the White House and others saying Republicans are hesitant to work with Obama for fear of ticking off their conservative base.
As such, the speech will mark the start of a White House race to pass any legislation it can in the lead-up to the 2014 midterm Congressional elections, which are expected to go poorly for Democrats, Republican Strategist Ford O'Connell told Xinhua.
The president will use the address to ignite his Democratic base, O'Connell said, and experts expect a potpourri of agenda items such as raising the minimum wage, with the president highlighting the country's growing income inequality in a bid to help those at the bottom of the economic ladder.
The address will be followed by trips to Nashville, Milwaukee, Maryland and Pittsburgh to garner support for this year's agenda, with the president later expected to outline new proposals to help the long-term unemployed -- those without jobs for longer than 27 weeks, the White House said.
Obama Under Pressure To Hit Home Run In State of Union Speech
U.S. President Barack Obama is under pressure to win back confidence of his supporters in next week's State of the Union address amid dwindling approval numbers, experts said.
"He's going to need a great speech to energize the Democratic base," Republican Strategist Ford O'Connell told Xinhua, adding that Obama needs to get his numbers up in the lead-up to the 2014 Congressional elections or Democrats could face serious problems.
Obama averaged 45.8 percent job approval during his fifth year in office, down more than two percentage points from his fourth-year average, and only slightly better than his career-low of 44.4 percent in his third year, according to a Gallup poll released earlier this week.
His most recent quarterly average is even lower, at 41.2 percent, the poll showed.
Obama's numbers have fallen on the troubled rollout of his signature healthcare overhaul, or Obamacare. The plan's centerpiece website, where visitors can sign up for health insurance plans, has been bedeviled by numerous technical glitches since its Oct. 1 launch, and experts said the site is an easy target for hackers.
The world's largest economy is also seeing its lowest workforce participation rate in decades, and White House watchers said next week's speech in some ways will serve as a pep rally to energize his Democratic base amid a still recovering economy.
"One of the things he's going to have to do is try to convince people that he has a plan to make this recovery recover faster," O'Connell said, adding that the president is likely to remind viewers of what he perceives as the positive parts of Obamacare, such as new rules on pre-existing conditions.
Marco Rubio Reply To State Of The Union Address: Can He Meet Expectations?
Marco Rubio is the “it” man of the Republican Party.
The junior senator from Florida is Latino, young, articulate, and photogenic – and on Tuesday night, he will deliver the GOP response to President Obama’s State of the Union (SOTU) address. In a first, he will give the speech in both English and Spanish.
On his back, Senator Rubio carries the hopes of a party that lost badly among Latino voters in the presidential race, winning just 27 percent. But Rubio represents more than just outreach to the America’s fastest-growing ethnic minority: He is, Republicans hope, a bridge to other minorities who also fled Mitt Romney in droves.
“He may not consider himself the savior, but he’s got to be the savior for at least one night,” says Ford O’Connell, chairman of the conservative CivicForumPAC.
Read more from Linda Feldmann at The Christian Science Monitor
State of Union Response Carries Risk For Marco Rubio
After the State of the Union address Tuesday night, Sen. Marco Rubio steps before the cameras to deliver one of the Republican responses — and the stakes couldn’t be higher for the high-profile young senator.
“He has the weight of a party on his shoulders, not to mention he is going toe-to-toe with the most popular person in office right now,” said Ford O'Connell, who served as the rural outreach director for Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign.
“I think, in some ways, his potential 2016 aspirations are on the line,” he said about a possible Rubio presidential bid. “I think the party needs Rubio to be successful more than Rubio needs Rubio to be successful because we are at a time when we need new leaders.”
