STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Tonight, President Donald Trump will address congress, Supreme Court justices and Americans for the State of the Union. This speech is coming at a crucial time for voters.
Watch Brittany's report below
Aaron Kall, who's analyzed 60 years of State of the Union addresses, said he expects the President to touch on topics such as the job and stock market, international conflicts like Russia and Ukraine, immigration and the economy.
"(This address can) set the tone for his remaining years in office before a very important election that’ll determine the control of the House and the Senate in November," Kall, a Director of Debate at the University of Michigan, said. "We just had a major Supreme Court decision on his signature economic policy tariffs Friday...people when they vote, it's about their pocketbooks, affordability."
Voters agree: they want to hear how their dollar will stretch. A recent Kiel Institute report found tariffs raked in $200 billion for the Federal Government, but 96 percent of that money came from taxpayers' pockets.
"(At the) grocery shop you spend $100. Back even a couple years ago, you’d have handfuls of groceries. Now, when you walk out, there’s maybe one bag with three or four things," said Maz Rahma. "The whole tariff thing that’s going on...all those have an impact on us citizens and what we pay."
"Taxes, gas still going up. I mean, think about it. It’s like what $1100 just to live in an apartment," said Kevin Johnson.
In our parking lot alone, we have 12-15 people who sleep in their cars because they have nowhere to go," said a manager at Leo's Coney Island.
Another issue hitting close to home for Rahma is ICE enforcement.
"I’m a citizen, but I wasn’t born here, so I always carry my passport with me no,w and same thing with my family. I told them just to be on the safe side, carry your passports with you, because you never know. But yea, I think we're in scary times."
Resources for veterans and people struggling to find housing is also a topic the manager here at Leo's said she'd really like to hear mentioned as well. The State of the Union address will be tonight at 9 p.m.; we'll be covering it on air and online.
