On the eve of his likely impeachment acquittal, President Trump prepared to face his accusers in Congress — and was ready to champion himself as leader of the “Great American Comeback,” all while mocking Democrats’ policy proposals.
“In just three short years, we have shattered the mentality of American Decline and we have rejected the downsizing of America’s destiny,” Trump said in opening his State of the Union Tuesday.
“We are moving forward at a pace that was unimaginable just a short time ago, and we are never, ever going back!”
The president’s address at 9 p.m. on Capitol Hill will put him face-to-face with House Democrats who passed the impeachment articles against him in December.
But the excerpts made no mention of the Senate Impeachment Trial. The Republican-led Senate is expected to acquit Trump on Wednesday.
Instead, Trump will take a victory lap on successes from his first three years in office, including a booming economy, and he will call for unity around common national priorities, aides told reporters.
The speech, dubbed the “Great American Comeback,” will herald an industrial “blue collar boom” in regions crucial to Trump’s 2016 victory, and Trump will tout a trade ceasefire with China and his new US-Mexico-Canada trade pact.
As outlined by White House staff, the speech will hew to tradition, rather than Trump’s bombastic rally style.
The anticipated policy-dominated speech would contrast with Trump’s recent public remarks including his musing about attending the Senate trial to stare into the “corrupt faces” of Democrats.
The address was expected to touch on healthcare, with Trump set to say: “A good life for American families also requires the most affordable, innovative, and high-quality healthcare system on earth.”
“We will never let socialism destroy American healthcare,” he was expected to say.
The line was a straight shot at the Medicare for All proposals of two of Trump’s possible opponents in the 2020 presidential election, Sens. Bernie Sanders, of Vermont and Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts.
In the three years since his election, Trump was set to say that his administration had “shattered the mentality of American decline” and pushed back against “the downsizing of America’s destiny,” according to excerpts of his State of the Union
The president’s vision of America, “demonstrates how we are building the world’s most prosperous and inclusive society,” he was set to say.
“One where every citizen can join in America’s unparalleled success, and where every community can take part in America’s extraordinary rise.”
