Donald Trump is delivering his State of the Union address, amid sagging poll numbers, a recent Supreme Court rebuke of his tariffs and the threat of launching military action against Iran.
Seizing the opportunity to reach a primetime audience across networks, the president traditionally goes long in his speeches to joint sessions of Congress. Last year, he went for nearly one hour, 40 minutes. And while much of what gets said has a limited life in news cycles, Trump has turned these speeches into a bit of a spectacle, peppering them with reality show-like moments.
In 2020, he awarded Rush Limbaugh with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and announced that one girl in the gallery would be awarded a scholarship; this year, members of the gold medal winning U.S. Olympic hockey team are expected.
Here’s the latest on this year’s speech:
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Donald Trump Sets Record For Longest SOTU Address
Trump spoke for one hour and 47 minutes, easily shattering the record for the longest State of the Union address. The length even beat his speech to a joint session of Congress last year, which clocked in at nearly one hour, 40 minutes.
The speech followed many of Trump’s common talking points, along with insults at Democrats and blames of President Joe Biden. But it was different for the sheer number of military honors and salutes given to various figures in the chamber, as the president tried to wrap himself in the theme of American heroism on the nation’s 250th anniversary.
He’s given out the Presidential Medal of Freedom at previous SOTUs, but he turned up the volume this time around, relishing playing the role of award show emcee and rushing through the more carefully crafted rhetoric of the speech.
A number of the honors proved to be the emotional high points of the evening, particularly as he saluted the U.S. Olympic Men’s Hockey Team and when he honored figures like Royce Williams, a 100-year-old veteran, who received the Congressional Medal of Honor for his actions in the Korean War.
Trump Says U.S. “Obliterated” Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program, But “They Started It All Over Again”
Trump addressed the threat of new military action in Iran, as he said that, despite having “obliterated” the regime nuclear weapons program in strikes last year, it is being reconstituted.
“We wiped it out and they started it all over again,” Trump said.
He said that “my preference is to solve the problem by diplomacy,” but Iranian leaders have so far refused to say commit to never developing a nuclear weapon. He said that he would never allow the Iranian regime to produce one.
Trump’s comments are a contrast to the aftermath of the strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites last year, when he insisted that the program had been devastated.
POTUS Tries To Goad Democrats With Comment About Protecting American Citizens, “Not Illegal Aliens”
Donald Trump got some of the longest sustained applause of the night as he challenged the chamber to stand and “show your support” to his administration’s immigration policy.
“The American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens,” Trump said.
On the Republican side of the aisle, lawmakers cheered for several minutes. As the ovation died down, and Trump started to speak again, some Democrats heckled him.
“You have killed Americans,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (R-MN) shouted back at the president, joined by Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), in a reference to the ICE killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Tlaib later shouted about the Epstein files.
Other than Rep. Al Green (D-TX), who brandished a sign that read, “Black People Aren’t Apes,” Democrats refrained from brandishing those messages, as they did a year ago. Many Democratic members sat in silence, some reading from their cell phones, as Republicans on the other side of the aisle often stood up and cheered. They did stand for other moments of non-partisan interest, like the introduction of the U.S. men’s hockey team and the awarding of a Purple Heart.
Supreme Court Justices Show No Emotion As Trump Criticizes “Disappointing” Tariff Ruling
Members of the Supreme Court showed no emotion as Trump criticized the majority ruling against his authority to impose tariffs, delivering a blow to his economic agenda.
Trump called the ruling “disappointing” and “unfortunate involvement,” much more polite than his reaction on Friday, when he seethed and hurled insults at the justices and called the ruling a “disgrace.”
Some Democrats clapped in favor of the majority ruling, which found that he didn’t have the authority to impose across the board tariffs on country based on a 1977 law. Three members of the majority — Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Amy Coney Barrett and Justice Elena Kagan — were among four members of the Supreme Court present.
Trump vowed to impose tariffs under a different authority, telling the chamber, “They are a little more complex but they actually are probably better.” He also said that “congressional action will not be necessary.”
On the Democratic side of the aisle, lawmakers are not brandishing signs, other than Rep. Al Green (D-TX), who was ejected for brandishing one that read “Black People Aren’t Apes.” Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) left after Trump hurled an insult at former Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Trump Cheers On U.S. Men’s Olympic Hockey Team
Early on in Trump’s addresses, the chamber erupted in chants of “USA! USA!” as members of the gold-winning U.S. Men’s Olympic hockey team stood up from their spot above the rostrum.
“Here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud. The men’s gold medal Olympic hockey team,” Trump said. He also said goalie Connor Hellebuyck would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
It tied into Trump’s theme of the speech, which was one of his superlatives, while embracing the 250th anniversary of the United States and American exceptionalism.
He opened his speech by touting his accomplishment at the border, the one issue where some polls show he still have majority support.
“We have the strongest and most secure border in history, by far,” Trump said, noting that in the lats nine months, “zero illegal aliens” have been allowed in.
He said, “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.”
Sitting right in front of Trump were four members of the Supreme Court, including Chief Justice John Roberts and justices Elena Kagan, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh. Roberts, Kagan and Barrett were among the majority that voted against the president’s authority to impose tariffs, and the president responded by a series of insults.
Also in the chamber were Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who were among the lawmakers that Trump’s Justice Department attempted to criminally prosecute over a video they made reminding members of the military that they didn’t have to follow illegal orders. But a grand jury declined to bring the charges.
