Live updates: President Trump scheduled to deliver State of the Union address

White House officials insisted that President Donald Trump recognizes the importance of tonight’s speech.

He will address the nation with the lowest approval rating of any president during his term, but domestic opinion polls also show a decline in approval ratings, so bets on the president are not lost.

Mr. Trump rarely makes extensive preparations for major speeches, but he thoroughly thought out his speech, including rehearsing it at a podium brought to his official residence. He plans to spell out what he considers his successes and highlight how his policies are expected to help Americans over the next three years, CNN reported.

But some Republicans are cautious. That’s especially true for those facing re-election this fall, and they need him to keep his message across, especially when it comes to affordability, one of his biggest weaknesses.

“It’s going to be an aggressive speech because it’s President Trump,” one adviser told CNN, but acknowledged the White House is struggling to get an effective message out on the cost of living.

Advisers and allies have encouraged Trump to take a more empathetic tone, but the president went off script in Georgia last week, dismissing concerns about the economy and saying, “I won affordability.”

And the venue and format of tonight’s speech could encourage an outpouring of discontent.

“I’m worried that this speech will lead to complaints that no one is giving him enough credit,” one White House adviser told CNN.

President Trump has grown frustrated with what he claims are insufficient messages from his team about his administration’s successes. The aide noted that the president remains furious with the Supreme Court, especially after two justices he appointed, Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch, joined the majority in repealing the president’s tariffs last week.

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