Political Theatre: State of the Union Dynamics

Hours after Iowa kicked off the process to choose President Trump’s 2020 opponent, and just a day before the verdict is expected in his Senate impeachment trial, the president gave his third State of the Union address. Today, we take you to The New York Times’s Washington bureau, where we examined the speech — and the unique moment in which it was delivered.

Guest: Maggie Haberman, who covers the White House for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Background reading:

• Though Mr. Trump didn’t mention impeachment, the process hung over his address, and his refusal to shake Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s hand put the bitterness between them on full display.
• The speech sounded like a re-election pitch, with the president claiming credit for a “great American comeback.”

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