Q-and-A: Does Trump have to give State of Union speech? No.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Constitution spells it out clearly in Article II, Section 3: The president "shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."

But the modern State of the Union address — the pageantry, the televised address and the agenda-setting message — is a far more recent tradition that began in the late 18th century.