Donald Trump's fourth State of the Union address (and sixth address to a joint session of Congress) is now underway in Washington.
All eyes are on the president's big night. Or, some of them, anyway. Many Democrats elected to skip the speech entirely.
At least one, Rep. Al Green, has also already been escorted out of the speech for holding a sign in protest.
But this is Donald Trump's chance to capture a national audience in a way that will break through the typical noise of D.C. politics. Ahead of the remarks, Trump vowed to stretch Congress's patience with a lengthy speech pitching his administration's record to midterm voters.
Washington's press corps is in for another long night.
The president's speech comes at a time when he is trying to re-energize the MAGA base to save his twin congressional majorities. Amid flagging poll numbers, Democrats are hoping to capitalize on the unpopular nature of Trump's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, the economy, and his mass deportation program.
Despite a raucous round of cheers and "USA! USA!" chants for the victorious Olympic U.S. men's hockey team, many on both sides see tonight's cheerleading as little more than a triaging effort to redefine the public perception of his administration.
Curt Mills, executive director of the sometimes pro-Trump American Conservative magazine, texted Inside Washington as Trump's speech began: "The 'our nation is back' opening declaration captures the saccharine nature of this moment...few nostalgic for Biden...but extreme lack of conviction that what the president just said is true."
"The words do have a Music Man quality to them even more than usual."
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