President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday comes at a bit of an awkward time.
He’s still in the midst of an impeachment trial, even though it’s almost certain that he’ll be acquitted by the Senate the day after he addresses both chambers of Congress in his annual speech.
And there’s no shortage of other political drama: With the 2020 race heating up and the Iowa caucuses turning into a disaster, Trump could take the opportunity to riff on his political opponents. That would be unwise.
Trump’s approval rating is now the highest it’s ever been. Despite, or perhaps thanks to, impeachment, his approval rating is at 49% overall and at 94% with Republicans. It won’t take much for him to keep it this way.
At last year’s State of the Union address, 11-year-old Joshua, who had been invited to attend the speech after being bullied for having the same last name as the president, fell fast asleep in his chair. At the time, I wrote that it was a good sign: “Boring Trump is better than the alternative.”
This is still true today.
During his State of the Union speech, Trump should avoid political infighting and focus on his record. He wisely chose to do this with the two ads he ran during the Super Bowl on Sunday.
First, he demonstrated his record on criminal justice reform with the release of Alice Johnson, who was sentenced to life in prison for a nonviolent drug offense.
In a commercial that ran just after the Super Bowl, Trump focused on another highlight for him: the economy. Wage growth and a low unemployment rate are both likely to work in his favor.
So during his State of the Union address, Trump should center his message on the issues he chose to advertise during the Super Bowl, focusing on the good and ignoring the bad. That’s exactly what his voters have done so far.
