Hello, everybody. Good morning. Well, of course, it's State of the Union day. I know the president's really looking forward to his address tonight. You're going to hear a speech that is a celebration of 250 years of our nation and our nation's independence. You're going to hear the president share the stories of everyday Americans who have benefited from his policies.
You're going to hear the president share tear jerking stories of American heroes, past and present, who really exemplify what it means to be a patriotic American. He'll obviously tout the administration's accomplishments over the past year. And he will, of course, lay out a very ambitious agenda, I think, for the working people of this country to make America more affordable and prosperous and safe and make the American dream more attainable.
So, it's going to be a great speech, and we hope that everybody will tune in. I'll take a couple questions.
Karoline, can you tell us what the main focus be the economy tonight and what can we expect on that front?
Well, there's a lot to talk about as the president himself has said. A large portion of the speech will, yes, focus on the economy. The president will lay out the case for why he and Republicans are better suited to tackle -- continue tackling the affordability crisis that was created by the Biden administration and Democrats on Capitol Hill.
And over the past year, there has been tremendous progress to move the ball forward toward attaining the level of economic prosperity we had under President Trump's first term. We saw just this week, mortgage rates have dipped below 6 percent for the first time since 2022. Again, they were over 8 percent because of Joe Biden.
Under President Trump in his first term, they were a record low 2.65 percent. You're going to hear the president tout his signature tax cuts that every single Democrat in Congress voted against -- no tax on tips, overtime, no tax on Social Security. You'll hear the story of a woman who is a waitress in Pennsylvania.
She and her husband are both going to benefit more than $5,000 because of the no tax on tips and no tax on overtime policies of President Trump and Republicans. So, the president is going to make the case that three more years with him in the White House and with Republicans on Capitol Hill, we can finally achieve the American dream in this country again that we had in his first term but was lost because of Joe Biden in the Democrats over the past four years.
Karoline, there was some back-and-forth reporting yesterday about what may or may not have been the Pentagon's concerns about a protracted engagement in Iran. Should we expect to hear the president lay out anything tonight about what an American commitment would be if we decide we need some kind of military action in Iran?
What can we expect to hear from the president on that?
You'll hear the president tout the accomplishments overseas of the United States military over the past year under his leadership, one of which, of course, was Operation Midnight Hammer. You'll hear the president proudly and rightfully say that the United States military is the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world.
And you will hear him talk about the threats that remain abroad, but what the United States is doing to ensure that not only America is the safest country in the world but remains the strongest country in the world.
Does he consider Iran a threat that remains abroad?
Well, look, Iran chants Death to America. So, you tell me if that's a threat. Elena.
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Talked about the president is expected to address [Inaudible] and also clarify what happened on Sunday with the TSA PreCheck lines being closed.
Sure. He will call on Democrats in Congress to reopen the Department of Homeland Security. It's despicable that they have shut down this agency that is responsible not just for the deportations of murderers and criminals whom none of you, including Democrat politicians, would want living in your communities.
But also, FEMA who is on the ground in the northeast right now restoring electricity and power for families who have been impacted by the blizzard. You look at the United States Coast Guard men and women who are not being paid because of Democrat politicians who have shut down the Department of Homeland Security, the United States Secret Service, which of course is essential to protecting the president of the United States.
They just did honorably this past weekend when an armed crazy person intruded at the president's personal property in Florida. These are great men and women who are working around the clock to keep our homeland safe and it's terrible that Democrat politicians have shut them down. And it is impacting TSA as well, which is why they have been updating the guidance.
As for internal deliberations on that, I would defer you to the Department of Homeland Security directly. But of course, there is going to be an impact at airports when you shut down the department that's responsible for funding TSA agents and providing them their paychecks. And it's an unfortunate consequence and it's completely avoidable if Democrats do the right thing and get these great men and women paid.
On Iran, you mentioned Operation Midnight Hammer, the president is touting the success of the military. One of the things that the president said after that was that Iran's nuclear sites were obliterated. We heard from Steve Witkoff just a few days ago also saying that Iran was maybe just a week away from getting access to bomb making material.
How could you square those two statements? What exactly happened here? Were the strikes just not as effective or were they able to work within the administration?
No. The president's initial statement, and the president reiterated that statement last night on Truth Social, that Operation Midnight Hammer was an overwhelmingly successful mission that did in fact obliterate Iran's nuclear facilities. That is not just verified by the president of the United States, but also the International Atomic Energy Commission as well.
That does not mean that Iran may never try again to establish a nuclear program that could directly threaten the United States and our allies abroad. And that's what the president wants to ensure can never happen again. And just one more note with respect to Iran, before I run into my morning meeting. President Trump's first option is always diplomacy, but as he has shown, he is unwilling -- he is willing to use the lethal force of the United States military if necessary.
So, it's always -- the president is always the final decision maker around here. And I've seen a lot of sensationalist reporting over the past day that is just completely untrue. And anyone speculating to the media, hiding behind an anonymous source pretending to know what President Trump is thinking or a decision he will make with respect to action against Iran has no idea what they're talking about.