The mood in Washington is as hostile as it has been for years as President Donald Trump prepares to deliver the annual State of the Union address (Brendan Smialowski)

Washington (AFP) – President Donald Trump promises a shift to sunny optimism in the State of the Union speech Tuesday but insistence on his Mexico border wall will cast a shadow threatening more turmoil.

With a marked change of tone, the White House has flagged an “optimistic,” even “visionary,” speech to mark the administration’s midway point.

“The president is calling for unity. He is calling for an end to retribution and resistance politics and more compromise,” senior advisor Kellyanne Conway told Fox News.

But the mood in Washington is as uncompromising as it has been for years following the confrontation between Trump and the Democratic-led House of Representatives over his demand for funding a US-Mexico border wall.

Trump says a wall or fence is needed to prevent an “invasion” of central American migrants whom he repeatedly casts as killers and rapists. 

In his latest tweet on the subject Tuesday, Trump again resorted to hyperbolic language, warning of “tremendous numbers” of illegal immigrants approaching, stating “we will build a Human Wall if necessary. If we had a real Wall, this would be a non-event!”

Democrats, led by the steely speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, accuse Trump of fearmongering for political gain and refuse any funding.

It’s a standoff that has seen a relatively minor funding debate turn into an existential test of political strength in the buildup to 2020 presidential elections. 

– Achievements and threats –

Trump feels he cannot give up on what has become a symbol of his nationalist “America first” ideology and Democrats are equally desperate not to let him win.

The row has seen an ever more frustrated Trump trigger a crippling five-week partial shutdown of government in revenge, followed by Pelosi delaying the State of the Union by a week. 

Next, Trump is threatening to declare a national emergency, giving himself power to take military funds for his project and bypass Congress — something that would ignite even deeper upheaval.

So will a new compromise-seeking Trump soften his position in the State of the Union or double down?

No one will be listening more carefully than Pelosi, seated on a dais a few feet behind Trump’s podium in the chamber of the House of Representatives.

Trump can be counted on to tout the strength of the US economy, a key message in his 2020 reelection. The White House says he will also propose federal infrastructure spending, an area where Democrats could conceivably join forces with the government.

More contentiously, Trump will claim foreign policy successes.

That means defending his push — criticized by some in the security services and in his own Republican party — to withdraw US soldiers from Syria and Afghanistan as soon as possible.

Trump is likewise expected to update Congress on China trade talks and on his intention to hold a second summit with reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, whom he is trying to persuade to give up nuclear weapons.

– Sweeping probe –

He will likely dial up the pressure on Venezuela’s leftist leader Nicolas Maduro. Opposition leader Juan Guaido’s envoy to Washington is among the top guests invited to attend the speech.

And at each listing of his triumphs, Trump will see Republican legislators rise to clap.

The opposition, however, may greet much of the speech with silence or even the odd heckle, like the “You lie!” yelled at Barack Obama in 2009.

Among those watching Trump from the chamber will be members of Democrat-chaired House investigative committees determined to probe the president’s personal finances and other sensitive areas.

That’s on top of the huge investigation by special prosecutor Robert Mueller, who is charged with examining alleged collusion between the Trump election campaign and the Kremlin.

New trouble emerged late Monday with reports that New York federal prosecutors have issued subpoenas in a sweeping probe of alleged corruption by Trump’s lavish 2016 presidential inauguration committee.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders distanced the president from any scandal, saying the committee was an independent entity.

“This has nothing to do with the White House,” she told CNN.

However, for Trump — already fuming about the Mueller “witch hunt,” and hugely proud about his 2016 victory — the latest probe may feel personal.

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