2019 State of the Union Address

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Overview

The 2019 State of the Union is an address to be made by United States President Donald Trump on the progress and current condition of the United States' economy, government and citizenry. The address is scheduled to be held on February 5th, 2019 in the House of Representatives before the 116th Congress.

Background

The State of the Union, a long-running American political tradition, is mandated by Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution, which requires the President to periodically inform the Congress on the “state of the union” and discuss other measures that are deemed to be “necessary and expedient” national priorities.

"He shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."

As a custom, the President has the speak of the house and vice president presiding behind him during the address. Therefore, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence will be seated directly behind the president.

Developments

Government Shutdown and State of the Union Delay

On December 20th, 2019, due to a stalemate in government over funding for border security due to negotiations and disagreements over President Trump's Border Wall, the United States federal government began a 35-day shutdown.

On January 16th, 2019, Pelosi sent a letter to President Trump recommending that the January 29th, 2019 State of the Union be postponed. She wrote,^[1] "Given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest we work together to determine another suitable date after government has re-opened for this address or you consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on January 29th." She tweeted, "Today, I wrote to @realDonaldTrump recommending that we delay the State of the Union until after government re-opens, as the @SecretService, the lead federal agency for #SOTU security, faces its 26th day without funding." The tweet received more than 12,000 retweets and 45,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below).

About one week after Pelosi threatened to block the State of the Union, on January 25th, President Trump signed a bill ending the government shutdown.^[2]

Special Guests for the State of the Union

As per tradition, many within Congress and the White House invite special guests to the speech as a perceived mode of political messaging. Toronto Star Washington correspondent Daniel Dale tweeted,^[3] "Trump SOTU guests include: family of couple killed by unauthorized immigrant; human trafficking investigator; survivors of Pittsburgh massacre; Alice Johnson; recovering opioid addict; re-hired sawmill employee; child cancer survivor; kid bullied for being named Joshua Trump." Within 24 hours, the tweet received more than 930 retweets and 2,000 likes (shown below, left).

One of the most discussed guests is a 6th grader named Joshua Trump, who was, reportedly, the victim of bullying because he has the same surname as President Trump. The invitation was extended as part of First Lady Melania Trump's Be Best anti-bullying campaign/. That day, Daily Beast reporter Will Sommer tweeted,^[4] "The Joshua Trump bullying backstory is wild. The school supposedly changed his name in databases so no teachers would call him 'Trump,' and put him on a different bus where kids wouldn't know his last name. The rest of the Joshua Trump story is that the surname-related bullying got so bad that his parents home-schooled him for a year. Then they put him in a new school -- and the new kids started bullying for his last name, too!" The initial tweet received more than 950 retweets and 3,500 likes in 24 hours (shown below, right).

That evening, CBS New reported that "Joshua Trump [fell] asleep during State of the Union." The tweet received more than 140 retweets and 730 likes in 24 hours (shown below).^[11]

Speech

On February 5th, 2019, President Trump delivered the State of the Union to in chambers of Congress. During the speech, Trump discussed his stance on immigration, specifically his call for a physical barrier at the border. He also "warned"^[5] the American against "ridiculous" inquiries, such as the Mueller Investigation. In addition to warning people about a caravan approaching the United States, he lauded the progress for female employment (video below).

Democratic Rebuttal

That evening, Georgia's Stacey Abrams delivered the Democratic rebuttal to the president's State of the Union. In her speech, she called for a "renewed commitment to social and economic justice," focusing on voting rights, the government shutdown and bipartisanship.^[6]

White Attire

As a symbol of solidarity, the female Democratic representatives wore white. The white attire was suggested and encouraged by The chairwoman of the Democratic Women’s Working Group Lois Frankel (Florida), as a means of honoring the women's suffrage movement.^[8] USA Today Washington correspondent Deborah Berry tweeted,^[7] "Democratic women – all wearing white – gather on the steps for pictures and a show of unity ahead of the SOTU" (shown below).

