Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., told Newsmax on Tuesday that President Donald Trump should use his State of the Union to highlight his border record and efforts to restore affordability, while acknowledging the speech could stretch well past the 100-minute mark of last year's joint address to Congress.
"The good news is President Trump is not boring," Johnson told "Ed Henry The Big Take."
"My preference: I'd like to keep it short but sweet. That's probably not going to happen."
Trump's 2025 address ran about 100 minutes and roughly 9,900 words. Johnson said length aside, the president should "take credit for the fact that he amazingly closed the border almost overnight."
"You know, [former President Joe] Biden and the Democrats kept lying. 'Well, we need Congress to act.' No, we didn't," he said.
"We just needed a new president. We got one. He closed the border."
Johnson said Trump should also remind Americans that he "inherited these enormous messes" from the Biden administration, pointing to "the wars around the world" and "the aftermath of 40-year highs in inflation, devaluation of the currency."
"That's not easy to do. It's a real challenge. It takes a little bit of time, but he is laser-focused on doing it," he said.
"He is focusing on making things more affordable. He's having a great deal of success. He needs to point that out."
Johnson also dismissed plans by some Democrat lawmakers to boycott or stage protests during the address.
"Well, again, he's getting no help whatsoever from Democrats. He just has resistance because they want to see him fail so they can win the election," he said.
"Their goal is to turn America into [a] one-party nation. That's their goal."
Johnson added that if some Democrats skip the speech, it could change the tone in the House chamber.
"From my standpoint, it's [a] pretty crowded chamber. If they don't show up, great, and they won't protest, they won't open up their mouths," he said.
"And it might be a little more respectful State of the Union, because there is a lot to celebrate."
Among those highlights, Johnson pointed to the gold medal-winning U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, who will be in attendance.
"What a display. That just makes you proud to be an American," he said.
"We had a bunch of heroes in the Olympics. It was fun to watch."
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