A day after delivering a defiant State of the Union speech to the Republican-led U.S. Congress, President Barack Obama headed to the conservative heartland Wednesday to promote his plans for bolstering the middle class.

Obama left Washington for a two-day trip to Idaho and Kansas to push his message that the economy has recovered from years in the doldrums and everyone should stand to gain from that.

Republicans called for Obama to be more humble, given that they took control of both chambers of Congress this month after winning November's midterm elections handsomely.

One area where Obama might win support from Republicans is on trade.

While some conservative Republicans oppose giving Obama fast-track authority, the heaviest resistance might be from fellow Democrats who worry that trade deals could hurt American workers.

McCarthy said Republicans are also willing to work with Obama on tax reform.

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