ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
President Trump will deliver an address to a joint session of Congress tomorrow. He's been in office for six weeks and has launched a blitz of actions since returning to the White House, so the speech will be an opportunity to promote some of those moves in prime time. Some Americans say they have concerns with how the president is carrying out his agenda. NPR political reporter Elena Moore is here to talk us through it. Hey, Elena.
ELENA MOORE, BYLINE: Hey, Ari.
SHAPIRO: This is not technically a State of the Union speech, but it looks and sounds a lot like one. What's the difference?
MOORE: Yeah. Well, much like a State of the Union, tomorrow, Trump will address Congress from, you know, the House Chamber. You'll see similar scenes. Trump will walk in and greet people, and there will likely be lots of standing ovations from half of the audience, given folks sit by party. But the speeches have different purposes. The State of the Union allows the president to recap accomplishments over the past year. This joint address lets a newly sworn-in president lay out his plans. So that's what Trump's going to do. It's set to kick off tomorrow at 9 p.m. Eastern, and NPR will have live, in-studio video coverage on our website, but you can also, of course, listen on the radio.
SHAPIRO: OK. So those are the logistics. What are we likely to hear from the president?
MOORE: Well, immigration will probably be a big topic. Trump's taken executive action there already, most notably his attempt to end birthright citizenship. That's being challenged in court. He's also threatened to impose steep tariffs on Canada and Mexico aimed in part at curbing illegal border crossings. Earlier today, Trump said those 25% tariffs will take effect tomorrow. Foreign policy may come up too. Compared former President Joe Biden, Trump is redefining the country's policy towards the Israel-Hamas war and Russia's war in Ukraine. Trump has expressed more sympathy for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and his speech comes just days after a contentious visit with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
But, you know, lastly, Trump will probably talk DOGE as well - you know, his Department of Government Efficiency initiative, which billionaire Elon Musk is the public face for. The administration has already overseen some drastic changes to the government. You know, tens of thousands of federal workers have been laid off. Some agencies have essentially closed. But Trump is really standing by these moves, Ari, you know, despite a bunch of legal challenges and just confusion among the federal workforce.
SHAPIRO: Well, you've got some new information about how Americans feel about all that. What have you learned?
MOORE: Yeah, I mean, Americans seem to be fairly split on Trump's performance so far. In his - you know, in the latest NPR/PBS News/ Marist poll released today, a slim majority of respondents - 53% - think the State of the Union is not strong, and about the same say the country is headed in the wrong direction. You know, plus 56% think Trump is rushing to make changes without considering their impact.
You know, but these moves are playing well for Trump's base. More than 8 in 10 Republicans think Trump is doing what needs to be done to get the government on track. You know, take Carter Deaderick, who lives in the Atlanta suburbs. She responded to NPR's poll and said she's pleased with Trump's work so far.
CARTER DEADERICK: He's doing what he said he was going to do, which most presidents have not. I like how he gets it done, and he works nonstop for it. I respect that.
MOORE: And on the DOGE effort, Ari, you know, Florida Republican voter David Nicholas can acknowledge things are moving fast, but he told me the federal government just needs to tighten its belt.
DAVID NICHOLAS: There's really no time to waste. And I feel bad for the people who are getting laid off. But it's, like, I've been laid off before, and nobody really gave a care about my feelings or anything like that. They just came to me and say you don't work here anymore.
SHAPIRO: OK, so strong support from Republicans, but you said a majority of Americans don't feel this way necessarily. Where is Trump struggling the most right now?
MOORE: Well, he's lost some support from independent voters. Nearly two-thirds agreed Trump's decisions are rushed. You know, Richard Patterson of Tennessee is in that camp. He's a registered Republican, but says he put down independent on our survey because he's anti-Trump.
RICHARD PATTERSON: The means are important as well as the end. I don't like the way that things are being done, and I am very concerned about the executive branch growing in power.
MOORE: And he told me he supports, you know, cutting government spending and waste but says the way Trump is doing it is alarming.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Elena Moore, thank you.
MOORE: Thanks. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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