Is There A State Of The Union Address In 2017? Donald Trump Will Likely Address Congress Before Giving First SOTU Next Year

You may feel like a lifetime has passed since the last State of the Union address, but in truth it was only a year ago that President Barack Obama took the lectern to urge against partisan politics. Obama's final State of the Union — an annual speech the president gives to a joint session of Congress — took place Jan. 12, 2016 as fierce primary contests unfolded in both major parties.

A year later, we have a victor for the entire election: Republican Donald Trump, who will take office Friday. But will he give this year's State of the Union speech? Or does that fall to Obama?

The answer is (probably) neither.

Obama's 2016 State of the Union address was his last, as the White House website advertised at the time. And if Trump keeps with tradition, he won't give a formal State of the Union speech until next year.

The Constitution requires only that presidents "from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union." Because of the inauguration and the effort involved in transitioning from one administration to another, the five most recent presidents have foregone State of the Union addresses during the first year of their terms. Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Obama all sent messages to Congress in the first few months of their presidencies, but they weren't technically State of the Union speeches, according to the American Presidency Project.

Trump, who said Obama's 2016 speech was "really boring, slow, lethargic," may do the same.

However, given how unpredictable American politics has proven to be lately, it's possible Obama could also give a last-minute State of the Union. Although he's already had his farewell address, Obama could follow a precedent set by Jimmy Carter and shoot off a final, written speech to Congress, according to PBS. Carter sent his final State of the Union four days before Reagan's inauguration.

In any case, satirists have been imagining and poking fun at Trump's first State of the Union for months. Peter Friedman, of the Huffington Post, suggested Trump would start tweeting during his State of the Union. Jay Bookman, of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, joked that Trump could start off his speech by criticizing the "rundown" Capitol building, and Bob Barr, of Townhall, said Trump would invoke his famous "you're fired" catchphrase.

Only time will tell who's right.