Stick to the Script or Off The Rails? Predictions for Trump’s State of the Union Speech
When President Donald Trump delivers his hour-plus long State of the Union speech tonight, he’ll be guided by the scrolling text of a Teleprompter — but will he follow that guide throughout the speech, or take his own wandering path?
Trump’s speech is expected to hit the usual points for an incumbent president seeking reelection — declaring the state of the nation as strong and bragging about a strong economy — but the timing of tonight’s speech is expected to have an impact, coming immediately before the Republican-controlled Senate is expected to vote to acquit the impeached president, and the night after the Democrats’ Iowa caucuses melted down.
Trump himself pledged to reporters earlier today that he would be “extraordinarily low key” — which certainly insinuates that he plans to avoid the off-the-beaten-path meanderings that have electrified his speeches and rallies, as well as sparked many a mocking tweet or headline.
Several Republicans have predicted that Trump would keep to that plan, including former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA), a Trump supporter and CNN commentator. Santorum was recently on Anderson Cooper‘s CNN show with S.E. Cupp and Cupp bet him that Trump “wouldn’t be able to resist the opportunity…to attack his Dem accusers for impeaching him.” Santorum believes he’ll stick to the script.
“I simply cannot imagine a universe in which Trump faces his accusers for the first time — some staring him in the face, one staring him in the back — and NOT either gloating or lashing out,” Cupp told Mediaite. “And believe me, Democrats hope he does.”
The Resurgent’s Erick Erickson agreed with Santorum’s view: “I think the President will mostly focus on the script knowing whatever he says tonight will be overshadowed by the Senate vote tomorrow.”
That’s what current Republican Members are hoping, as USA Today quoted several including Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Rep. Ben Cline (R-VA) saying that they hoped he decided to “move on” and focus on highlighting his accomplishments instead.
Trump has a well-established reputation for going off script, so much so that Gabe Perez, the man who operates the Teleprompter for his speeches, is making headlines of his own this week noting his skills in “ensur[ing] the arrhythmic president could comfortably bounce between freewheeling Trump and teleprompter Trump…the one person Trump trusts to manage his oratorical acrobatics, embellishments and ad-libs during even the most scripted appearances.”
The anticipated Senate vote tomorrow and the Iowa fiasco both present obvious temptations for Trump to take a victory lap, as former Republican strategist and author Rick Wilson noted.
“The real test is if he keeps to the Teleprompter because he’s feeling extremely liberated,” said Wilson. “He always feels free when he’s gotten away with something…He’s going to be tempted to go batshit crazy off the rails.”
The Democrats may be purposefully seeking to instigate an off-script reaction from Trump. Multiple news sources reported that the House impeachment managers (all of whom have been frequent targets for Trump’s Twitter wrath) are planning to sit together.
Also, several of the young progressive female members of Congress colloquially known as the Squad tweeted earlier that they planned to either boycott the “sham” SOTU speech entirely or would be attending but still denounced Trump as an illegitimate president, statements seemingly designed to not only stir their supporters but also inflame Trump’s temper.
This article has been updated to correct the show on which S.E. Cupp and Rick Santorum appeared.
