What to know
- President Donald Trump will give the first State of the Union address of his second term tonight. He will be speaking as the country is mired in a partial government shutdown, reeling from immigration enforcement operations and facing the possibility of a military conflict in Iran.
- The president has said he will speak at length about the state of the economy, which he has said is the “greatest economy we’ve ever had.” Yet the job market has weakened, and grocery prices are squeezing Americans. The Supreme Court just dealt Trump a major loss over his tariffs program. And the gap between wealthy Americans and everyone else has been steadily growing.
- His speech will address a divided, acrimonious Congress. And his weakening popularity has left Republicans worried about losing control of the House and possibly the Senate in the November midterm elections.
- The president is scheduled to begin speaking at the Capitol at 9 p.m. ET. You can stream it live on MS NOW and ms.now.