An upbeat State of the Union address can be expected from President Obama on Tuesday, according to aides who spoke with The New York Times. The speech offers Obama both a last chance at bullet-pointing his own legacy as well as to counter the negative narratives spun by Republicans on the campaign trail:
As a preview, [Obama] sent his White House chief of staff, Denis McDonough, to most of the Sunday talk shows to counter the Republicans, citing the 292,000 new jobs created in December and the 2.65 million in all of 2015.The Republicans are "seeming to run down America," Mr. McDonough said on NBC. "I don't really get it. What I see is an America that's surging.""We feel very optimistic about the future," he added. "That's a big difference between us and what's going on in this public debate right now and that's what you'll hear about on Tuesday night." [The New York Times]
"This year, he'll be speaking more to the American public," White House communications director Jennifer Psaki said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The great global copper swindleUnder the Radar Rising prices and easy access makes the metal a ‘more attractive target for criminals looking for a quick profit’
-
‘They’re nervous about playing the game’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Will Netanyahu get a pardon?Today's Big Question Opponents say yes, if he steps down
-
Trump boosts gas cars in fuel economy rollbackspeed read Watering down fuel efficiency standards is another blow to former President Biden’s effort to boost electric vehicles
-
Hegseth’s Signal chat put troops in peril, probe findsSpeed Read The defense secretary risked the lives of military personnel and violated Pentagon rules, says new report
-
Trump pardons Texas Democratic congressmanspeed read Rep. Henry Cuellar was charged with accepting foreign bribes tied to Azerbaijan and Mexico
-
GOP wins tight House race in red Tennessee districtSpeed Read Republicans maintained their advantage in the House
-
Trump targets ‘garbage’ Somalis ahead of ICE raidsSpeed Read The Department of Homeland Security will launch an immigration operation targeting Somali immigrants in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area
-
Hegseth blames ‘fog of war’ for potential war crimespeed read ‘I did not personally see survivors,’ Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting
-
Canada joins EU’s $170B SAFE defense fundspeed read This makes it the first non-European Union country in the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) initiative
-
Appeals court disqualifies US Attorney Alina HabbaSpeed Read The former personal attorney to President Donald Trump has been unlawfully serving as US attorney for New Jersey, the ruling says
