Trump reportedly frustrated as he waits on envoys’ judgment over Iran strikes

Hello and welcome to the US politics live blog.

Donald Trump is reportedly becoming increasingly frustrated as he weighs up whether to strike Iran. The president has been told any attack would not be “a singular, decisive blow” and could risk drawing the United States into a protracted war in the Middle East.

Trump’s decision to order airstrikes against Iran will hinge in part on the judgment of Trump’s special envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, about whether Tehran is stalling over a deal to relinquish its capacity to produce nuclear weapons, according to people familiar with the matter.

However, Trump has grown increasingly frustrated with what aides describe as the limits of military leverage, CBS News reports.

He has asked his advisers for options that would deliver a strike substantial enough to force Iranian leaders negotiate from a weaker position – but military planners have warned that there can be no guarantee, according to reports.

The president has not made a final determination on any strikes, as the administration prepares for Iran to send its latest proposal this week, ahead of what officials have described as a last-ditch round of negotiations scheduled for Thursday in Geneva.

Read our latest report here:

In other developments:

Trump has declared that he can use tariffs in a “much more powerful and obnoxious way”, as the UK and the EU said they were seeking urgent clarity on the US trade deals they struck last summer. Trump threatened to escalate his global tariff war on Monday, after a supreme court ruling last week that he had overstepped his legal authority to impose his “liberation day” measures last year. More here.
The 21-year-old man who was shot and killed after having entered Trump’s Florida resort on Sunday – while carrying a shotgun – came from a North Carolina family of the president’s supporters and had reportedly become increasingly fixated on the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files. The focus of the FBI’s investigation into the intrusion attributed to Austin Tucker Martin is tightening on his movements and motives. More here.
The US military launched a strike on an alleged drug smuggling boat in the Caribbean, which killed three men – its third such attack over the course of a week. The Southern Command identified the three men killed as “male narco-terrorists” and clarified that no US military forces were harmed in the strike. More here.
Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader in the US House of Representatives, announced that he is inviting the family of Rev Jesse Jackson, the civil- and human-rights trailblazer who died last week, to the State of the Union address on Tuesday. Several other lawmakers have announced they’re inviting survivors of sexual assault by Jeffrey Epstein.

Key events

Trump’s State of the Union will focus on the 250th anniversary of US independence and affordability concerns, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said this morning on Fox and Friends.

“He is going to share the stories of great American heroes who exemplify bravery and the spirit of 1776,” she said.

He will lay out an “ambitious agenda” designed to make life more affordable for working class people, she said.

One of the president’s guests will be a Pennsylvania waitress who is benefitting from a no tax on tips or overtime policy. Other guests will include members of the military, and first lady Melania Trump will have guests with her as part of her “fostering the future” initiative.

“There will be some tear-jerking moments, as there was last year, in addition to some moments of levity,” Leavitt said.

Just 32% of Americans believe Trump has the right priorities, CNN poll finds

A new CNN poll shows Trump’s approval falling ahead of his State of the Union address.

The poll, conducted by polling firm SSRS, showed his approval among independents at a new low among CNN’s polls, at 26%, the outlet reported.

Among the findings: only 32% of Americans believe Trump has the right priorities, his job approval rating among all adults was 36%, and 61% said his policies are moving the country in the wrong direction.

The outlet noted a steep drop in approval among Latino Americans, at a 19-point drop, and Americans under age 45, with an 18-point drop.

Respondents said they want Trump to talk about the economy and cost of living during the State of the Union, the issue that far outpaced other topics they were asked about.

Who is Abigail Spanberger: the centrist Democrat responding to Trump’s speech

Joseph Gedeon

Abigail Spanberger, the Democratic governor of Virginia, will deliver the Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union tonight. Alex Padilla, a Democratic senator from California, will deliver a response in Spanish.

Spanberger, seen as a moderate, won the governorship last year by 15 points, flipping the office from a Republican, Glenn Youngkin, back to Democrats.

Since taking office, she followed through on a campaign promise to end Virginia law enforcement’s cooperation agreements with ICE and has backed the idea of redrawing congressional maps ahead of the midterms.

She’s leading a state where Democrats now hold the governor’s office, state senate and state house of delegates – providing a way for Democrats to tell voters what they can do when they have control.

Pennsylvania democrat Summer Lee, a progressive, is delivering the Working Families party response.

Read more about Spanberger ahead of her big moment:

During his State of the Union address tonight, Trump is expected to defend his record during his first year back in office. And he’s planning for a lengthy rehashing: “It’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about,” Trump said.

Democrats are either attending in “silent defiance” or skipping the event, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said. Some are using their choice of guests to send a message, including by bringing survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse or people affected by immigration enforcement.

Ruben Gallego, a Democratic senator from Arizona, is one of the Democrats who will be skipping the event, saying, “I have more productive ways to spend two hours than listening to more lies.”

Gallego and other Democrats are expected to attend a separate event organized by the progressive media outlet MeidasTouch and liberal group MoveOn.

Read more about what to expect for the State of the Union here:

Donald Trump will deliver the State of the Union in Washington on Tuesday, his second major address to Congress this term and the last before the 2026 midterms.

It’s also the first time Trump will be confronted with the supreme court justices since they ruled his tariffs illegal.

Historically, the State of the Union is an opportunity for the president to lay out their agenda and talk about key policy objectives.

While it’s not officially a campaign event, it’s likely Trump will use the speech as an opportunity to tout his accomplishments.

Here’s what to know and how to watch Trump’s State of the Union:

USS Gerald Ford, world’s largest aircraft carrier, at US base on Crete

The USS Gerald R Ford, the world’s largest aircraft carrier, has reached the US naval base of Souda Bay on Crete, en route to joining a massive military build-up in the Middle East.

President Donald Trump – who ordered strikes on Iran last year – has repeatedly threatened Tehran with fresh military action if it does not cut a new deal on its contentious nuclear programme, which the West fears is aimed at building an atomic weapon.

The Ford reached the Greek island on Monday, according to an AFP photographer.