Trump needs to clearly set agenda in first address to Congress: experts

Police officers stand outside the US Capitol building ahead of a joint session of Congress in Washington, D.C., US, on Tuesday, Feb 28, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump is set to make his first speech to Congress on Tuesday night, and experts said he needs to clearly set an agenda.

The New York real estate tycoon has had one of the toughest months of any president in recent memory. Over the last month, Trump has seen more media coverage, much of which are negative, than perhaps any president in recent memory. For his part, Trump said the media were biased against him, and reported on the new White House in a dishonest way.

At the same time, Trump's critics note that while he has signed a number of executive orders - some of them controversial - he has not made an effort to work with Congress to push any significant legislation.

"Trump needs to explain what his top priorities are," Darrell West, vice president and director of governance studies of the Brookings Institution, told Xinhua, speaking of Trump's speech Tuesday night.

Trump has talked about many different issues, but it is not clear what he wants Congress to address first, West noted.

"Right now, the agenda fluctuates between Obamacare replacement, tax cuts, tax reform, and deregulation. The speech provides an opportunity to bring order to the current chaos and convey to the general public as well as members of Congress what his top priorities are," West said.

While Trump only took the helm of government a month ago, critics contend there has been little action on pushing his agenda.

"It is early in his administration, but there has been surprising inaction except for the executive orders he has issued. For a Congress that has Republican majorities in the House and Senate, there was an expectation of speedier action. The longer Trump is in office, the greater the risk that his popularity will decline and that will limit his ability to move legislation," West said.