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In Brief:
- Trump spoke on foreign policy, the cost of living, tariffs, and immigration.
- His speech received rapturous applause from his Republican supporters while Democrats branded him a “liar” and a “racist”.
“Our nation is back. Bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before.”
With these words, President Donald Trump kicked off his first official State of the Union address of his second term, delivering a live speech to the 119th Congress in Washington, D.C. The address highlighted what Trump described as a “golden age” for the United States under his leadership.
In a speech lasting one hour and 47 minutes, the 79-year-old president emphasized the accomplishments of his administration, particularly in areas such as the cost of living, tariffs, Iran, and immigration. Trump aimed to project an image of progress and prosperity at a time when many American voters express concern over the direction of the country.
The address, however, was not without controversy. A significant boycott was staged by 70 Democratic representatives, marking the largest walk-out in history for such an event. Among the absent was senior Democratic representative Adam Schiff, who remarked, “We have never had a president violate the constitution every day with seeming impunity.”
In attendance were notable figures such as Vice President JD Vance, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and members of Trump’s family. The audience also included more than a dozen accusers of Jeffrey Epstein and Claire Lai, daughter of the jailed Hong Kong democracy advocate Jimmy Lai.
A moment of poignant recognition occurred when Erika Kirk, widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, was greeted with a standing ovation and chants of her late husband’s name from Republicans, underscoring the emotional and political dynamics of the evening.
Former Venezuelan presidential candidate Enrique Márquez was given similar treatment as he was reunited with his niece in a surprise appearance following his release from prison.
“I’m pleased to inform you that not only has your uncle been released,” Trump told his niece Alejandra Gonzalez, “but he is here tonight”.
Here are some of the big takeaways from Trump’s record-breaking 2026 State of the Union speech.
America first
“Our country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it,” Trump said.
Riffing on a famous campaign statement, he claimed to have delivered on his promise to make Americans “sick of winning”.
As anticipated, much of his speech was dedicated to arguing that American voters were reaping the rewards of his administration’s policies. The State of the Union is a key opportunity for the president to sell his message to the American people on the national stage.
“A short time ago, we were a dead country. Now, we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world. The hottest,” Trump boasted.
He credited trade deals brokered with other nations, the securing of the southern border with Mexico, and the stemming of the flow of the drug fentanyl into the country as the source of his success, much to the approval of Republicans in Congress who cheered throughout Trump’s speech.
“We ended DEI in America,” referring to diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, received particular applause.
Tariff talk
The president addressed the significant legal setback he suffered on Friday by describing the US Supreme Court’s ruling against his tariffs as “disappointing”.
“Tariffs took in hundreds of millions of dollars,” Trump said about the economic policy paid for by US importers. “Countries that were ripping us off for decades are now paying us hundreds of millions of dollars.”
In its ruling last week, the Supreme Court found that the president did not have the authority to impose his sweeping tariff agenda. At the time, an irate Trump responded by describing some of his own justices as “fools” and “lapdogs” and suggested they had been swayed by foreign influence.
Vowing to pursue the policy through other means, a 15 per cent global tariff under a separate legal authority has been implemented. That will last for up to five months but requires congressional approval to be extended.
“Despite the disappointing ruling … It will remain in place under alternative legal statutes,” Trump said.
Cost of living
Cost of living is the topic that most voters in the US wanted Trump to discuss, polling showed ahead of the speech, and the Republican Party is hoping to burnish its credentials on the subject ahead of the November midterms.
Trump claimed that inflation, mortgages, and the cost of gas were plummeting while wages and the employment rate were soaring.
“The price of eggs is down 60 per cent… The cost of chicken, automobiles, rent is lower than when I took office, by a lot,” he said.
Inflation has come down from the 3 per cent it stood at when Trump took office. But the current CPI rate of 2.5 per cent is still above the US federal reserve’s target rate of 2 per cent.
While wage growth did begin to outpace inflation in January, the increases have not been equally distributed across the labour force.
The cost of pharmaceuticals in the US is one area Trump highlighted. He said his administration will pass much-touted “most favoured nation” legislation to end the “wildly inflated cost of prescription drugs”.
The president also took the opportunity to attack his political rivals over the cost of living, arguing that the Democrats had “caused and created the increased prices”.
“You caused that problem. You caused that problem”, the president said, pointedly staring at Democratic members.
