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Donald Trump to issue rallying cry for unity in State of the Union address

Click to play video: 'Trump says themes of SOTU are unification, industry, and praising Republicans'
Trump says themes of SOTU are unification, industry, and praising Republicans
WATCH: Trump says themes of SOTU are unification, industry, and praising Republicans – Jan 31, 2019

WASHINGTON – The White House says President Donald Trump will call for optimism and unity in Tuesday’s State of the Union address, using the moment to attempt a reset after two years of bitter partisanship and deeply personal attacks.

But will anyone buy it?

Skepticism will emanate from both sides of the aisle when Trump enters the House chamber for the primetime address to lawmakers and the nation. Democrats, emboldened after the midterm elections and the recent shutdown fight, see little evidence of a president willing to compromise. And even the president’s staunchest allies know that bipartisan rhetoric read off a teleprompter is usually undermined by scorching tweets and unpredictable policy maneuvers.

ANALYSIS: State of the Union 2019 — it’s all about the wall

Still, the fact that Trump’s advisers feel a need to try a different approach is a tacit acknowledgement that the president’s standing is weakened as he begins his third year in office.

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The shutdown left some Republicans frustrated over his insistence on a border wall, something they warned him the new Democratic House majority would not bend on. Trump’s approval rating during the shutdown dipped to 34 per cent, down from 42 per cent a month earlier, according to a recent survey conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway said the president would use his address “to call for an end to the politics of resistance, retribution.”

WATCH: Democratic senator questions Trump’s State of the Union plan to call for unity

Click to play video: 'Democratic senator questions Trump’s State of the Union plan to call for unity'
Democratic senator questions Trump’s State of the Union plan to call for unity

“He’s calling for co-operation,” she said, adding that Trump will point to examples of where this has happened on his watch. Officials said the president is also expected to highlight infrastructure, trade and prescription drug pricing as areas in which the parties could work together.

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But Washington’s most recent debate offered few signs of co-operation between Trump and Democrats. Under pressure from conservative backers, Trump refused to sign a government funding bill that did not include money for his long-sought border wall. With hundreds of thousands of Americans missing paychecks, Trump ultimately agreed to reopen the government for three weeks to allow negotiations on border security to continue.

READ MORE: Trump hints at big news ahead of State of Union address

With the new Feb. 15 funding deadline looming, Trump is expected to use his address to outline his demands, which still include funding for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. He’s teased the possibility of declaring a national emergency to secure wall funding if Congress doesn’t act, though it appeared unlikely he would take that step Tuesday night. Advisers have also been reviewing options to secure some funding without making such a declaration.

“You’ll hear the State of the Union, and then you’ll see what happens right after the State of the Union,” Trump told reporters.

READ MORE: Donald Trump largely absent from public eye following government reopening

The president’s address marks the first time he is speaking before a Congress that is not fully under Republican control. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who won plaudits from Democrats for her hard-line negotiating tactics during the shutdown, will be seated behind the president – a visual reminder of Trump’s political opposition.

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In the audience will be several Democrats running to challenge Trump in 2020, including Sens. Kamala Harris of California, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.

WATCH: Trump says there’s a ‘good chance’ of declaring national emergency

Click to play video: 'Trump says there’s a ‘good chance’ of declaring national emergency'
Trump says there’s a ‘good chance’ of declaring national emergency

Another Democratic star, Stacey Abrams, will deliver the party’s response to Trump. Abrams narrowly lost her bid in November to become Georgia’s first black governor, and party leaders are aggressively recruiting her to run for Senate.

READ MORE: U.S. job growth expected to slow following December employment surge

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer previewed Democrats’ message for countering Trump, declaring Monday, “The number one reason the state of the union has such woes is the president.”

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While White House officials cautioned that Trump’s remarks were still being finalized, the president was expected to use some of his televised address to showcase a growing economy. Despite the shutdown, the U.S. economy added a robust 304,000 jobs in January, marking 100 straight months of job growth. That’s the longest such period on record.

Trump and his top aides have also hinted that he is likely to use the address to announce a major milestone in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria. Despite the objections of some advisers, Trump announced in December that he was withdrawing U.S. forces in Syria.

WATCH: Trump says Nancy Pelosi is ‘very bad for our country’ as fight over border wall continues

Click to play video: 'Trump says Nancy Pelosi is ‘very bad for our country’ as fight over border wall continues'
Trump says Nancy Pelosi is ‘very bad for our country’ as fight over border wall continues

In a weekend interview with CBS, Trump said efforts to defeat the IS group were “at 99 per cent right now. We’ll be at 100.”

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U.S. officials say the Islamic State group now controls less than 10 square kilometres (3.9 square miles) of territory in Syria, an area smaller than New York’s Central Park. That’s down from an estimated 400 to 600 square kilometres (155 to 230 square miles) that the group held at the end of November before Trump announced the withdrawal, according to two officials who were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

READ MORE: Stacey Abrams to deliver Democratic rebuttal to Trump’s State of the Union address

However, a Defence Department inspector general report released Monday said the Islamic State group “remains a potent force of battle-hardened and well-disciplined fighters that could likely resurge in Syria” absent continued counterterrorism pressure. According to the Pentagon, the group is still able to co-ordinate offensives and counteroffensives.

Administration officials say the White House has also been weighing several “moonshot” goals for the State of the Union address. One that is expected to be announced is a new initiative aimed at ending transmissions of HIV by 2030.

WATCH: Trump says he hopes Stacey Abrams will ‘do a good job’ in Democratic rebuttal of State of the Union

Click to play video: 'Trump says he hopes Stacey Abrams will ‘do a good job’ in Democratic rebuttal of State of the Union'
Trump says he hopes Stacey Abrams will ‘do a good job’ in Democratic rebuttal of State of the Union

Trump’s guests for the speech include Anna Marie Johnson, a 63-year-old woman whose life sentence for drug offences was commuted by the president, and Joshua Trump, a sixth-grade student from Wilmington, Delaware, who was allegedly bullied because of his last name.

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They will sit with first lady Melania Trump during the address.

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