U.S. President Donald Trump‘s list of special guests for Tuesday evening’s State of the Union address includes a fourth-grader from Pennsylvania, a veteran and a border patrol deputy.
The list, which includes about eight names, was released hours before Trump delivers his third State of the Union address before Congress. The address comes as his impeachment trial nears its end in the Senate, and he pivots from the controversy to his drive for re-election.
Guests on Trump’s list signal to the topics he will likely focus on during the speech.
“Each one represents the very best of America and people the world over,” Trump said in a press release.
Trump’s guests
Stephanie and Janiyah Davis: Janiyah is a Grade 4 student whose mom, Stephanie, wants to send her daughter to a higher-performing school.
Kelli and Gage Hake: The widow and son of a U.S. military officer who was killed on duty in Iraq.
Jody Jones: Jones’ brother, Rocky, was killed in Texas by an undocumented migrant.
Paul Morrow: Morrow is a U.S. army veteran and now runs a contracting business.
Deputy Chief Raul Ortiz: Ortiz works for U.S. Border Patrol and oversees 337 kilometres of border between Texas and Mexico.
Tony Rankins: Rankins is an army veteran who overcame addiction, and now lives and works in Ohio.
Robin and Ellie Schneider: Two-year-old Ellie was born 21 weeks and six days into her mother Robin’s pregnancy. She is one of the youngest babies to survive in the U.S., according to the White House.
Ivan Simonovis: Simonovis escaped from Venezuela to Florida in 2019 after serving as the chief of police in the country’s capital city.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that her four guests will be medical professionals, or those struggling with health problems.
“Tonight, President Trump will speak to an audience filled with Americans who are suffering because of his broken promises on prescription drug costs and his all-out assault on Americans with pre-existing conditions,” Pelosi said in a statement Tuesday.
“It is my privilege to have among my guests several brave Americans whose stories and experiences show the life and death stakes of President Trump’s assault on affordable health care.”
Pelosi’s guests
Dr. Nadine Burke Harris: Harris is a pediatrician and the surgeon general of California.
Jonah Cohen: 12-year-old Jonah was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2017. He will be accompanied by his mom Jennifer Pliner.
Cheyanne Faulkner and Morgan Faulkner: Cheyanne and Morgan are identical twins who live with Type 1 diabetes.
Xiomara Hung: Xiomara, who lives with several medical complications, will be accompanied by her mom Elena Hung.
Other U.S. officials will also be bringing guests to the address, as per tradition. Among them is slain journalist Jamal Khashoggi’s fiancee Hatice Cengiz, who will accompany congressman Gerry Connolly.
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