Donald Trump promised on Monday that his first state of the union address would be “a big speech, an important speech”, “a very important speech on trade” and an invitation to Democrats to cooperate on immigration. Q&A What is the state of the union? Show Hide The state of the union is the president’s yearly address to Congress and the nation. • In 1862, Abraham Lincoln used his state of the union message to call for the abolition of slavery – something he said was integral to the survival of the country. • In his 1972 state of the union speech Richard Nixon called for an end to the Watergate investigation.

Source: The Guardian January 29, 2018 18:22 UTC