What to expect from Trump's upcoming State of the Union address

Source: Xinhua| 2018-01-28 17:27:47|Editor: Lu Hui
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U.S. President Donald Trump delivers a speech during the 48th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 26, 2018. U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that he would always put America first when it came to trade, but "America First" does not mean America alone. (Xinhua/Xu Jinquan)

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump is set to deliver his first State of the Union address on Tuesday to as expected mark his first year in office while outlining a second-year agenda.

The theme of the Trump's speech will be "building a safe, strong and proud America," according to a senior administration official at a briefing on the matter.

The speech, said the official, will touch upon several policy areas, including jobs and economy, immigration, infrastructure, trade, and national security.

The official said that Trump will address the country's economic performance in the past year, including high stock markets and low unemployment, while focusing on his administration's tax cut package and regulatory rollback.

On immigration, the president is expected to talk about the framework for immigration legislation that the White House unveiled earlier this week, which offers a path to citizenship for 1.8 million undocumented young immigrants in exchange for funding for border security and cuts to legal immigration.

Trump's upcoming remarks will come amid tough negations between Democrats and Republicans over the fate of so-called Dreamers, recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that shields them from deportation but was terminated by Trump last year.

An impasse between bipartisan lawmakers over this issue led to a government shutdown last week and could cause another earlier next month if their divide remains unresolved.

Some Democratic lawmakers have invited Dreamers as guests to Capitol Hill to hear the speech in person. Besides, Representative Joe Kennedy will represent the Democratic Party to deliver a response to Trump's remarks.

As for infrastructure, Trump plans to discuss a 1.7-billion-U.S.-dollar plan to rebuild the nation's aging infrastructure, a topic that the White House said has "bipartisan support."

On trade, the official said that the president will insist on "fair and reciprocal" trade practices, an argument that he made at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, earlier this week, where he declared that he will "always put America first."

Besides, Trump will talk about some policies the administration views as key to the country's national security.

Trump is scheduled to deliver the address at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday (0200 GMT Wednesday).

The U.S. Constitution states that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union."

The tradition of delivering the address in-person was revived by President Woodrow Wilson in 1913.

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