State of the Union: Should Obama get combative with the GOP?

The president is expected to drop bipartisan language in favor of a direct challenge to his ideological opponents

President Obama
(Image credit: Saul Loeb-Pool/Getty Images)

Since winning re-election, Obama's approach toward Congress, and particularly the Republican Party, has been notable for its combativeness. Instead of huddling with lawmakers behind the scenes, Obama has used his bully pulpit and campaign-style events around the country to sell his agenda on everything from gun control to raising taxes. The strategy is to get popular opinion on his side, then force the GOP to compromise. And it appears Obama will turn to that playbook once again during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, according to Glenn Thrush at Politico:

Emboldened by electoral victory and convinced the GOP is unwilling to cut deals, Obama plans to use his big prime-time address Tuesday night to issue another broad challenge at a Republican Party he regards as vulnerable and divided, Democrats close to Obama say.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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.

Sign up
Ryu Spaeth

Ryu Spaeth is deputy editor at TheWeek.com. Follow him on Twitter.