Trump Hosts Pre-SOTU Lunch With Network Anchors, Teases Iran Message and New Tax Cuts

Overview

• The White House gathering included ABC’s David Muir, CBS’s Tony Dokoupil, NBC’s Tom Llamas, Jonathan Karl, NewsNation’s Blake Burman and Leland Vittert, and Newsmax’s Greta Van Susteren and Rob Finnerty.
• Karl said Trump asserted that Iran wants a deal but “can’t say the magic words,” which he defined as pledging not to build a bomb.
• According to Karl, Trump said he will emphasize the economy, call for new tax cuts in the address, and claim the next three years will be the best economically, saying it has “already begun.”
• The pre–State of the Union lunch is a longstanding presidential ritual that is typically off the record.
• Reporters noted the event’s continuation despite Trump’s broadsides against major outlets and revived FCC inquiries into ABC and CBS under Chairman Brendan Carr.