A warning to Iran
Speculation over the US and Iran has been swirling in recent weeks as American military forces amassed in the Middle East. While Trump did not say the US would back down, he also did not announce any imminent military action.
“They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States,” he said.
Trump has threatened the regime’s leaders with military action unless they “make a deal” and told those protesting in Iran that “help is on its way”. The regime is reported to have killed several thousand anti-government protesters in waves of uprising that have swept the country since December.
The US conducted military strikes on Iran in June last year and claimed to have “totally obliterated” Iranian nuclear enrichment capabilities. Iran downplayed the damage and the impact.
Trump now claims the country is rebuilding its arsenal and said he would ensure they are denied nuclear capabilities.
“They’re starting it all over. We wiped it out and they want to start all over again and are, this moment, again, pursuing their sinister ambitions,” Trump said.
“We are in negotiations with them. But we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon’”, Trump said.
“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.”
Latin America
American foreign policy in Central and South America was upended at the start of the year when the US undertook a military operation to capture the national leader of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro.
Trump said that after the kidnapping of Maduro, foreign leaders had called him to remark that it was “very impressive”.
Several heads of state across the world expressed their shock and condemnation of the action, which many said violated international law.
Having never made any secret of the fact that securing Venezuela’s vast oil reserves was a key strategic objective, Trump celebrated the fact that “our new friend and partner” had given the country access to “more than 80 million barrels of oil”.
In his speech, Trump underlined his commitment to the Monroe Doctrine, which forbids European intervention in the Americas, and highlighted a robust new approach to international relations.
“We’re also restoring American security and dominance in the western hemisphere, acting to secure our national interests and defend our country from violence, drugs, terrorism and foreign interference,” he said.
Trump added that his stated objective of halting drug trafficking into the United States, particularly the flow of fentanyl, would continue as he worked to stop “murderous drug cartels”.
He also claimed credit for the death of Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, the leader of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel, who was killed in a military operation conducted by Mexican forces on Sunday.
“We’ve also taken down one of the most sinister cartel kingpins of all — you saw that yesterday,” Trump said.
Controversy and confrontation
It wouldn’t be a Trump speech without a few controversial moments.
The first of these came as Texas Democratic representative Al Green was escorted from Congress for displaying a sign reading “Black people aren’t apes”.
The protest was a reference to a video shared by Trump’s social media account in January featuring a short clip of Barack and Michelle Obama depicted as apes. The White House initially defended the post before deleting it 12 hours later.
Trump later suggested that his current presidential term “should be [his] third”, once again inferring that he intends to run once more — illegally — for executive office. The White House has sold ‘Trump 2028’ hats since he took office last year.
In a fiery exchange, Trump doubled down on previous claims that Somali migrants are defrauding the American government. Local community leaders as well as the governor of the state and the mayor of its capital have all denied the allegations that were made late last year.
“There’s been no more stunning example than Minnesota, where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated US$19 billion from the American taxpayer,” Trump said, without providing evidence.
He then pinned the Democrats on the subject of immigration by asking those in the house who thought that “the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens” to stand. The Democrats did not, while Republicans took to their feet and clapped for an extended period. Trump berated those who sat in their seats.
“You should be ashamed of yourself, not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourself,” he said.
The comments drew the ire of Minnesota and Michigan representatives Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib — both Democrats — who heckled the president while he spoke.
“You have killed Americans!” Omar shouted repeatedly. Tlaib, who wore a badge reading “F— ICE”, called him “the most corrupt president”.
Trump pivoted to transgender issues and introduced Sage Blair, who he claimed had been forcibly “transitioned” by school officials in Virginia as a 14-year-old, against the will of her parents.
“Surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against their parents’ will”, Trump said. “We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately.”
Democrats again refused to stand for the comments as Republicans cheered.
“Amazing. Boy oh, boy, we’re lucky we have a country with people like this,” Trump said, admonishing his opposition. “Democrats are destroying our country, but we stopped it just in the nick of time, didn’t we?”
Separately, Trump claimed once again to have ended eight wars and said he was working to end “his ninth”, the war between Russia and Ukraine. The claim is heavily contested.
Finally, in a bizarre moment, Trump presented two Congressional medals of honour to two military service members before wondering aloud whether he would ever get one.
“I’ve always wanted the Congressional medal of honour, but I was informed I’m not allowed to give it myself,” Trump said. “I don’t know why I’d be taking it. But if they ever open up that law, I will be there with you someday.”
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