The State of the Union and Interest Group Politics 
Joseph Lewis

            A lot of interesting events and drama happened during President Trump’s State of the Union Address on February 4, 2020. From President Trump not shaking Nancy Pelosi’s hand at the beginning, to a Presidential Medal of Freedom being awarded to Rush Limbaugh in the middle of his speech, to Pelosi ripping apart her copy of the address at the end of President Trump’s remarks, the evening was a roller coaster full of unexpected turns. One comment that news analysts have made about the speech was that it was “overtly campaign-oriented” (Politico) and “heavy on reelection themes” (CNN). I definitely caught on to that when I was watching the speech. President Trump covered a lot of ground in his speech. Some of the topics he included in his speech were the economy, military, immigration, healthcare, the opioid epidemic, unemployment rates, and education. He focused on improvements in these areas during his presidency. Why was President Trump’s speech so campaign-oriented according to analysts? One possible explanation is that while he is seeking reelection, he is appealing to his interest groups that are within the categories he talked about to show how he has worked in their fields of interest.

            According to Bawn et al., “parties in the United States are best understood as coalitions of interest groups and activists seeking to capture and use government for their particular goals…” (Bawn et al., 571). To accomplish their goals, interest groups invest in politicians who will carry out their goals. According to these authors, candidates have to rely on interest groups because they are the ones who will back them up financially and create networks for them to succeed. Candidates can succeed when they are backed by multiple groups as illustrated in their allegory of the shepherds and teachers (Bawn, 573). Most of these interest groups relate to the current issues that we face as Americans in politics today, such as healthcare, education, or immigration.    

            President Trump specifically talked about a lot of issues to appeal to interest groups that have backed him in the past and attract new interest groups to support him. For example, he spent some time talking about the immigration issue and how he is continuing to advocate for a wall on the Mexican border. He talked about how some American citizens were killed by illegal immigrants and how ICE and the border wall need to be supported to protect the lives of our own people (Fox News). There are interest groups that have supported President Trump in the past about border control, like the National Border Control Council (Washington Times). While pushing forward on immigration policies, he is showing the immigration interest groups that he is staying true to the policies he talked about in the past.

            Another point that Bawn et al. focused on was the “electoral blind spot” (Bawn, 577). In this blind spot, candidates can have a little more flexibility in their policies and positions because of how inattentive voters are. However, if they take extreme positions, the voters will notice and resist the policies that the candidate advocates. If they stay in the blind spot, voters will just follow the general political masses. Because of this, interest groups can have more of a role in influencing policy. They pay attention to the hundreds of pieces that get put into a bill and start discussions surrounding the issues. Because of this, politicians would need to address these issues, even if it is not a major part of their platform. 

            One example of this in President Trump’s address concerning the opioid epidemic. President Trump has not focused on the opioid epidemic too much in the past. But he dedicated a portion of his speech to work towards stopping the epidemic (Fox News). President Trump addressed this as well as other health concerns due to the pressures that interest groups and politicians have pushed. He wants to appeal to groups across the spectrum in order to gain more support. His positions on the opioid epidemic are not extreme, so voters across the spectrum could support him in this instance. It isn't a major factor that could drive people away. Interest groups would take more of an interest in what President Trump wants to do, so they could support him in his crusade against opioids. 

            So are interest groups the only reason why President Trump was so campaign-focused in various topics? It probably isn’t. There are many factors that go into why politicians talk about the issues they interact with. However, it is a lens that we can analyze his words and actions during his speech and try to interpret the intent behind them. 

Sources: 

Bawn, Kathleen, Martin Cohen, David Karol, Seth Masket, Hans Noel, and John Zaller. "A Theory of Political Parties: Groups, Party Demands and Nominations in American Politics." Perspectives on Politics vol. 10, no. 3. Sept 2012. Accessed February 20, 2020.

https://learningsuite.byu.edu/plugins/Upload/fileDownload.php?fileId=c8adbb4d-OQz4-Z2Lo-YxzN-L5060ce8ba9c.

Harris, John F. "The Strangest State of the Union Ever." Politico. February 5, 2020. Accessed February 20, 2020. https://www.politico.com/news/2020/02/05/trump-sotu-analysis-110803. 

Howell, Kellan. "National Border Patrol Council Endorses Donald Trump." Washington Times. March 30, 2016. Accessed February 20, 2020. https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/mar/30/national-border-patrol-council-endorses-donald-tru/. 
Trump, Donald. "State of the Union 2020: Read Trump's Complete Prepared Remarks." Fox News February 4, 2020. Accessed February 20, 2020.  https://www.foxnews.com/politics/state-of-the-union-2020-read-president-trumps-complete-prepared-remarks
Wagner, Meg. "State of the Union 2020: 4 Moments from Trump's State of the Union Speech." CNN. February 5, 2020. Accessed February 20, 2020. https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/state-of-the-union-2020/index.html.