What to listen for during President Trump's address to Congress

President Trump will speak to a joint session of Congress Tuesday where he is expected to talk about border security and the economy.

Some political experts say the economy is an area the President hasn't focused on enough over the last six weeks. This is despite his campaign promises to help Americans.

ABC11 spoke with Meredith College Professor David McLennan. He said we should listen to efforts related to Hurricane Helene relief and veteran affairs, along with government cuts and job losses.

McLennan says Trump needs to explain how those cuts will help the economy.

"Yes, government jobs are important because people are affected that they know," McLennan said. "But, for people who don't work in government and don't have relatives or work in government, it's: 'can I afford a roof over my head?' 'Can I put food on the table?' 'Is health care pricing going to get better?'"

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However, some Democratic leaders say the president won't be able to do so because they say these cuts will only hurt North Carolinians.

"You don't have a tax base when you don't have people that do not have a livelihood," Anderson Clayton with the North Carolina Democratic Party said, "and what this...administration is doing right now is costing a tax base, costing money flowing through local communities, costing small businesses' funding by having people lose their jobs...I think that the the thing that this administration has to address is the fact that you're not helping an economy by costing people their livelihood."

Democrats have chosen Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin to deliver the party's response to Trump's address.

President Trump's address to Congress can be watched at 9 p.m. on ABC11.