02/25/2026

 

Samuel Clifford

 

President Donald Trump gave his first official State of the Union Address for his second term on February 24, 2026 at 9 pm EST. I watched the entire address and here is my summary: Donald Trump did deliver an address to Congress in 2025, but it was not officially classified as a State of the Union. It was treated as an “Address to a Joint Session of Congress” on March 4, 2025. Republicans were numerous in the chamber, both representatives, justices, and senators. The First Lady and Barron Trump were also in attendance as well as the secretaries of Donald Trump’s Administration and Vice President. 

 

Trump began by discussing the 250th year anniversary of the United States that will happen on July 4th, 2026. Trump stated the nation was in crisis 12 months ago when he first took office and there was global chaos but after just one year there has been a great transformation and turnaround. He stated that the U.S border is secured and the economy is roaring as inflation is decreasing and income is rising. He stated that 0 illegal aliens have entered the U.S. in the last 9 months. He discussed the decrease in crime in the United States and the 125 year-low rate of murders in the U.S. 

 

He remarked that core inflation is down to the lowest level in five years and that gasoline has fallen below $2.30 in many states. He addressed housing problems by stating that low interest rates will help citizens own homes. He states that there have been 18 million dollars in global investments into the United States in just one year. He argues that thousands of new businesses and factories are being created and 70,000 new construction jobs have been added. American natural gas production is also at an all-time high due to his “drill baby drill” policy. He states that 100% of all the jobs his administration has created has been in the private sector and that they ended DEI in America. He summarizes this first part by stating that the “state of our union is strong.” 

 

He also claimed that the U.S is always winning and has been winning and then spoke of the United States Men’s Hockey Team that won the gold medal in the Olympics. He also said the Women’s team which also won would soon be coming to the White House. They initially declined the invitation to the State of the Union citing academic priorities and other prior commitments. He also spoke of the coming Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and said that it would be safe just as he has made Washington D.C safe. 

 

He stated that he made the largest tax cuts in American history. He remarked that there is no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on social security. He spoke of his tax free children account called “Trump Accounts.” Trump Accounts are tax‑advantaged children’s savings accounts created in 2025 that give eligible kids a $1,000 government seed deposit and allow families to contribute additional funds with tax‑deferred growth.

 

He then spoke of his use of tariffs citing that other countries were ripping the United States off and that the tariffs were used to make deals with these countries and now both sides are benefiting. He spoke of the unfortunate ruling of the Supreme Court that struck down Trump’s tariffs under one specific law. He states that these tariffs are saving our country and will remain in place under other legislation. He argues that many necessities such as eggs, chicken, automobiles, etc have decreased in price. He detested the healthcare crisis of the United States blaming the democrats and Obamacare. He spoke of his new plan for making healthcare affordable and the transparency he wants for healthcare prices and promises to end the inflated cost of prescription drugs. He announced the RATE payer protection plan which will require Big Tech companies to pay higher electricity costs in communities where they build new data centers, with the stated goal of preventing local residents from facing higher utility bills.

 

He asked the congressmen to pass the Stop Insider Trading Act to stop corruption in trading. He also announced a war on fraud that will be led by Vice President J.D. Vance. This comes after the discovery of fraud in Minnesota by Somalians which Trump cited. He also cited various crimes and casualties that were caused by illegal aliens. He called on Congress to pass the Delilah Law to ensure illegal aliens do not get commercial licenses. He also called for the end of sanctuary cities who are blocking immigration and customs enforcement from doing their jobs. Furthermore, he calls on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act that would require voter id for people to be able to vote. 

 

He briefly spoke on the assasination of Charlie Kirk and asked the wife of the late Charlie Kirk, Erika Kirk, to stand. He said everyone should come together to denounce political violence. He asks Congress to pass legislation to ensure violent offenders are put behind bars and that they stay there. He also discussed how he ended eight wars in the last ten months such as the India-Pakistan war, Israel-Iran war, among others. He also discussed Operation Midnight Hammer and the threat of Iran having nuclear weapons. He reaffirmed his military policy of “peace through strength.” He also discussed the capture of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela and how efficient and spectacular it was.