President Donald Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address Tuesday night, and in keeping with tradition, he and first lady Melania Trump have invited a few guests.
Trump’s State of the Union guest list — and what it says about his national agenda
Invitees include parents of MS-13 victims, vets, an ICE agent, first responders, and beneficiaries of the GOP tax overhaul.
Samuel Corum/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Jen Kirby is a senior foreign and national security reporter at Vox, where she covers global instability.
The guests this year include parents of victims of the MS-13 gang, veterans, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, first responders to hurricanes and wildfires, and beneficiaries of the GOP tax overhaul.
The State of the Union address originates from a clause in the Constitution, though the practice has morphed over time as presidents tweaked its style and format. The custom of inviting guests to the address is a fairly recent development, which began with Ronald Reagan in 1982.
Presidents have continued that tradition since, usually inviting Americans considered exemplars of national ideals: veterans, public servants, and ordinary citizens who engage in acts of heroism. Guests are also invited who benefit, or stand to benefit, from the president’s policies, or represent themes or proposals highlighted in the State of the Union address.
The Trumps’ guest list follows the formula of past presidents. The invitees are stand-ins for victory laps Trump intends to take on tax cuts and the economy and symbols of the agenda he’s pushing, such as a crackdown on undocumented immigrants — all topics likely to be covered in his State of the Union address.
Or as White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders put it Monday, the attendees “represent the unbreakable American spirit and will inspire our nation to continue growing stronger, prouder and more prosperous.”
Guests also serve to humanize the president and his policies — and Trump is no different. During his speech to Congress last year, Trump’s remarks to a widow of a Navy SEAL who lost his life in a controversial raid in Yemen garnered an enthusiastic standing ovation. The moment of gravitas won Trump praise and points for being “presidential.”
Trump is likely seeking another such moment with the guests in attendance Tuesday night.
The Trumps’ State of the Union guest list — and why they were invited
1) The “winners” in Trump’s economy
Corey Adams: A welder from Dayton, Ohio. He and his wife became first-time homeowners in 2017. According to the White House, “they will invest their extra money from tax reform into their two daughters’ education savings.”
Trump campaigned on helping ordinary Americans, and the president has touted the GOP’s Tax Cuts and Jobs Acts as doing just that. Trump is also benefiting from a booming economy — something he’s expected to emphasize in his address.
Steve Staub and Sandy Keplinger: Owners of a metal fabrication company (where Adams, the welder, also happens to work). The White House says their company and its employees are benefiting from the “Trump bump” in the economy.
2) People who reflect Trump’s stance on immigration and border security
Elizabeth Alvarado and Robert Mickens; Evelyn Rodriguez and Freddy Cuevas: Parents of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas, respectively, two teenagers murdered on Long Island in 2016. Federal authorities have indicted members of MS-13, a gang founded in Los Angeles by Salvadoran refugees, for their murders. Trump has vowed to crack down on the violent gang, which his administration sees as a symptom of unchecked illegal immigration.
Agent Celestino “CJ” Martinez: An ICE agent whose investigations have led to more than 100 arrests of MS-13 gang members, who have been prosecuted for crimes including homicide, assault, and narcotics and weapons trafficking, per the White House.
Both of these guests emphasize Trump’s approach to unauthorized immigration — a need to root out criminals and protect the borders. Trump is expected to refer to his framework on immigration in his address. That proposal offers protection for DREAMers, the unauthorized immigrants affected by the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
But the plan also demands money for the border wall and curtailing of legal immigration, including the diversity visa lottery and family-based migration. It’s far from what Democrats, and even some Republicans, want. But if Trump’s guests are any indication, his hardline approach isn’t about to shift.
3) American heroes: military edition
Retired Cpl. Matthew Bradford: A member of the Marine Corps who deployed to Iraq and was badly injured by an IED in 2007, losing his eyes and both his legs. He is now the first blind double amputee to reenlist in the Marine Corps, according to the White House.
Ashlee Leppert: A US Coast Guard member who participated in rescue missions during hurricane season.
Staff Sgt. Justin Peck: A staff sergeant in the US Army who participated in operations in Raqqa, clearing the city of explosives after a Syrian Kurdish-led coalition retook the city in October with US-led coalition support. His quick actions saved a fellow soldier who was injured by an IED.
Peck’s heralded act will also give Trump a chance to talk about the US’s victories against ISIS in Syria and Iraq. The retaking of Raqqa — the capital of ISIS’s self-proclaimed caliphate — happened under Trump’s watch, and the president has declared the jihadists “in retreat.”
Preston Sharp: The 12-year-old Sharp is leading an initiative to put American flags and carnations on soldiers’ graves through the Flag and Flower Challenge (#FandFChallenge). Trump has emphasized the military throughout his presidency and promised to support America’s “great veterans.”
4) American heroes: ordinary citizens edition
Jon Bridgers: A founder of the Cajun Navy, whose volunteers helped rescue stranded victims of Hurricane Harvey. Trump got largely passing grades when it came to his response to Harvey and Irma — less so with Maria. This is a nod to a citizen hero who led extraordinary rescue efforts, but also a nod to the resiliency of communities hit by devastating storms.
David Dahlberg: A fire prevention technician with the US Forest Service who saved 62 children and staff at a Santa Barbara camp threatened by the Whittier fire in Southern California in July, part of a long season of record-setting wildfires in the state.
Ryan Holets: A police officer in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He and his wife adopted a baby from a homeless mother with an opioid addiction. This is the only one of Trump’s announced guests that even touches on the colossal public health crisis of the opioid epidemic. The Trump administration declared a public health emergency last year but has faced criticism for its lack of meaningful action.
