What to watch during President Trump's address to joint session of Congress

Donald Trump loves a bully spectacle, and it's hard to apical a code to a associated league of Congress. The House enclosure is packed with lawmakers, and the president's accomplishment is announced successful a booming dependable by the sergeant-at-arms, triggering cacophonous applause.

Trump's code connected Tuesday evening isn't technically considered a State of the Union code - that comes adjacent year, aft he's been connected the occupation for longer - but there's nary distinguishable quality for anyone watching astatine home.

Almost nary item is near to accidental successful these situations. Here's an thought of what to look and perceive for:

Where is Elon Musk?

The astir almighty radical successful American authorities are usually connected the dais during an lawsuit similar this. While the president addresses the nation, the House talker and the vice president, who doubles arsenic the ceremonial person of the Senate, beryllium down him.

However, they've been mostly overshadowed by Elon Musk, the billionaire entrepreneur overseeing the Department of Government Efficiency and serving arsenic a apical advisor to Trump. There's nary precedent for Musk's operation, which has burrowed into national agencies, led to thousands of firings and counting, and rewired however Washington works.

Special guests astatine statesmanlike speeches often beryllium supra the enclosure successful the gallery. Will Musk, the world's richest person, beryllium determination - oregon determination else?

What does Trump accidental astir Ukraine?

It's been lone a fewer days since the astir melodramatic brushwood successful the Oval Office successful caller memory. Trump welcomed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to solidify a concern involving captious minerals, lone for a woody to autumn isolated aft Trump and Vice President JD Vance laced into Zelenskyy implicit a perceived deficiency of respect.

Now the aboriginal of U.S. enactment for Ukraine, which has been fending disconnected a Russian penetration for 3 years, is progressively successful doubt. "You either marque a woody oregon we are out," Trump told Zelenskyy.

Will Russia effort to property its vantage connected the battlefield? Does Zelenskyy spot things up with Trump? Will fragile U.S. relationships with European allies deteriorate further?

There are nary wide answers close now. But Tuesday's code volition beryllium a high-profile accidental for Trump, a Republican, to explicate his imaginativeness for the warfare and his attack to overseas policy.

How bash lawmakers behave?

Presidential speeches to Congress person go rowdier affairs. Rep. Joe Wilson, a South Carolina Republican, famously shouted "You lie!" astatine President Barack Obama's code to Congress successful 2009, and decorum hasn't improved overmuch since then.

President Joe Biden got into his ain back-and-forth with Republicans, and Trump is known for deviating from his publication with attempts to disturbance outrage among his opponents.

How volition Democrats respond? Sometimes their protests person been quiet, specified arsenic erstwhile women wore white, the colour of the suffragette movement, to erstwhile events. But astatine a clip erstwhile Democratic voters person been anxious for their representatives to beryllium much aggressive, it's imaginable that they go much vocal.

Reaction from Republicans is much predictable. Expect them to effort to outdo 1 different with their clasp of the president.

Does Trump spell retired a legislative plan?

Trump has demonstrated his tendency to propulsion the limits of statesmanlike powerfulness during his 2nd word successful office, but determination are immoderate things that helium inactive needs legislature assistance to accomplish.

The president wants spending cuts, borderline information backing and taxation cuts - a politically delicate operation astatine a clip erstwhile Republicans person lone slim majorities successful the House and the Senate. The enactment volition request astir implicit unanimity to determination forward.

So far, Trump has followed his emblematic attack of playing 1 broadside disconnected against the other, sometimes endorsing the House program for 1 monolithic portion of authorities and sometimes supporting the Senate strategy of breaking the proposals into aggregate bills.

Don't expect a batch of details from the president - that's not thing that usually happens successful speeches similar this, careless of who occupies the Oval Office. But Trump could uncover much astir his goals oregon prod lawmakers to enactment faster. Given the powerfulness that Trump has implicit the party, immoderate remark could reshape the debate.

Which mentation of Trump shows up?

The president is successful his constituent erstwhile he's delivering freewheeling remarks, bouncing from taxable to taxable successful what helium likes to telephone "the weave."

But that's not usually however these kinds of speeches go. They're often cautiously scripted, the benignant of monologue that Trump mightiness statement "BORING" successful a station connected Truth Social if helium were watching it connected television.

How agelong volition Trump instrumentality to the teleprompter this time? And however overmuch does helium veer disconnected track?

A hint could beryllium Trump's code astatine the Republican National Convention past summer, erstwhile helium accepted the party's statesmanlike nomination. He started disconnected subdued, adjacent somber, arsenic helium shared the communicative of his assassination effort successful Butler, Pennsylvania.

But the entreaty for nationalist unity yet gave mode to a flood of grievances much emblematic of Trump's stump speeches.