Ku Klux Klan Criticism

Those critical of the Democratic party compared the white attire to the dress of the white supremacy group the Ku Klux Klan. This included conservative media outlets, including The Gateway Pundit,^[22] a far-right news outlet, that referred to the white apparel as "wardrobe malfunction."

Many of the photos used in memes and criticisms of the party, however, date back to 2017, when female representatives wore white in honor of the suffrage movement.^[25] On February 4th, 2019, Redditor Lam1nar posted a photoshopped version of the 2017 image in the /r/The_Donald subreddit (shown below, left)

On February 5th, Pastor Mike Burns tweeted^[23] an image of the representatives seated during the State of the Union and the caption "I haven't seen so many Democrats in white since they started the KKK." The post received more than 1,800 retweets and 3,800 likes in less than one week (shown below, right).

On February 6th, Voat user virge posted a photoshop challenge in the "whatever" forum.^[24] Within 24 hours, the post received omroe tahn 140 points (92% upvoted).

Online Reaction

Online, opinion of the speech's success was split by whether or not people support the president and his agenda, but regardless shared facts and thoughts on the speech. Washington Post writer Dan Zak tweeted,^[9] "Love this annual tradition. Before tonight, these words had never been uttered during a #SOTU: 'bloodthirsty,' 'sadistic,' 'fentanyl' and (surprisingly) 'womb.'" The tweet received more than 290 retweets and 640 likes in 24 hours (shown below, left).

Democratic Representative Adam Schiff tweeted,^[10] "Fear. Division. Falsehood. Not hope. Not unity. Not truth. That’s what Donald Trump offered the nation tonight during the State of the Union. America isn’t buying what he’s selling. #SOTU." The tweet received more than 13,000 retweets and 50,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below, center).

The official GOP Twitter^[12] account tweeted, "In just 2 years, President @realDonaldTrump’s Administration has made monumental achievements on behalf of ALL Americans. Last night, we heard the President call on Congress to 'govern not as two parties, but as one.'" The tweet received more than 840 retweets and 2,900 likes in 24 hours (shown below, right).

USA Today's politics reporter Eliza Collins remarked on the split demographics within the 116th Congress. She tweeted,^[13] "Hard to overstate how different the two sides of the chamber look tonight. The Democrats are far more diverse and the historic number of women are highlighted by wearing white. On the GOP side lots of white men in suits and ties, far less women." The tweet received more than 180 retweets and 850 likes in 24 hours (shown below).

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi praised on Abrams rebuttal to the president. She wrote, "We just finished watching the #AbramsAddress here in my office at the Capitol, and we’re all in agreement: @StaceyAbrams did a masterful job. A perfect counter-weight to @realDonaldTrump’s out-of-touch speech .@StaceyAbrams’s message of hope, opportunity & determination has been taken to heart by Americans in communities nationwide. Tonight, she brings that message to her #SOTU response." The initial tweet received more than 12,000 retweets and 70,000 likes in 24 hours (both tweets shown below).^[14]

Twitter published several Moments pages about the State of the Union.^[15]^[16]

There were several threads started about the State of the Union on Reddit. Redditor^[18] Ivaginaryfriend posted a "Live Watch Party" in the /r/The_Donald subreddit, which received mroe than 7,100 points (91% upvoted) and 21,000 comments.

The Tie

Many online remarked upon the president's tie, which was skewed toward the left throughout the speech. Twitter user @ConnieSchultz tweeted,^[17] "Ah. So 'unity' means 'no investigations.' Fix your tie." The tweet received more than 1,700 retweets and 12,000 likes in 24 hours (shown below, left). Throughout the evening, others posted pictures and remarked upon the tie's placement (examples below, center and right).

Media Coverage

Virtually every news outlet covered the State of the Union, including CNN,^[19] The New York Times,^[20] Fox News,^[21] Washington Post^[5] and more.

Nancy Pelosi Clapping

Nancy Pelosi Clapping refers to a moment in the 2019 State of the Union Address in which Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi appeared to offer a sarcastic round of applause to Donald Trump after the President said called on Americans to "reject the politics of revenge, resistance, and retribution, and embrace the boundless potential of cooperation, compromise, and the common good."