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6 FEBRUARY
State of the Union edition
President Donald Trump has delivered his second State of the Union address to a joint sitting of Congress, calling for the rejection of "the politics of revenge, resistance, and retribution", even as he launched fresh attacks on Democratic leaders.
The border wall and immigration dominated the president's speech, but he also used the occasion to cheer the United States as having "far and away the hottest economy anywhere in the world" and remarked on his administration's successes with regards to low unemployment rates, falls in pharmaceutical drug prices and a "revolution" in energy production.
Trump also announced that he would hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Vietnam on February 27-28. “If I had not been elected president of the United States, we would right now, in my opinion, be in a major war with North Korea,” he declared.
NEWS WRAP
The Democrats' "unlikeable women"
Why are women in politics often described as "unlikeable" as opposed to their male counterparts? The 2020Vision podcast this week spoke to Honorary Associate Rebecca Sheehan about the treatment of some of the female Democratic candidates in the 2020 election race, and took a look at Hillary Clinton's recent advice for so-called "Bernie Bros". LISTEN HERE.
Donald Trump's inaugural committee has received a sweeping subpoena from the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Prosecutors are investigating a litany of potential crimes, including: conspiracy against the United States, false statements, mail fraud, wire fraud, money laundering, inaugural committee disclosure violations, and violations of laws prohibiting contributions by foreign nations and contributions in the name of another person. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Tuesday on FOX News that the subpoena “doesn't have anything to do with the White House". READ MORE HERE.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump announced on Monday the special guests they'd selected to join them for this year's State of the Union address. Among them were family members of people murdered by immigrants, a convicted drug dealer who spent 35 years in prison before finding God, and a sixth grade student who had been bullied in school because his last name was 'Trump'. READ MORE HERE.
- Axios has obtained nearly every day of Trump's private schedule for the past three months from a White House source. The leak shows Trump has spent around 60 per cent of his scheduled time over the past three months in unstructured "executive time". The president reportedly spends his mornings in the residence, rather than the Oval Office, watching TV, reading the papers, and responding to what he sees and reads by phoning aides, members of Congress, friends, administration officials and informal advisers. READ MORE HERE.
- Virginia Governor Ralph Northam is still refusing to resign over last week’s revelation of a racist photo on his 1984 medical school yearbook page. Northam met with his cabinet on Monday amid a chorus of calls from fellow Democrats to stand down. Northam initially apologised on Friday and said he was one of the two people in the photo, then changed his story Saturday, saying he did not appear in the picture but had dressed in blackface at another point that year. READ MORE HERE.
- Treasury Department official David Malpass is expected to be Trump's pick to lead the World Bank, according to senior administration officials. Malpass was an economic adviser to Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign and served as chief economist at Bear Stearns, which collapsed in the global financial crisis of 2008-09. He has previously said global organisations like the World Bank “have grown larger and more intrusive” and “the challenge of refocusing them has become urgent and more difficult". READ MORE HERE.
Why is Australia reluctant to join Trump’s fight with China? Senior Fellow John Lee looked at that question over at The Hill this week, and suggests that the simplest reason from Australian inaction is that it benefits greatly from current arrangements. He also notes that the onus is on the Trump administration to convince Australia and others that it seeks the reassertion of — rather than retreat from — American economic leadership. READ MORE HERE.
If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation.
President Donald Trump
State of the Union address
5 February 2019
DIARY
The week ahead
Wednesday, 6 February: Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou due to appear in court in Vancouver.
Thursday, 7 February: US House Ways and Means Committee scheduled to hold a hearing into "Presidential and Vice Presidential Tax Returns".
12-14 February: Australian Parliament sitting (both houses).
Tuesday, 12 February: Senate Armed Services Committee to examine the United States Indo-Pacific Command and United States Forces Korea in review of the Defense Authorization Request for fiscal year 2020 and the Future Years Defense Program.
VIDEO
Stacey Abrams delivers the Democratic response to the State of the Union
THE WEEK IN TWEETS
#SOTU
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United States Studies Centre
Institute Building H03
University of Sydney NSW 2006
