Facing an American electorate that polls show has soured on his agenda, President Trump delivered a State of the Union address centered on how his policies have turned the economy around from the edge of disaster, ended rampant illegal immigration, slowed inflation and reduced crime.
“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. We will never go back to where we were just a short time ago. We’re not going back,” Mr. Trump said, prompting a round of “USA” chanting in the chamber.
The president had a long list to brag about, and it filled out a marathon speech of an hour and 49 minutes.
He touted the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which for the first time has eliminated taxes on some tips, overtime pay and Social Security income for seniors.
Mr. Trump promoted having wrangled reductions in “the wildly inflated cost” of many drugs covered under Medicare and Medicaid.
His No. 1 achievement, by far, has been curbing illegal immigration. In his speech, he touted the most secure border in American history.
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“In the past nine months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States,” he said. “The flow of deadly fentanyl across our border is down by a record 56% in one year.”
Mr. Trump’s bullish report on the state of the nation defied new polling that shows his approval rating underwater among Democrats and independents, and that Americans overall don’t like how he has handled the economy, foreign policy and immigration in his first year in office.
Mr. Trump provided statistics showing his economic policies are working. In fact, the president called it “a stunning economic turnaround” since he took office.
Gasoline prices have dropped significantly, thanks in part to his energy policies promoting fossil fuels, the stock market is setting record highs and mortgage rates are starting to decline as the rate of inflation has slowed.
Despite persistently high prices at the grocery store, inflation has stopped soaring following the end of record spending during the COVID-19 pandemic that pumped trillions of dollars into the economy, driving up costs.
“The Biden administration and its allies in Congress gave us the worst inflation in the history of our country. But in 12 months, my administration has driven core inflation down to the lowest level in more than five years, and in the last three months of 2025 it was down to 1.7% ”
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Mr. Trump used the speech to push back on Democrats who have blamed him for not addressing affordability, a theme they are now running on as they head into the critical midterm elections.
He blamed Democrats for inflation that skyrocketed under spending they passed without Republican support and that former President Joseph R. Biden signed into law.
“You caused that problem,” he said, looking toward Democrats in the chamber. Mr. Trump said he’s curbed inflation and, through his policies, prices “are plummeting down.”
The president used Tuesday’s speech to announce a new policy aimed at cutting energy prices, or at least staving off increases caused by the advancement of artificial intelligence. The president said he’ll require Big Tech companies to build their own power plants to run data centers.
The move reflects increasing public anger over power-hungry AI data centers that are raising their electric bills.
“They can build their own power plants as part of their factory so that no one’s prices will go up and in many cases, prices of electricity will go down for the community, and very substantially down.”
Mr. Trump also announced a “war on fraud,” to be led by Vice President J.D. Vance, that will tackle decades of abuse of public safety net funds in Minnesota and elsewhere.
His speech addressed ongoing tensions in the Middle East, where the Pentagon has deployed an increasing number of military assets to the region as talks with Iran over its nuclear program have stalled.
Mr. Trump said Iran has not assured the United States it will never build a nuclear weapon.
“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. Can’t let that happen,” he said.
Mr. Trump delivered the speech amid a stalled Department of Homeland Security funding bill that Democrats are blocking in an effort to get the president to halt the department’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on illegal immigrants.
Mr. Trump called out Democrats on the issue and received one of the longest standing ovations of the speech:
“One of the great things about the State of the Union is how it gives Americans the chance to see clearly what their representatives really believe. So tonight, I’m inviting every legislature to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
His comments, and the clapping, prompted Rep. Ilhan Omar, Minnesota Democrat, to repeatedly shout, “You have killed Americans,” to which he responded, “You should be ashamed.”
He also called Democrats “crazy” after they scowled at his pronouncement that children should not be receiving medical treatments to change their gender.
An unprecedented number of Democrats skipped the speech. In social media videos, some explained they’d rather scratch their own eyes out than sit and listen to the president boast about his achievements.
More than 70 Democrats skipped Mr. Trump’s speech and many attended the “People’s State of the Union” rally on the National Mall, sponsored by left-wing groups.
“I will be hearing from the people of my district about their personal experiences with skyrocketing costs, new barriers to health care, dismantled Social Security services, and brutal cuts to medical research,” said House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, Massachusetts Democrat.
Four of the Supreme Court Justices did not skip out on the speech. They sat in the audience just days after the court struck down the president’s authority to implement many of the tariffs that have become the center of his economic policy.
Mr. Trump called it “a very unfortunate ruling,” but signaled he is in no way giving up on tariffs.
He said current trade deals negotiated under the tariffs are poised to remain in place and he’ll keep imposing the duties using authorities outside of the Supreme Court ruling.
The invited guests to the annual address have turned into their own sideshow and this year was no exception.
Mr. Trump invited the entire U.S. hockey team, who prevailed over Canada and won the gold on Sunday in Milan, Italy. The women’s team, also gold medal winners, declined the same invite.
The men’s team, wearing their gold medals, streamed into the viewing gallery above the chamber at the beginning of the speech, prompting an extended standing ovation from those seated in the chamber, and chants of “U.S.A.”
Mr. Trump announced he would be awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom to goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who blocked 41 shots to secure a 2-1 overtime win against Canada.
Mr. Trump introduced 5-year-old Dalilah Coleman, who was critically injured in a multicar crash caused by a commercial truck driver who was in the U.S. illegally. Mr. Trump called on Congress to pass Dalilah’s Law, a bill prohibiting states from providing commercial driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.
Mr. Trump’s guest list also included Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA founder and conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, and the parents of National Guard member Sarah Beckstrom, who was fatally shot by a terrorist while patrolling Washington, D.C., on the day before Thanksgiving.
Among the president’s additional guests was a homeschooling mom and waitress, a woman navigating in vitro fertilization, and a young woman who school officials tried to secretly transition into a male when she was just 14 years old.
Mr. Trump introduced the chamber to national heroes, among them 99-year-old World War II veteran George “Buddy” Taggart, who fought in the Battle of Manila and liberated the largest internment camp in the Philippines.
And he introduced the mother of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee stabbed to death in August as she sat on a light-rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina. The suspect had a long criminal record, yet was not behind bars.
“She had escaped a brutal war only to be slain by a hardened criminal set free to kill in America.” He called on Congress to pass a law to keep violent repeat offenders behind bars.
Mr. Trump looked toward the Democrats, who did not participate in the standing ovation for Zarutska’s mother, and asked them, “How do you not stand?”
• Kerry Picket contributed to this report.
