The 2018 State of the Union Address was given by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, on January 30, 2018, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 115th United States Congress. It was Trump's first State of the Union Address and his second speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Paul Ryan, accompanied by Mike Pence, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.
The Address was watched by 45.6 million viewers. There were also 21 million interactions regarding the address on social media.
U.S. Representative Joe Kennedy III and Virginia Delegate Elizabeth Guzmán gave the Democratic Party's response in English and Spanish, respectively.
Background
Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution states that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient." On November 30, 2017, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan sent an invitation to the President to deliver a "State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on January 30, 2018, in the House Chamber." The speech was Trump's first State of the Union address and his second speech to a joint session of Congress.
On January 26, 2018, a senior administration official told reporters that "the tone [of the address] will be one of bipartisanship and it will be very forward looking." The official said that the theme of Trump's speech would be "building a safe, strong, and proud America." Five major policy issues were discussed by the president: the economy, infrastructure, immigration, trade, and national security. More specifically, Trump touted the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and echoed his campaign call for "fair" and "reciprocal" trade deals.
Senior policy adviser Stephen Miller and staff secretary Rob Porter took the lead in writing the speech. The full draft of the speech was completed two weeks before the State of the Union Address, but it was still being edited with reviews and suggestions from Cabinet secretaries and senior White House aides. National Security Advisor H. R. McMaster, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis offered feedback on the national security portion of the speech.
Contents and delivery
Taxation
A significant portion of the scripted speech was dedicated to the tax package passed in December, which Trump labeled as the largest tax reform bill in U.S. history.
Economy and employment
The speech also focused on the economic successes of the first year of the presidency. Trump highlighted the creation of new jobs, specifically 200,000 manufacturing jobs. To support this claim, Trump pointed to invited guests from Staub Manufacturing in Dayton, Ohio, a business that has seen their greatest earnings since starting their business 20 years ago. The president also reiterated a 45-year low in unemployment, with the lowest rate of African-American and Hispanic unemployment ever recorded.
Infrastructure
Trump called on Congress to support a plan to spend $1.5 trillion on rebuilding infrastructure across the country. His speech reflected on the building of the Empire State Building, claiming that it was built in one year while current regulations delay construction of some roads by 10 years. Trump concluded by declaring "we will rebuild infrastructure with American heart, American hands and American grit.”