Trump State of the Union: Former presidential speechwriters offer advice

Former White House speechwriters from both parties say the president Donald Trump He must decide whether to double down on the rally-style politics that fueled his campaign or expand his message to unite a divided country around his governing agenda in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

As Trump prepares to address the nation and the world, a majority of Americans believe the country is in worse shape today than it was a year ago, according to a recent poll. Fox News poll. His challenge Tuesday night is to convince skeptical voters that his economic policies are cutting costs, that tougher immigration enforcement is making the country safer, and that he has a disciplined, forward-looking plan for the years ahead — a message that could shape Republicans’ prospects as they head into the 2026 midterm elections with a narrow majority in Congress.

Clark Judge, President Ronald Reagan’s speechwriter and now head of the Pacific Research Institute, told Fox News Digital that Trump should address America’s position in the world.

“The threats to the country and the economy are increasing,” Judge said. “And now, in one region after another, those threats have been confronted and defeated.”

President Donald Trump will deliver his fourth State of the Union address of his presidential term on February 24, 2026. (Wayne McNamee/Getty Images)

Reagan’s strength, the judge said, was clarity. People “know where he’s going. One advantage of working with him is that he’s been very clear throughout his career about what he wants,” he said.

there Lessons from Reagan The judge suggested that Trump should take the matter seriously. “Know the president, know the administration, know the public – where is the public at any given moment?”

“Where are the Democrats? What are they trying to do — and how can we disarm their arguments?” He said.

James Fallows, Jimmy Carter’s former presidential speechwriter, told Fox News Digital that the balance required in the State of the Union is to find a “middle ground” between the president’s cabinet struggling to be mentioned and “trying to create great, substantive communications.”

Fallows, the Georgia Democrat’s chief speechwriter during his first two years in office, has since become a book and magazine writer and byline writer. He said the challenge facing Trump, now and in his previous speeches, is to unite the country around his agenda, not just please his supporters.

Trump’s preferred rhetorical style is rally style — “where he can digress and weave and create ‘us versus them’ scenarios to rile up the public,” he said, adding that the State of the Union address requires the opposite.

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Lawmakers arrive for a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., Tuesday, March 4, 2025. Donald Trump’s prime-time speech Tuesday night from Capitol Hill, billed as an account of “renewing the American dream,” comes at a critical juncture early in his second term, as voters who elected him to tackle inflation and improve the economy begin to weigh the impact of his agenda. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images (Copyright goes here)

former Joe Biden Speechwriter Dan Clushi expressed doubts about Trump’s ability to rise to the occasion.

“President Biden has deep respect for both the constitutional role of Congress and the dignity of the presidential office, so he treated the State of the Union address as an opportunity to rise above discord and bring Americans together,” Cloche said, noting what Delaware viewed as a “unity agenda” laid out in his 2022 address.

When asked what might surprise him about Trump’s speech on Tuesday, Fallows said sticking to his script would be something new.

“[Also,] Given what the next day’s news would describe as a Reagan-style “big tent speech,” as Carter’s speechwriter put it.

former George W. Bush Presidents tend to differ, sometimes dramatically, from each other in style, contrasting a president with his former boss, said speechwriter and current Wall Street Journal editorial board member Bill McGurn.

“George W. Bush was very driven by logic — the rhetoric was flowing and had a coherent logic.”

“He always said, ‘Do it so Bubba understands what it means’ — don’t neglect it; but do it so an intelligent person listening can get an idea of ​​what you’re talking about.”

He said Trump would likely repeat what many presidents often say: “The state of the union is strong.”

“Even if it’s a laundry list, there are ways to make it more compelling if you find a unifying thread to it.”

Fallows told Fox News Digital that there are many “structural challenges” faced by any president and his team crafting the State of the Union:

“There’s a lot to cover and only so much time that you can hold the attention of a captive audience.”

Fallows, who now writes “Breaking the News” on Substack, said SOTU is a rare moment for a president to address the nation as a whole, not just partisan supporters.

Bill Maher calls for a complete end to the State of the Union address before Trump’s speech

President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address. (Ricky Carioti/Getty Images)

McGurn agreed:

“For all the greatness and important things it covers, it’s usually not remembered,” he said, noting the number of Americans who remember Bush’s September 11 speech or his brief speech through a megaphone atop the ruins of the Twin Towers.

“The dirty little secret is that most speech artists hate the State of the Union because of the laundry list,” he added.

Sometimes the State of the Union itself may not be memorable, but it can lead to something memorable.

The judge recalled the wording of Reagan’s 1988 speech, thinking, “This is technical and boring — what I need is a picture.”

He settled on the phrase “1,000 sparks of genius in 1,000 societies,” and that line caught on in the then-emerging opinion polls — so much so that Reagan’s protégé, future President George H.W. Bush, borrowed the line in his “A Thousand Points of Light” speech, Judge said.

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While the public may not remember everything from each SOTU, the speechwriters collectively said there are parts they still remember today. Clucci said his best memory is Biden choosing to share the stories of ordinary Americans he helped, “in order to illustrate the impact of his policies.”

In other cases, there are times when the world takes notice.

Working with Reagan toward the end of his successful attempt to stifle the Cold War, Judge said the wording of the speech was important not just for the Congress before him and the American people at home, but for everyone at once.

“Behind the cameras are the editors and producers – even if they’re aggressive, how do I frame something so it’ll pass? And behind them are the world leaders – what will grab them and move them in the direction you want?”

As Reagan aggressively sought to end the Soviet Union, he was also speaking to both commanders and commanders in the East.

Later, Soviet dissidents greeted Reagan in public, telling him: “You don’t know how important this is – the speeches gave us courage.”

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Fallows said Trump may have to overcome some habits to deliver an effective speech this year:

“State of the Union is best in areas that are not Donald Trump’s strengths. It’s supposed to embrace the country as a whole. It’s supposed to be delivered from a mentor but without seeming overly scripted.”

“We’ll see how it goes.”

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