President Obama Prepares To Give Final State Of The Union Speech

WASHINGTON (WJZ) -- President Barack Obama will address the nation Tuesday night in his seventh and final State of the Union address.

Marcus Washington has more on what's expected from Tuesday night's speech.

In his seventh and final State of the Union address, President Obama will talk to the American people about the nation's challenges and opportunities ahead.

"What's critical are the kinds of decisions we make now will have a significant impact on not just the next generation of Americans but future generations of Americans," said White House press secretary Josh Earnest.

"I don't think I've ever been more optimistic about a year ahead than I am right now," Obama said.

"I think the president needs to say what's going on that is positive," said Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger. "As an example, job growth. We have better job growth now than we've had in the last 10 years."

"I think he's going to create the argument for his legacy and I think that's a tall order," said Congressman Andy Harris.

The president is expected to highlight executive actions he plans to take to tackle gun violence without Congressional approval, but the White House says he'll also discuss issues where both parties can work together.

"We see that there is strong bipartisan support for criminal justice reform on Capitol Hill," Earnest said.

"Everyone should go back to listen to his press conference on gun control from a week ago. This is not a unifier," Harris said. "This is someone who's making it us against them."

"It's about stopping the problem. We cannot continue to have these incidents where people have these automatic weapons," Ruppersberger said. "No one's talking about taking away everyone's guns."

This year, President Obama has invited 23 guests to the House chamber to hear his speech, including a Syrian refugee and American hero. Twenty-three-year-old Spencer Stone and his two friends helped take down a heavily armed gunman on a Paris-bound train last year.

White House staffers called him last week during his commute to work.

"They called me right as I pulled into my parking spot and they told me I would be sitting in the First Lady's box and obviously I had a great day after that," Stone said.

The White House is also using social media to spread the president's message by posting a behind-the-scenes look at Tuesday night's event on Snapchat.

A chair in First Lady Michelle Obama's box will be left empty to honor victims of gun violence.

South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley will offer this year's Republican response.

You can see the State of the Union Tuesday night at 9 p.m. on WJZ.