President Trump’s address later on Tuesday to a joint session of Congress may look like a State of the Union speech and sound like a State of the Union speech, but it will not be one — at least not technically.
Under the Constitution, the president is mandated “from time to time” to “give to the Congress information of the state of the union.” None other than George Washington delivered the first such speech in 1790.
Since then, however, the injunction has been interpreted in various ways. Some presidents, especially in the 19th century, delivered written addresses to Congress. Others did not deliver an annual address, while some also chose to speak at the end of their terms.
But starting with former President Ronald Reagan in 1981, all presidents have delivered high-profile speeches to Congress shortly after their inauguration, and then again each year.
Those speeches early in the term are not considered State of the Union addresses, and the American Presidency Project at U.C. Santa Barbara flags them with an asterisk in its roundup of presidential speeches to Congress.
The organization argues that the distinction makes little difference.
“The impact of such a speech on public, media and congressional perceptions of presidential leadership and power should be the same as if the address was an official State of the Union,” it said.
