Mississippi Congressional leaders speak on State of the Union, Trump favorability

A recent poll from NPR/PBS News/Marist found that most Americans disagree with the president's assessment of the strength of the union: 57% of respondents say the state of the union isn't strong, up four points from last year. 

79% of Democrats align with that view, along with 68% of Independents. 77% of Republican respondents believe the opposite, saying they believe the union is strong or very strong. 

As of this month, 55% of respondents also say they think Trump has moved or is moving the country in a worse direction compared to his last term. 

In Mississippi, polls show a close split on approval: Morning Consult found that 53% of Mississippi respondents approved of the president, while Civiqs shows a 49% approval rating.  

Democratic Congressman Bennie Thompson said that's telling in a Red state.

"I think that even indicates that he has a problem even with some of his base," Thompson said Tuesday night ahead of the address. "I know that farmers in my district are having a real challenging time because of some of his policies...hospitals are having a challenging time."

Republican Congressman Michael Guest puts those ratings to pocketbook issues.  

"I understand because when I go to the grocery stores, I see that things cost more," he told MPB News after the State of the Union. "No one's paycheck goes as far as it did, say, two to three years ago." 

A Gallup poll from last December found that economic issues were important, but not the most important — government and poor leadership were the top issues, followed by immigration, the economy generally and inflation. 

Guest said he thought the president covered those issues well during his speech, though. 

Trump did speak about affordability, though largely in broad strokes and arguing the effectiveness of previous measures as opposed to laying out new plans.

"A lot of it did focus on the accomplishments of the last year under President Trump," Guest said. "But I think the president also laid for some of the things that he would like to see, and he would to work with Congress through the rest of this term."

Following the speech, Thompson issued a statement, particularly highlighting Trump's claims about economic progress. 

“The President stood before the country claiming the economy is stronger than ever, that costs are coming down, that health care access has expanded, and that his policies are making Americans safer and more secure," Thompson wrote. "Families across this nation know better."

"If the economy were as strong as he claims, working people would not be struggling to afford groceries, utilities, health care, and childcare.  If life were more affordable, medical and food assistance programs would not be on the chopping block," he wrote. "If democracy were being protected, we would not see continued efforts to make it harder for people to vote and weaken hard fought civil rights protections."

The president also spoke at length about immigration, covering decreased border encounters but also largely describing immigrants as criminals, particularly attacking the Somali community in Minnesota. 

"There's a sizable immigrant population in our state that contributes significantly to our economy: and if those individuals are not part of our economy, then we will suffer," said Thompson before the address. "Whether they're in the agriculture community, whether they are in the service community, they still are a vital part of, of our Mississippi economy."

"So I think he has some tall answers to provide to our current situation." 

Trump didn't discuss at all concerns about recent Department of Homeland Security operations that led to the deaths of multiple U.S. citizens. He blamed Democrats for the shutdown, as well as a slew of other issues. 

When asked about those concerns being missing from the address, Guest pointed the suspension of DHS funding due to the shutdown as opposed to issues with ICE and CBP operations. 

"Some of the things that the Democrats have requested, things such as body cams: there is great agreements, bipartisan agreements, that body cams are crucial for our law enforcement officers," Guest said, briefly highlighting what he thought could be done.

Midterms could turn the tables on the currently Republican-controlled legislature. In the House, Republicans only have a slim majority.

Guest once again named economic issues as a key point for midterms, as well as turnout. 

"Can Trump drive turnout in a midterm election like he does in a presidential election?" he said. "There is a certain part of Republican base that only generally goes to the polls if president Trump is on the ballot."

"It's going to be important for the president to be engaged: not just necessarily engaged in Congress and engaged in economic policy, but engaged in the electorate," Guest said. "Trying to get people to come to the polls in November, against particularly those individuals who traditionally stay home during midterm election cycles."

A slim Republican majority and a midterm year doesn't necessarily bag elections for Democrats, either, though. An AP-NORC poll finds that about a quarter of Americans aren't happy with either party. 

When asked how Democrats might use the issues and the current favorability ratings to their advantage, Thompson instead pointed to existing barriers. 

"No legislation gets approved without Republican leadership agreeing to it, so our state of affairs can be attributed solely to the Republican leadership," Thompson told MPB News. 

"The state of our economy and the state a lot of other things is solely tied to who's in charge: coupled with that is we're not."