In Trump’s nonstop presidency, the State of the Union feels...

Those realities are among the reasons why Tuesday night’s State of the Union address might be among the most irrelevant in modern American history. That’s not because the presidency has become smaller. Quite the opposite. Donald Trump’s second term has been defined by an expansive use of executive authority and a constant stream of decisions that reshape government without waiting for Congress. So the traditional purpose of the speech (to set an agenda, command attention, and define the political moment) feels beside the point when the agenda is already underway, the attention is already saturated, and the political moment rarely pauses long enough for one speech to define it. Start with the most basic function of the State of the Union: the ask. Most presidents walk into the House chamber with a legislative goal. Ronald Reagan pressed Congress to overhaul the tax code. Bill Clinton made welfare reform a centerpiece. George W. Bush used the platform to push Social Security changes. Barack Obama built momentum for the Affordable Care Act. Joe Biden used the moment to pressure lawmakers on infrastructure. These speeches were the opening argument in a negotiation. Trump, by contrast, has largely sidestepped Congress. Through executive orders, regulatory changes, and administrative action, he has already done most of what he intends to do. He already got tax legislation last year that he needed Congress for, and there is no sweeping bill he needs to sell to the country. So, he isn’t coming to ask. He’s coming to talk. That distinction drains the speech of its traditional consequence. Even presidents without a legislative path, those in their final year, or constrained by divided government, have used the moment to shape their legacy. They frame their accomplishments. They define their place in history. They use the large television audience to tell Americans what it all meant. Trump doesn’t even seem especially interested in doing that, and it’s too early for it anyway. Last year’s address at least carried an element of discovery. Americans wanted to know what he meant with DOGE, how far he would push tariffs, how aggressively he would use executive power to reshape the economy, and how disruptive he intended to be in his second term. Now they know. There is less mystery. Less suspense. Less reason to tune in, hoping for a big moment. It also doesn’t help that in this presidency, every day already feels like a State of the Union. There was a time when the speech stood apart from the daily churn of news. It was a singular moment when the president could reset the conversation. Now it is just one more entry in an endless stream of announcements, grievances, and declarations. Even a major address struggles to break through. Trump himself hinted at that dynamic this week. “It’s going to be a long speech,” he said Monday morning. “Because we have a lot to talk about.” But length is not the same thing as impact. In fact, the longer the speech, the more likely it is to reinforce what people already believe rather than change minds or build momentum. That challenge is compounded by the reality that this is Trump’s second term. In his first, there was an unpredictability that made even scripted moments feel consequential. He might pivot. He might surprise. Now there is familiarity. Trump’s rallies often revisit the same grievances. He promised to focus on affordability, but that issue has rarely dominated his public remarks. The speeches meander. The news value is limited. If you didn’t watch, you usually didn’t miss anything. There is little reason to think this speech will be different. Though in past State of the Union addresses, Trump has been more disciplined at sticking to the script. And then there is the audience itself. For much of the 20th century, the State of the Union was unavoidable. Television networks suspended regular programming. Watching it was the default. Now, it is a choice. Americans must actively decide to tune in. Otherwise, their televisions will continue streaming shows uninterrupted. Their phones will continue feeding them everything else. The speech must compete for attention. More often than not, it loses. Still, there are specific things worth watching for. Trump enters the address with some of the weakest approval ratings of his presidency. A pair of polls showed him at under 40 percent, and his standing among independent voters is now lower than it was in the aftermath of the January 6th attack on the Capitol. A recent CNN poll found 68 percent of Americans believe he is focused on the wrong priorities. That doesn’t mean there won’t be some news. The Department of Homeland Security is currently shut down amid a political standoff, and the speech could be a venue for Trump to announce a deal or escalate the confrontation. Foreign policy remains another open question. Trump could clarify his intentions toward Iran, including whether he would seek congressional authorization for military action. He could address concerns about immigration enforcement. Trump could ask Congress for help in approving tariffs, as the Supreme Court told him last week he needed to do. But there doesn’t seem to be any real energy behind that notion. The truth is that few State of the Union speeches are remembered even a day later. Their influence is often overstated in the moment and forgotten almost immediately. This one may not even last that long. James Pindell is a Globe political reporter who reports and analyzes American politics, especially in New England.