WASHINGTON — As President Donald Trump prepares to deliver his State of the Union address, he gave a little glimpse Monday of what Americans can expect.

“It’s going to be a long speech,” Trump said, “because we have so much to talk about.”

The president spent part of the weekend preparing for Tuesday’s address by reviewing the speech with a small group of advisers, officials familiar with his plans said.

Trump has long eschewed traditional preparation for major events such as joint addresses to Congress or presidential debates. He does not like to practice reading the speech out loud, but he spent time mimicking the setup of the House chamber, the people said.

The speech comes as a critical juncture in Trump’s presidency: Polls show his approval rating sliding, Republicans fear they will lose control of at least one chamber of Congress, the Supreme Court just ruled against the president’s signature tariff policy, and he is considering military action against Iran.

Trump is expected to host the traditional lunch Tuesday with anchors from the five main networks: NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox and CNN. Officials said Trump also invited guests from new media outlets. They declined to specify which anchors would be attending the lunch.

Ross Worthington, the White House director of speechwriting, led the process for drafting the speech. In addition to Worthington, other aides involved in preparation this weekend were Susie Wiles, the chief of staff; Stephen Miller, deputy chief of staff for policy; Karoline Leavitt, the press secretary; Steven Cheung, the communications director; and Vince Haley, the director of the domestic policy council.

Worthington has worked for Trump since before he took office in 2017 and helped write many of his State of the Union addresses in his first term. He keeps a low profile and was not made available for an interview. Before working for Trump, he worked for Newt Gingrich and was the co-author of a 2013 book with him titled “Breakout: Pioneers of the Future, Prison Guards of the Past, and the Epic Battle That Will Decide America’s Fate.”

An aide to Trump, Dan Scavino, posted an image on social media on Sunday of the president standing behind a lectern that resembled the one he will deliver the State of the Union address from Tuesday night.

In Scavino’s photo, Trump was speaking on the phone with the U.S. men’s hockey team after they won the gold medal at the Olympics. On the call, which was set up by Kash Patel, the FBI director who was in the locker room with the team, Trump invited the players to Tuesday’s speech. The president directed Patel to organize the logistics to accommodate the players.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Tyler Pager
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