Politics & Government

Watch Live: President Trump Delivers State Of The Union Address

Here's what you need to know ahead of Tuesday night's State of the Union address.

President Donald Trump is set to deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday night to a joint session of Congress and millions of Americans watching from home.

The speech comes during a busy and tumultuous time for the commander in chief.

Trump's address occurs less than a day before the U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on two articles of impeachment against him and less than a day after the Iowa Caucuses.

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The president is expected to stay away from impeachment-related topics; a senior administration official told reporters recently that Trump's address would be centered on "the great American comeback" and "relentless optimism."

Trump isn't the first president to deliver a State of the Union address in a time of turmoil. Richard Nixon spoke in the midst of the Watergate scandal, and Bill Clinton's 1999 speech draws striking parallels to the current situation.

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Clinton delivered his State of the Union address on the same day that White House lawyers opened their defense of the president in his Senate impeachment trial. He didn't use the word "impeachment" a single time during his 78-minute speech.

Here's other information you might want to know before tonight's address.

What time is the State of the Union?

Trump will deliver his State of the Union address around 9 p.m. ET.

Who are the guests?

The White House has announced two guests so far: Raul Ortiz, deputy chief of the U.S. Border Patrol; and Tony Raskins, an Army veteran from Cincinnati who re-entered the workforce after struggling with addiction and homelessness.

Here are a few of the other people who have been invited by members of Congress.

  • Courtney Wild, who testified in court that financier Jeffrey Epstein sexually abused her when she was 14.
  • Hatice Cengiz, fiancée of slain Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
  • Hailey Seals, the daughter of a Jersey City detective who was killed Dec. 10 during an anti-Semitic attack.

What are the plans for the Democratic response?

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D-MI) and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, a first-year member representing El Paso, Texas, will deliver a rebuttal. Whitmer will speak in English, followed by Escobar in Spanish.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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