President Donald Trump should use his upcoming State of the Union address to focus on tax relief, border security, and national strength, as Americans are beginning to see economic improvements under his administration, Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, told Newsmax on Tuesday.
"I would love to hear the president speak more about his economic agenda and how our hardworking families all across the United States will be seeing the largest tax cut in history," Ernst said on "Wake Up America."
Ernst contrasted Trump's record with that of former President Joe Biden, pointing to inflation and trade policy.
"My Iowans back home, of course, have lower gas prices. They are at half the price they were under the Biden administration," she said.
"And when you look at trade policy around the globe — after zero new trade deals under President Joe Biden — we now, under President Trump, have the lowest trade deficit that we have seen as a nation since 2009," Ernst added.
Ernst said Trump is also expected to address border security and national defense.
"We also expect to hear him talk a lot about how our nation is safer with secured borders," she said.
"And of course, our nation is much stronger. How we have gone after our adversaries like Iran with their nuclear ambitions."
Looking ahead to the midterm elections, Ernst said Republicans should keep their message centered on economic relief and affordability.
Ernst pointed to what she dubbed the "hardworking taxpayers act" passed last year and said Americans will increasingly see its impact.
"As soon as they start to see their tax returns, they will say, 'Wow, this president and the Republicans have done a wonderful job in returning our own tax dollars to our pockets,'" she said.
She added that lower energy costs are especially important in rural states like Iowa.
"In Iowa, we don't have the same level of mass transit systems that you will find on the East or West Coast. Iowans have to drive to work."
"They have to drive to bring in their income," Ernst said. "Having those lower gas prices is a huge deal."
Ernst also discussed her decision to host Ariana Howard, the widow of Staff Sgt. Nate Howard, an Iowa National Guardsman killed in Syria last December, as her guest at the address.
"This is such an honor for me, and I'm truly humbled to be able to host the wife of Sergeant Nate Howard, Ariana Howard," Ernst said. "The families will feel this hole in their heart for a very long time, but it is important for us to say their name, to remember those sacrifices."
She said it is meaningful for the president to publicly acknowledge service members and their families.
"To have the president standing there in front of our nation and saying thank you to those servicemen for their sacrifice is extremely important," Ernst said. "We are safer — we're a stronger nation — because of that sacrifice."
Ernst, a combat veteran whose daughter serves in the military, said the sacrifices of service members and their families can never be fully repaid.
"For those individuals who have given that ultimate sacrifice, we can never repay them," she said. "But again, we are safer, we're a stronger nation because of that sacrifice."
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