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President Donald Trump’s first proper State of the Union in his second term broke the record for the longest presidential speech to Congress, his own. At a whopping 108 minutes, Trump on Tuesday swung wildly between trying to reassure voters their gamble on his return to power was worth it and targeting the Democrats in the room with a series of sneers, taunts, and swipes. The whole night seemed driven by gimmicks more than a clear or coherent message, and was devoid of any new policy ideas that would be obvious wins for GOP lawmakers.
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Parts of the night seemed to heed Republican allies’ beseeching for him to talk about economic progress and promise. Others seemed to be straight-up trolling of his rivals. As a package, its main objective was maintaining Trump as the country’s central character in an election year when strategists anticipate many voters’ choices will be a referendum on Trump’s one-party control of Washington.
But Trump clearly knows he’s in political trouble. He dodged divisive pitfalls such as the bulldozed East Wing, the shootings of Americans at the hands of U.S. security forces, or the capricious slashing of the federal workforce. Even in criticizing Supreme Court Justices to their faces, the worst he could muster was to call a recent ruling against his tariff tiff “unfortunate.”
The moments of civility, though, were an exception in an almost two-hour speech that rehashed many of the Trump classics, including the gripe that he should be serving in his third term, not his second. There were also his discursive comments, such as his observation “the firemen don’t get mentioned enough” and “Space Force is my baby.” He praised First Lady Melania Trump as a “movie star.” He awarded a bunch of medals, but complained that he was told it is illegal to give himself such honors.
The top of the speech was exactly the type of speech his allies have been begging the White House to script for months amid Trump’s plummeting polling. He deployed the gold-medalist Olympic men’s hockey team as guests, filling the aisles between reporters in the balcony. In announcing them, Trump grew so loud that the audio feed spiked in a way that left his words garbled.
It was the most unifying moment of the night, and one of the most durable. But Trump does not share well, especially not on a night where he knows he commands the nation’s attention in a way he is unlikely to get again before November’s elections.
He quickly pivoted to talking points voters have heard from him for years. He promoted a resurrection of Christianity, decried trans rights, and bullied NATO allies. He accused Democrats of “destroying our country,” harboring immigrants who defraud government programs, and winning elections only through cheating.
He boasted about military deployments domestically to Democratic cities like Washington, D.C., Memphis, and New Orleans. “They don’t like to hear that,” Trump said, scowling at the Democrats’ side of the House Chamber.
“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” he snarled when Democrats sat in silence as Trump demanded they approve a spending package for the Department of Homeland Security.
And when he proposed a tough crime bill in response to the killing of a refugee in Charlotte, N.C., by an accused suspect with a long rap sheet and history of mental health challenges, he glared at the sea of sitting Democrats. “How do you not stand?”
It was the type of cultural trolling that Trump cannot shed, no matter how much he has been told it’s souring his brand. When Trump gave a similar speech to Congress last year, his approval rating stood at a career-high 48%, according to CNN’s polling. But he has lost ground with all major groups, and has a net positive view only with Republicans, conservatives, and white Americans without college degrees. He went to Capitol Hill with an approval of 36%, with 32% saying he has the right priorities and 38% saying he has the right policies.
Despite a year in which Trump is resetting the world order, he barely touched on foreign policy until late in his address. He initially downplayed the kidnapping of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and referred to the nation as “our new friend and partner.” But about 90 minutes later, he was praising the military operation that took the “outlaw dictator” from his home to a New York jail as “one of the most complex, spectacular feats of military competence and power in world history.”
It was similarly vague when Trump got to Iran, which he has been signaling is likely to be the next operation for a U.S.-led intervention. But Trump was circumspent on his end goal in potentially striking the Islamic Republican. While he listed Iran’s historical offenses, he did little to see Americans on why military action there would be good for them.
Sprinkled throughout the speech were the typical Trump whoppers. “The roaring economy is roaring like never before,” Trump claimed, despite the economy growing at roughly the same pace in 2025 as it did in 2024. “Inflation is plummeting,” Trump said, despite inflation being stuck higher than the target set by the Federal Reserve. Despite increases in wages, they’re being outpaced by the costs of goods and services. And he repeated his misleading claim of ending eight wars, including the one in Gaza.
Republicans predictably greeted Trump warmly, but it was certainly less robust than how Democrats greeted Biden at similar events. Even before the speech ended, there was a steady stream of Democrats heading toward the exits. And by the time Trump wrapped his stemwinder, Republicans were looking restless and more than a little tired—both because of the hour and because they know the march toward November will be a whole lot of this.
As Trump was finishing his speech, Democratic candidates in three more special elections won in Pennsylvania and Maine. Since Trump took office for the second time, Democrats have won or overperformed in 251 out of 281 contests.
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