WATCH LIVE: House GOP leaders share how tax cuts help their constituents ahead of Trump’s speech

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will use his State of the Union address on Tuesday to shore up his campaigns against immigration, shrinking the federal government, his push to maintain broad tariffs that the Supreme Court just struck down, and his ability to direct rapid military actions around the world, including in Iran and Venezuela.

House GOP leaders are expected to speak at 10 a.m. EST. Watch the live stream in our video player above.

The Republican hopes he can convince increasingly anxious Americans that his policies have improved their lives while ensuring that the US economy is stronger than many believe – and that they should vote for more of the same in November.

Balancing celebrating his first year in the White House with making a compelling case for his party in midterm races in which he will not personally be on the ballot is a tall order for any president. But the matter may be particularly sensitive for Trump, given how happy he is to veer off script and ignore carefully crafted messages.

The main theme will be that the country is thriving with rising domestic manufacturing and new jobs, even though many Americans do not feel that way. “It’s going to be a long speech because we have a lot to talk about,” said Trump, who promised a heavy dose of economic talk.

Trump will argue that Republicans are best suited to continue addressing the public’s concerns about the cost of living, White House press secretary Carolyn Leavitt said.

“The president will confirm that three more years with him in the White House and with Republicans on Capitol Hill, we can finally achieve the American dream in this country again that we had in his first term but that we lost because of Joe Biden and the Democrats over the last four years,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House.

She added that the speech will also be a “celebration” of America’s 250th anniversary of independence.

Trump is also expected to denounce the Supreme Court’s ruling against his tariff policies, and talk about his attempts to maneuver around that decision without relying on Congress or provoking financial markets. He is also likely to urge lawmakers to increase military funding and tighten voter identification requirements, while defending immigration operations that have drawn bipartisan criticism after the shooting deaths of US citizens.

Jeff Chisol, a former speechwriter for Democratic President Bill Clinton, said Trump typically uses State of the Union addresses to deliver more traditional tones than his usual bombast — but he still tends to exaggerate over and over again.

“His mission, for the sake of his party, is to show the bright side,” Chisol said. “But if he were to insist that the silver lining is gold, no one would believe him. It would be very difficult for Republicans to defend that position on the campaign trail.”

Michael Waldman, Clinton’s former chief speechwriter, said second-term presidents “have a tough job because what they all want to say is: Look at the great job I’ve been doing — why don’t you like me?”

Questions of affordability loom large

Regardless of what his prepared remarks say, Trump enjoys deflecting into personal grievances, meaning Tuesday will likely include topics like denying his loss in the 2020 presidential election.

His lack of message discipline came to light after concerns about rising costs of living helped drive Democratic victories across the country on Election Day last November. The White House then promised that the president would travel to the country nearly every week to reassure Americans that he takes affordability seriously. But Trump spent more time blaming Democrats and mocking the idea that kitchen table issues require attention.

Instead, Trump boasts that he has tamed inflation and says he has succeeded in stimulating the economy, given that the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently surpassed 50,000 points for the first time.

However, such gains are not tangible for those who do not have stock portfolios. There are also persistent concerns that tariffs could lead to higher prices, which could ultimately hurt the economy and job creation. Economic growth slowed in the last three months of last year.

Waldman, now president of the Brennan Center for Justice, which advocates for democracy, civil liberties and fair elections, said previous presidents have faced similar instances of “economic turmoil.”

That created a question about “how much do you sell for feeling voters’ pain,” he said.

Trump “always believed — going back to his real estate days — that he could sell anyone anything,” Schisul noted.

“He still does it. But the problem is that you can’t tell someone who lost their job and can’t get a new one that things are going well,” Chisol said. “He cannot convince people of a truth that does not exist for them and, frankly, for most Americans.”

It’s likely to be politically risky ahead of a November election that could deliver a congressional win for Democrats, just as the 2018 blue wave created a strong check on his administration during his first term.

Democrats’ response to Trump’s speech will be delivered by Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, whose affordability-focused message helped her flip a Republican-controlled office last November.

Meanwhile, several Democrats in Congress plan to skip Trump’s speech in protest and instead attend a rally known as the People’s State of the Union on the National Mall in Washington.

Foreign policy in focus

Trump’s speech comes at a time when two US aircraft carriers have been sent to the Middle East amid tensions with Iran.

The president will recount how U.S. airstrikes last summer decimated Tehran’s nuclear capabilities, and he will praise the raid that ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as well as his administration’s brokering of a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

But it has also strained US military alliances with NATO, thanks to his push to seize Greenland from Denmark and his failure to take a tougher line with Russian President Vladimir Putin as he seeks to end his war in Ukraine. Tuesday marks the fourth anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Making any foreign policy seem relevant to Americans at home is never easy.

Jennifer Anjou Grossman, a former speechwriter for Republican President George H.W. Bush and current CEO of the Atlas Society, which promotes the ideas of author and philosopher Ayn Rand, said Trump could show that Maduro’s socialist policies have devastated Venezuela’s economy to the point that one of the world’s oil-rich countries is struggling to meet its energy needs.

Now the oil extracted from that country will help lower US gas prices.

However, when it comes to external developments, she said: “I think it would be a bit difficult to explain why this relates to the internal situation.”

Find out more of our coverage