Hitting the road

Hitting the road to sell the State of the Union: Where presidents have gone

Unlike his predecessors, Trump still hasn't said where he might head to amplify his message.

By AYANNA ALEXANDER

Where will he go?

That was the question early Wednesday, when President Donald Trump still hadn’t hinted where he might head to amplify his State of the Union message from the night before.

The president, who normally shares his every thought via social media, has been uncharacteristically mum about a post-speech tour — with the exception of a pre-planned speaking engagement on Thursday in West Virginia at congressional Republicans’ annual legislative planning conference.

Previous presidents have done multiple-day trips to promote initiatives and motivate voters. Even if Trump ends up continuing the pattern, he’ll do so without having mapped an agenda or a route days in advance, as Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama did. Here are a few places his two immediate predecessors went:

2002: Bush praises New York City’s finest, heads to Asia after “axis of evil” comment
Bush visited New York City firefighters and police officers in early February, praising them for their service during the terrorist attacks just months earlier.

“On the worst day this city has ever known, we saw some of the finest people New York has ever produced,” Bush said. “We mourn every loss. We remember every life. But they will not have died in vain.”

He then visited several cities in Asia, after introducing the world to the phrase “axis of evil” during his State of the Union address — labeling Iran, Iraq and North Korea as a terrorist threat in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.

2005: Bush talks Social Security in 60-day tour
Bush hit the trail for the two months following the first State of the Union of his second term. He set out to sell a plan for changing the Social Security system, but Democrats pushed back and voters didn’t respond favorably during the president’s tour. Congress shelved the project shortly after Hurricane Katrina hit, in August 2005.

2006: Bush remembers Coretta Scott King
In between multiple stops to discuss his American Competitiveness Initiative, the president and first lady traveled to Atlanta on Feb. 7 to honor the civil rights activist Coretta Scott King, the widow of Martin Luther King Jr. “We knew Mrs. King in all the seasons of her life — and there was grace and beauty in every season.”

2012: Obama wants all 4-year-olds in preschool
After praising teachers and calling for more school resources, Obama started his post-address tour in Georgia, advocating for all 4-year-olds to have access to preschool. “Education has to start at the earliest possible age,” Obama said.

He also ensured a “good bang for your buck,” as he highlighted a partnership between the federal government and states to share the cost for children in low-income and middle-income families to have access to preschool.

2016: Obama goes to Omaha and Baton Rouge
After his final State of the Union, Obama focused heavily on his health care policy agenda and its expansion in two cities he’d never visited before: Omaha, Nebraska, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Obama also highlighted the states for lowering their unemployment rates. Louisiana’s unemployment rate fell to roughly 6 percent, while Nebraska’s dropped to nearly 3 percent.