Updated February 24, 2026 at 11:41 PM CST
President Trump opened his State of the Union by putting his presidency in grand historic terms — acknowledging the nation's 250th anniversary while also declaring the "golden age of America."
"Tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before, and a turnaround for the ages," he said. "We will never go back to where we were just a short time ago."
Americans may see that as a celebration or a threat, depending on their party. Trump's speech came as the public is intensely divided, and as his net approval rating has continued to fall. With midterms approaching, Trump faced the task of outlining an agenda that Americans — and narrow Republican majorities in Congress — could get behind. The challenge is all the more pressing, as the president's party tends to lose seats in midterm elections.
While Trump did outline some future policy objectives, the speech was also a mix of Trump touting his first-year record, slamming Democrats, and creating made-for-TV moments like when he reunited a woman with her Venezuelan uncle who had been kidnapped by Nicolas Maduro's government, or when he opened the evening by welcoming the gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic men's hockey team. It ended up being the longest State of the Union ever, at more than one hour, 45 minutes.
All about the economy
Trump spent a substantial portion of his speech talking about the economy. That included defending the many tariffs he imposed over the last year, despite the Supreme Court ruling last week that found a swath of those import taxes to be unconstitutional. He repeated his vow to impose replacement tariffs, authorized under different laws from those the Supreme Court struck down.
"As time goes by, I believe the tariffs paid for by foreign countries will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern day system of income tax, taking a great financial burden off the people that I love," he said.
This isn't the first time Trump has said tariffs could replace income taxes. Experts have repeatedly disputed that this is either possible or advisable.
Trump has promised these new tariffs while he has also been mocking Democrats for their focus on affordability and instead making the case that he can ease the cost of living. Studies show that Trump's tariffs have increased prices for businesses and consumers, and a majority of Americans disapprove of his tariff increases, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll.
Trump also touted the tax cuts Republicans passed last year in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, but not without attacking Democrats for opposing them.
"All Democrats, every single one of them voted against these really important and very necessary massive tax cuts," he said.
While Trump spent much of his speech celebrating his first year in office, he also announced policies he wants to put into place, including "ratepayer protection pledges." These would require tech companies building new data centers, which use massive amounts of energy, to pay more for electricity to mitigate price spikes for the communities where those centers are built.
He also said he wants to create retirement accounts for people without access to retirement plans with matching employer contributions. The government, he added, would match up to $1,000 per year in these accounts.
Trump sees immigration enforcement as a win, too
Trump also leaned into the issue of immigration, which propelled him to two presidential wins. Among Trump's guests were the mother of a young woman killed by a person who was in the country illegally, as well as a young girl who was injured in a car accident involving someone in the country illegally.
At one point, Trump asked attendees to stand if they agreed with the statement: "The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens." When Democrats did not stand, Trump angrily and repeatedly told them, "You should be ashamed of yourself."
The moment led to some of Trump's most inflammatory and divisive language of the night as Trump castigated Democrats.
"These people are crazy. I'm telling you, they're crazy," he added. "We're lucky we have a country with people like this. Democrats are destroying our country, but we've stopped it just in the nick of time, didn't we?"
While immigration was once a strength for Trump, his approval on the topic has turned negative amid his mass deportations and the deployment of federal agents to Minneapolis. In January, agents killed two American citizens.
Foreign policy focus
Late in his speech, Trump turned to foreign policy, focusing on two main topics: the first was celebrating the freeing of Israeli hostages by Hamas, which his administration had pushed for. The second was Iran, where a U.S. military buildup has the world wondering what his next moves are.
Trump provided little new to answer that question. He said that after the U.S. attacked Iran nuclear facilities last year, Iran is still "pursuing their sinister ambitions."
"My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon," he said. "Can't let that happen. And no nation should ever doubt America's resolve."
Democrats respond
In the Democratic rebuttal, Virginia Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger emphasized topics Trump did not bring up, including the Epstein files, federal agents sending children to detention centers, Trump's White House ballroom project, and the DOGE mass firings of government employees.
But she paid special attention to the cost of living, a topic that helped carry her and other Democrats to election wins in November. She criticized Trump's tax and tariff policies and praised new candidates running this year: "Those who are stepping up now to run will win in November, because Americans, you at home, know you can demand more and that we are working to lower costs."
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