Trump to address Congress in high-stakes speech

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump will deliver the first State of the Union address of his second term on Tuesday — a prime-time message to the nation that comes ahead of a critical congressional midterm season.

Trump is scheduled to deliver his speech at 9 p.m. before an audience of lawmakers, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices and invited guests who will crowd into the U.S. House Chamber to hear the president’s progress report to the nation.

A handful of Democrats have already announced they will boycott the event and attend a counterrally on the National Mall that night, but Long Island’s congressional members all say they plan to attend.

"I'm hoping that the president will try and get back to focusing on affordability, which is everybody's biggest concern," Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) said when asked about his expectations for the night. "I'm hoping they'll take the temperature down on the immigration stuff that is out of control."

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) said in a statement that he expected Trump "to outline how his policies have made America more affordable by cutting taxes for middle-class families, strengthened our security by securing the southern border and restored stability abroad through peace backed by American strength."

Rep. Laura Gillen (D- Rockville Centre) said she hoped Trump uses the speech "to focus on real solutions to the soaring cost of health care."

"I hope he also details a plan on how his administration will begin working with Congress, including Democrats, to lower the cost of living, improve our economy and keep our communities safe," Gillen said in an email.

Here are four things to listen for during Tuesday’s speech:

Midterm messaging

Expect Trump to offer a preview of the main talking points he’ll take on the campaign trail this year as he rallies to preserve the narrow majority Republicans hold in both chambers of Congress.

Midterm elections have historically moved the pendulum of power away from the sitting president's party. But Trump has said he plans to hit the congressional campaign trail to bolster Republican turnout.

Top White House aides reportedly huddled this past week to craft a midterm messaging strategy for a president known to veer off-script.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic Party’s response to the State of the Union directly after the speech. Spanberger, a former CIA agent turned congresswoman, won the swing state's gubernatorial race in November with a campaign message focused on "affordability" that Democrats are hoping to replicate in the midterms.

The ‘Donroe Doctrine’

Trump continues to face questions from both sides of the aisle on his foreign policy plans amid increased U.S. interventionism and saber rattling.

The president on Thursday told reporters aboard Air Force One that he would decide within 10 to 15 days whether to authorize a military strike against Iran if the country does not agree to a new nuclear deal with the U.S.

Asked if Trump would use his State of the Union address to sell the American public on the prospect of an extended conflict with Iran, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters this past week that she would not disclose details about the speech, before adding: "It is going to be a very good and powerful speech, so everyone should tune in."

Questions also linger about Trump’s plans for Venezuela after his order to depose and detain Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro on federal drug trafficking charges in January. Trump has suggested Cuba’s communist regime could be the next target.

The president has also alarmed NATO allies by pushing the idea of a U.S. acquisition of Greenland, and European allies continue to press Trump to support Ukraine’s defense against Russia in the more than 4-year-old war between the nations.

Protests and counterprogramming

Underscoring some of the tension heading into Tuesday night, a group of Democrats are planning to boycott Trump’s speech and hold a competing rally on the National Mall.

The "People’s State of the Union" will feature speeches from laid-off federal workers and Americans impacted by Trump’s cuts to social service programs and his immigration crackdown, according to a statement released by MoveOn, a liberal political group that is co-sponsoring the event.

"These aren’t normal times and showing up for this speech puts a veneer of legitimacy on the corruption and lawlessness that has defined his second term," Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in a statement announcing the rally.

The rally comes after Democrats faced scrutiny last year over their response to Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress in March. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was removed from the chamber and later censured after he interrupted Trump’s speech, shouting that the president did not have a mandate to cut Medicaid.

Democrats were also mocked on social media after a number of them held up black paddle signs that read "Musk Steals" and "Save Medicaid," during the speech. On social media, Trump’s supporters altered images of the signs with pro-Trump messages.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) reportedly encouraged House Democrats in a closed-door meeting last week to either attend and listen to the speech in "silent defiance" or boycott the event altogether.

Jeffries has said he will attend the speech, telling reporters at a recent news conference: "We’re not going to his house, he’s coming to our house, and it’s the people’s house. Having grown up where I grew up, you never let anyone run you off your block."

The heckling has come from both sides of the aisle in the past. In 2024, then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) shouted at former President Joe Biden during his speech. In 2009, former Rep. Joe Wilson (R-S.C.) shouted "You Lie!" at President Barack Obama at a joint session speech focused on the Affordable Care Act.

New Yorkers in the audience

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to invite a Long Islander whose job working on the wind turbine project Empire Wind off Long Beach was put into jeopardy when the Trump administration pushed to halt work on the clean energy project.

Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) plans to bring Suffolk GOP Chairman Jesse Garcia as his guest.

LaLota said he is bringing his wife as "a small token of my deep gratitude and appreciation" for raising their three children while also juggling the demands of her own job.

Suozzi, who last year brought the family of slain Israeli soldier Omer Neutra, who grew up in Plainview, told Newsday on Thursday he is not likely to bring a guest, describing last year’s event as a "debacle."

Gillen said she plans on inviting Floral Park resident Karen Brandon, whom she described as "one of the many hardworking Long Islanders who have seen their health care costs skyrocket after the expiration of the [Affordable Care Act] premium tax credits."

Trump has twice used his speeches before Congress to spotlight Long Island families struck by different tragedies.

The White House has not yet released a list of Trump’s guests for this year’s event.

In 2018, he invited the parents of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas, two Brentwood teens killed by MS-13 gang members, to attend the State of the Union with first lady Melania Trump. He invoked the girls in his speech as he called for tougher immigration laws to combat the transnational gang.

Last year, he invited the widow of slain NYPD Officer Jonathan Diller, of Massapequa Park, to attend his joint session speech. The president spoke about Diller’s 2024 shooting during a routine traffic stop by a repeat criminal offender, vowing to push for new laws to get "tough on repeat offenders."

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.