Speechwriters from Reagan to Biden agree: Trump's SOTU is a critical test for his second term

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

As Trump prepares to speak to the nation and the world, a majority of Americans think the country is worse off today than it was a year ago, according to a recent Fox News survey. The challenge he faces Tuesday night is to persuade skeptical voters that his economic policies are bringing costs down, 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 narrow majorities in Congress.

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

"Threats to the country and to the economy were growing," Judge said. "Now, in area after area, those threats have been confronted and defeated."

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Judge said Reagan's strength was clarity. People "knew where he would come down. One advantage of working with him was that he had been so clear throughout his career on what he was for," he said.

There are lessons from Reagan that Judge suggested Trump should take to heart. "Know the president, know the administration, know the public - where is the public at any one moment?"

"Where are the Democrats? What are they trying to do - and how do we disarm their arguments?" he said.

The balance needed in a State of the Union is finding a "middle ground" between the president's Cabinet fighting for their mentions and "trying to create big, thematic connections," former Jimmy Carter presidential speechwriter James Fallows told Fox News Digital.

Fallows, the Georgia Democrat's chief speechwriter during his first two years in office, has since been a book, magazine and Substack writer. He said Trump's challenge, both now and in his previous addresses, is to unite the country around his agenda, not just please his supporters.

Trump's preferred rhetorical style is a rally-style approach - "where he can digress and weave" and create "us versus them" scenarios to rile the audience," he said, adding that a State of the Union address requires the opposite.

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Former Joe Biden speechwriter Dan Cluchey expressed skepticism that Trump would be able to rise to the occasion.

"President Biden has a deep reverence for both the constitutional role of Congress and the dignity of the presidential office, so he approached the State of the Union as an opportunity to rise above the fray and bring Americans together," Cluchey said, pointing to what the Delawarean considered the "Unity Agenda" laid out in his 2022 address.

When asked what could surprise him about Trump's Tuesday address, Fallows said sticking to his script would be a novelty.

"[Also,] given what the next day's news will describe as a 'big tent speech'" à la Reagan, the Carter speechwriter said.

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

"George W. Bush was very driven by logic - the speech had a flow and had a logic that was coherent."

"He'd always say, 'make it so Bubba would understand what that meant' - don't dumb it down; but make it so an intelligent person listening can get the idea of what you're about."

Trump, he said, will likely repeat what many presidents often say, that "the State of the Union is strong."

"Even if it is a laundry list, there's ways to make it more compelling if you find a unifying thread to it."

Fallows told Fox News Digital there are many "structural challenges" for any president and his team crafting a State of the Union.

"So much to cover and only so much time you can hold the attention of even a captive audience."

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

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McGurn agreed.

"For all the grandiosity and the important things they cover, they're usually not remembered," he said, noting how many more Americans remember Bush's 9/11 speech or his brief address through a bullhorn atop the rubble of the Twin Towers.

"A dirty little secret is most speech artists hate the State of the Union for the laundry list kind of thing," he added.

Sometimes, a State of the Union may not be remembered itself, but it may lead to something much more memorable.

Judge recalled drafting Reagan's 1988 address, thinking "this is technical and dull - what I need is an image."

Settling on the phrase, "1,000 sparks of genius in a 1,000 communities," the line went viral in then-fledgling "dial" polling - to the extent that Reagan's protégé, the future President George H.W. Bush, borrowed the line for his "Thousand Points of Light" speech, Judge said.

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While the public may not remember everything from every SOTU, the speechwriters collectively said there are parts they still recall today. Cluchey said his best memories are of Biden choosing to share stories of everyday Americans he helped, "in order to illustrate the impact of his policies."

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

Working with Reagan near the end of his successful bid to stifle the Cold War, Judge said crafting the speech was important not just for Congress in front of him and the American people at home, but everyone at once.

"Behind the cameras are the editors and producers - even if they're hostile, how do I frame something so it gets through? Behind them is our world leaders - what will catch them and move them in the direction you want?"

With Reagan pushing hard to end the Soviet Union, he was also speaking to both the leaders and those to the East.

Reagan would later be greeted by Soviet dissidents in public who would tell him, "You don't know how important that was - the speeches gave us courage."

Fallows said that Trump may have to overcome some habits to give an effective address this year.

"State of the Unions are best in areas that are not Donald Trump's strengths. They're meant to be embracing the country as a whole. They're meant to be delivered from a prompter but without seeming too scripted."

"We'll see how this goes."