Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution requires the President to give a report about the state of the union to Congress:
Which is why holding a MAGA rally is not a State of the Union. If that is what Trump decides to do, it just would be another one of his stupid rallies. He still would need to report to Congress about the State of the Union. If he does go that route, it would be nice if the networks ignored it, or at the very least didn't call it a "State of the Union." But I bet they will anyway.
Note: while the tradition is for a president to deliver a SOTU address each year, the Constitution only requires that it be delivered "from time to time." So if Trump doesn't give any SOTU in 2019, it wouldn't violate the Constitution.
[The President] shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.As I have mentioned a few times before, for most of U.S. history, the president delivered his annual report about the "State of the Union" as a letter to Congress. Since Woodrow Wilson the annual report has become a speech to a joint session of Congress. The Constitution doesn't specify how a president has to deliver the State of the Union report to Congress. But it is clear that whatever the President does, it has to be addressed to Congress.
Which is why holding a MAGA rally is not a State of the Union. If that is what Trump decides to do, it just would be another one of his stupid rallies. He still would need to report to Congress about the State of the Union. If he does go that route, it would be nice if the networks ignored it, or at the very least didn't call it a "State of the Union." But I bet they will anyway.
Note: while the tradition is for a president to deliver a SOTU address each year, the Constitution only requires that it be delivered "from time to time." So if Trump doesn't give any SOTU in 2019, it wouldn't violate the Constitution.
