Millions of Americans will tune in on Feb. 5, as President Donald Trump gives his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress. The speech was delayed after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi rescinded the official invitation to the president during the partial government shutdown.
But in an era in which the president can address Congress or the American people from his smartphone, is the speech even necessary? It’s a question that has weighed on the mind of Marquette University political science professor Julia Azari, and something she wrote about for the website fivethirtyeight.
Azari believes that despite the president's direct line to Americans, through Twitter and the 24-hour news cycle, the State of the Union address still has an important role.
"A good speech will ask something of its audience, and the ask is kind of built-in, in the SoTU, and you can also ask things of the American people," she explains.
