Five takeaways from Trump’s record-breaking State of the Union speech

Amid slipping approval ratings, President Donald Trump got a chance at the US Capitol to convince Americans that the state of the union is strong. In a record-breaking speech that lasted more than 1 hour and 48 mins, the president proclaimed he has ushered in a “golden age of America” while taunting Democrats in the chamber and blaming the country’s problems on them.

Here are the main takeaways from the speech:

‘Roaring’ economy vs the reality of public sentiment

Trump kicked off his speech in full sales mode, delivering an upbeat vision of the U.S. economy as he sees it. While much of the country is worried about rising costs, the president insisted that good times were here.

“The roaring economy is roaring like never before,” he said. He cheered the lower cost of gasoline, mortgage rates, prescription drug prices and the rising stock market: “Millions and millions of Americans are all gaining.”

Only 39% of U.S. adults approved of Trump’s handling of the economy in February, according to AP-NORC polling.

He boasted about his “great big, beautiful bill”, highlighting the tax breaks on tips and overtime and the deduction for seniors, which he incorrectly called “no tax on Social Security”. He celebrated the tax-advantaged “Trump accounts” for children.

On the Supreme Court’s ‘unfortunate’ decision

Trump was measured in his comments about the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down his tariffs, by simply calling the decision ‘unfortunate’. He indicated that he is treating the decision with indifference and insisted that tariff revenues were “saving” the U.S., ignoring the fact that the levies haven’t made a significant dent in government debt. He said the tariffs were paid by foreign countries even as virtually every study concludes that costs have been paid by U.S. firms and consumers.

“As time goes by, I believe the tariffs paid by foreign countries will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax, taking a great burden off the people that I love,” he said. However, federal income tax is authorized by the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, and the power to collect revenue is ultimately defined by Congress, not the president.

On immigration and ‘the strongest border in American history’

Trump took credit for his immigration crackdown, boasting that he had brought about “the strongest border in American history by far” and slashed illegal immigration. He did not mention the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by federal agents, but highlighted victims of violence and crimes committed by people who were in the U.S. illegally, with some of the victims’ family members seated in the audience.

Trump didn’t dwell on the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, except to blame it on Democrats. He said he is “demanding the full and immediate restoration of all funding for DHS” as negotiations continue with no end in sight.

I’m going to tell you something as a Trump biographer. I mean it seriously. You need to understand that Trump gets something close to sexual excitement from describing acts of violence. If you wonder why his SOTU speeches always include graphic violence, that’s why. It’s for him.

— Seth Abramson (@SethAbramson) February 25, 2026

Goading the Democrats

Trump repeatedly took shots at the Democrats and blamed them for the high costs. He slammed former President Joe Biden “and his corrupt partners in Congress and beyond” for inflation and the “green new scam” and accused them of backing “open borders for everyone.”

“The same people in this chamber who voted for those disasters suddenly use the word ‘affordability.’ A word – they just used it, somebody gave it to them,” a visibly frustrated Trump said. “You caused that problem,” he added, gesturing toward Democrats.

He pointed at Democrats and said, “These people are crazy,” prompting Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to stand up and applaud. He named former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., as he attacked lawmakers for profiting off public service — despite his own actions as president that helped boost his net worth by $3 billion in 2025, according to Forbes.

Vows action on election ‘cheating’

The president also attacked the integrity of U.S. elections. “Cheating is rampant in our elections,” Trump said. He has made these claims for years, focused on his 2020 election loss, claims rejected by dozens of courts and his own attorney general at the time.

The timing of these claims, less than nine months before voters across America are scheduled to decide control of Congress, is noteworthy. As was his suggestion that he would take action to address a problem that doesn’t appear to exist.

“They want to cheat. They have cheated, and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat,” Trump said of Democrats. “And we’re going to stop it. We have to stop it.”

Trump is calling on Congress to pass a bill requiring voters to show a photo ID before casting ballots. But he also recently vowed to enact an executive order to address the issue, although the White House has not clarified what it might entail.