Looking ahead to tonight's state of the Union address

It will be his first SoTU address in front of the new majority Democratic Legislature. Will they applaud? Stand? Should we play a drinking game where we do shots every time they show Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? It ah help us get through the speech.

Trump will deliver his address in the wake of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Democrats have taken the House, funding for the border wall is still off the table, Trump continues to be hounded by the Robert Mueller investigation, and his approval rating remains around 40%. (CNN)

The theme of Trump's address is expected to be "Choosing Greatness" where he'll announce a plan to stop transmission of H.I.V. by 2030, make the case for an immigration "crisis," appeal to Republicans on abortion, justify reducing troop levels in Syria and Afghanistan, and more. (New York Times)

Trump is expected to call for bipartisan cooperation amid a Congress divided over his demand for border wall funding, which has resulted in a 35-day partial government shutdown. (Washington Post)

6 things to watch for: wall demands, Democrats, Pelosi, guests, Kavanaugh, and unexpected events. (Washington Post)

5 things to know about the economy before Trump's State of the Union: the GOP tax cut benefits were a mirage, the stock market has been unstable in recent months, Trump's trade wars have hurt nearly every sector of the economy, and more. (Vox)


Chaos continues to reign. Day 747. It feels like an eternity.
Snippets from wtfjusthappenedtoday:

Sarah Huckabee Sanders claimed the Trump inaugural committee subpoena "has nothing to do with the White House," as she deferred questions to the committee, which is a separate entity from the White House. Sanders also dismissed the notion that Trump is a common factor in his inner circle's legal issues, arguing instead that "the common thread is a hysteria over the fact that this president became president." (Politico)

Trump and Jared Kushner met with contractors at the White House to discuss building the border wall last week, despite senior Senate Republicans and members of GOP leadership raising concerns about Trump bypassing Congress and using an emergency declaration to build his wall. "Listen closely to the State of the Union," Trump said when asked if he was ready to announce a national emergency.

Trump's inaugural committee was ordered to turn over documents related to donations and spending following a subpoena by the Southern District of New York. Federal prosecutors are seeking all information about donors, vendors, contractors, bank accounts, and foreign contributors related to the inaugural committee, which raised a record $107 million – more than twice the amount raised to fund Obama's 2009 inaugural. Federal prosecutors are also seeking documents related to a Los Angeles venture capitalist, Imaad Zuberi, who gave $900,000 to the committee through his private-equity firm, Avenue Ventures, and once registered as a foreign agent working on behalf of the Sri Lankan government. The subpoena suggests that SDNY prosecutors are investigating crimes related to conspiracy to defraud the U.S., mail fraud, false statements, wire fraud, and money laundering. The investigation is being led by the public corruption unit of the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office, and grew out of the probe into Michael Cohen's business dealings.

Message edited 2/6/2019 12:47:02 AM.

Re: Looking ahead to tomorrow night's state of the Union address

Putting everything else aside I always say every State of the Union no matter who the President is that they need to hold the freakin applause until the end. Every sentence he says they stand up and clap. It's maddening. And drags it out even longer.
Enough!!

Looking ahead to tonight's state of the Union address

I agree. That tradition has got to go