President Trump returns to the House chamber on Tuesday for his first address to a joint session of Congress since retaking the White House, a moment where he is expected to revel in his shake-up of Washington and lay out some plans for the year ahead.
If past is prologue, some clues about how Trump might approach this routine task of the presidency may be found in Trump’s State of the Union address from 2020.
Delivered the day before the Senate voted to acquit him in his first impeachment case, and as COVID began to spread in the United States, Trump’s 2020 address was part reality TV, part gameshow and part WWE smackdown.
“It was drama-filled … you never knew what was going to come out of the president’s mouth,” said Cheri Bustos, a former Democratic congresswoman from Illinois, who was in the chamber that night. “I mean, it was a State of the Union like none other.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi rips up a copy of President Trump’s State of the Union address on Feb. 4, 2020.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images
In normal times, a president’s annual speech to Congress is a recitation of accomplishments, an update on the economy and foreign affairs, with a few new proposals thrown in for good measure.
Compared to past presidents, Trump claims more credit and asks less of lawmakers – and his guests have been chosen to drive a more partisan message, said Donna Hoffman, a political scientist at the University of Northern Iowa whose specialty is the State of the Union.
Hoffman said she thinks these speeches should be a little bit boring. She described Trump’s approach as performative. “It really is very much like a wild card. It has got the flavor of a State of the Union address but then there is that added extra thing there of really kind of inserting that reality television aspect to it.”
In 2020, there was drama before Trump said a word
Even before Trump spoke a word of his last State of the Union address, it was off to a contentious start. Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reached out for a handshake, but Trump left her hanging.
Soon, congressional Republicans in the chamber were chanting “four more years.” It was an election year, and Trump was both embattled and riding high.
Trump didn’t mention the impeachment that had been consuming Washington for weeks, but it hung over the chamber.
“There was no way to divorce the political realities of what President Trump was going through during that very time, from the State of the Union speech,” said Steven Groves, who was a deputy press secretary in the White House at the time.
There were guests — with surprise twists
The White House invited guests in the first lady’s box, as has become the tradition. But Trump added the element of surprise.
For Janiyah Davis, a 4th-grader from Philadelphia, Trump announced he was giving her a scholarship to attend a private school.
Janiyah Davis, a 4th-grade student from Philadelphia, and her mother, Stephanie, are recognized during President Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address.
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images
And then there was an emotional tribute to conservative talk radio personality Rush Limbaugh, who had recently been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer.
“The unspoken thing was this was likely to be the last State of the Union that Rush was going to be around for — he was that sick,” recalled Groves.
But no one expected what came next. Trump awarded Limbaugh the Presidential Medal of Freedom, right then and there, asking first lady Melania Trump to put the medal around his neck.
Radio personality Rush Limbaugh gives a thumbs-up after being awarded the Medal of Freedom during President Trump’s 2020 State of the Union address.
Mandel Ngan/AFP
Republicans loved it. Democrats were shocked. Typically guests who get mentioned in the State of the Union have a story that will bring the country together. Limbaugh was a partisan warrior, beloved on the political right and reviled by the left.
“I just remember on the Democratic side, there were just a lot of eye-rolls around that,” said Bustos.
A series of made-for-TV moments
Trump’s next surprise was one everyone in the chamber would rise to applaud. He introduced Amy Williams of Fort Bragg, N.C., a military spouse with two young children who Trump said had not “seen their father’s face in many months.”
He thanked Williams for her family’s sacrifice — and then came the reveal.
Sgt. Townsend Williams (at right) waves after returning from deployment in Afghanistan, surprising his wife Amy during the 2020 State of the Union address.
Mandel Ngan/AFP
“Amy, there is one more thing,” Trump said, relishing the moment. “I am thrilled to inform you that your husband is back from deployment, he is here with us tonight and we couldn’t keep him waiting any longer.”
The family embraced, reunited as millions of people watched on television.
‘Get on board — or get out of the way’
It wasn’t just the president bringing the made-for-TV moments in 2020. As Trump concluded his address, Pelosi, who had been seated behind him, picked up her printed copy of his remarks, and theatrically ripped them in half.
It was a move that immediately became iconic, with Democrats cheering and Republicans like Groves calling it disgusting.
But the political dynamics this time are remarkably different from 2020, Groves said. For starters, there will be a Republican speaker seated behind Trump.
“He is coming in in 2025, riding the wave of winning the popular vote and both the House and the Senate being in Republican hands,” Groves said.
He said he thinks Trump’s message will not be any more conciliatory than it was in 2020, predicting a “Get on board — or get out of the way” ethos.
Bustos said she expects the unexpected: more breaking of norms, more playing to the cameras.
“Who knows what we’ll see this time? I’ll give President Trump credit: he is not boring,” Bustos said.
