Last night, President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress for 1 hour and 47 minutes — the longest State of the Union address on record — and declared that the United States is living through “the golden age of America.” Invoking the nation’s upcoming 250th anniversary, he framed his first year back in office as nothing less than “a turnaround for the ages.” Based on polling, many people would disagree. His approval rating sits at 36 percent, with the midterms a little more than seven months away.
Surprisingly, Trump did not give much focus to world issues, instead focusing on the issues at home like affordability, energy, and manufacturing.
Here are some of the main highlights from his speech.
Venezuela
Trump opened his foreign policy remarks with Venezuela, calling it “our new friend and partner” after the dramatic U.S. operation to seize Nicolás Maduro, along with his wife and son from Caracas. He called the capture a “colossal victory for the United States” and a “bright new beginning for the people of Venezuela,” and separately touted the flow of 80 million barrels of Venezuelan oil into the U.S.
What he didn’t mention were the military strikes on vessels suspected of smuggling drugs that have killed more than 150 people since September, operations legal experts have widely condemned as unlawful. Congress has sat quietly on the sidelines about this.
Russia-Ukraine
On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Trump gave just a passing mention to the war. He repeated his claim that it never would have happened if he’d been president.
He completely omitted his vision for what America’s position will be going forward. On the campaign trail he had promised the war would be over on Day One. Instead, Russia controls nearly one-fifth of Ukraine and the fighting has continued. Ukraine has suffered 500,000 casualties, but has been roughly stalemated by the iron will of their people, with Russia suffering over 1.2 million casualties of their own.
There was no articulation of strategy or clarity about whether the United States intends to deepen its support for Ukraine and push for negotiations, condition aid, or redraw the terms of engagement altogether.
Iran
Trump also devoted surprisingly little time to Iran, which is striking, given that U.S. forces are on standby amid the possibility of an attack with the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush carrier groups deployed to the region.
Instead, he touted “Operation Midnight Hammer,” the summer strikes that partially took out Iran’s three biggest uranium enrichment sites in Natanz, Fordow, and Isfahan. He reminded the chamber that the Iranian regime had killed 32,000 of its own protesters but gave no assurance or clarity for what the United States’ position will be.
It’s unclear what his goal is. Is it regime change or a permanent dismantling of their nuclear program? In a speech about projecting American strength, there was a missed opportunity to define what success actually looks like against one of the most formidable geopolitical threats on the board. Again, Congress clapped but refuses to exercise their enumerated constitutional powers and punts it silently over to the executive branch.
Israel-Gaza
Trump touted the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the return of the remaining hostages after two years of war. Bringing the hostages home was one of his big campaign promises he delivered on (I wrote about that here). But beyond that, he offered no reassurance for what comes next.
He spoke as though the conflict was settled, which it isn’t. There was no discussion of reconstruction, no outline of a credible path toward Israeli-Palestinian peace, no mention of his newly announced “Board of Peace.” He didn’t address the question of disarming Hamas. Nor did he explain what Phase 2 of his own peace plan actually looks like or how he intends to achieve it.
Tariffs
Perhaps most notable in Trump’s speech was how incensed he was over the Supreme Court ruling against his emergency tariffs.
Trump called the ruling “unfortunate” and “totally wrong,” publicly humiliating the justices to their face as they sat in the first row, a few yards away. Somehow, the Justices all remained stoic and didn’t flinch.
He also repeated a false claim that tariffs are “paid for by foreign countries” and will one day “substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax.” That framing glosses over a basic fact: Tariffs are paid by American importers, who often pass those costs on to consumers with an average cost of $1,200 paid per American family. (You can find my recent Substack on the Supreme Court’s tariff decision here).
Trump signaled he is not done. He suggested he will turn to other statutory authorities to continue imposing tariffs, “leading to a solution that will be even stronger than before.” But other statutes like Section 122 only authorize these for 150 days, so let’s see if Congress springs to action.
Overall, Trump’s speech was fairly unrevealing in what his plans are aside from more tariffs. Watching the analysis afterwards, Trump Republicans loved it and partisan Democrats hated it.
Medicaid
Trump promised to always protect Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. The first two he’s largely kept faith with. The third … not so much. His signature legislation passed last summer cut more than $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next decade, the largest reduction in the program’s history. It’s expected to push more than 10 million people off the rolls through tighter eligibility requirements and new work mandates.
Voter fraud
Trump once again falsely claimed that cheating in American elections is “rampant,” and accused Democrats of relying on fraud because their “policy is so bad.” He suggested he should effectively be serving a third term, rooted in his long-standing claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.
He went further, announcing his intention to end most forms of mail-in voting, limiting it to narrow exceptions such as disability, military service, illness or travel.
There is little evidence of widespread voter fraud in modern American elections. Courts, state officials from both parties, and numerous audits have consistently found no proof of the kind of systemic cheating the president describes. Questioning the legitimacy of elections signals that the fight over this (non) issue is far from over.
Economy
Trump said “A year ago we were a dead country. Now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world.”
The economy grew 2.2 percent in 2025 (after growing 2.8 percent in 2024), which is neither dead nor scorching hot. Most of that growth came from AI investment rather than the kind of broad, working-class expansion he has championed. Job creation dropped from 1.5 million in 2024 to 200,000 this past year. Unemployment has climbed to 4.4 percent. Consumer confidence fell 33 percent, near historic lows. Inflation still sits around 2.7 percent (after being 2.9 percent in 2024).
Inflation
Trump claimed he inherited record inflation from Biden and brought it way down, neither of which is true. Inflation peaked for one month at around 9 percent in June 2022 — a four-decade high, but not an all-time record; the 1970s and 1980s were worse. For the full year, inflation averaged roughly 8 percent, and the Federal Reserve implemented aggressive monetary tightening to bring it down. By the time Trump took office in January 2025, it had already fallen to 2.9 percent.
Trump praised core inflation for coming down, which is technically correct. But core inflation and what people pay for groceries are different things, and most Americans experience the latter.
He also claimed that grocery prices have come down, when they haven’t, with the exceptions of eggs and beef. Overall food prices are up 2.1 percent over the past year, and food-price inflation has actually picked up since Trump returned to office. December saw a 0.7 percent single-month jump in grocery prices, the largest since October 2022.
But increased government spending increases inflation — last year the federal government spent $7 trillion while running up a $1.7 trillion deficit. Adding to our $38 trillion national debt is handcuffing future generations that past Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs have called the biggest national security threat to the United States (but both parties in Congress have generally ignored).
Some good
Trump hailed the rollout of “Trump Accounts,” tax-free savings accounts for American children seeded by a $6 billion gift from Michael Dell. He said the funding would cover 25 million accounts that, if invested over time, could grow to more than $100,000 by the time those children turn 18.
Later in the evening, the men’s Olympic hockey team entered the chamber draped in gold medals to chants of “USA,” a moment of unbridled patriotism and bipartisan support that drew the loudest applause of the night.
Toward the end of the evening, 100-year-old combat veteran Capt. E. Royce Williams was recognized as his Navy Cross was formally upgraded to the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award. A decorated Navy aviator, Williams first served with distinction in World War II and later flew missions during the Korean and Vietnam Wars. He will turn 101 on April 4.
A Medal of Honor was also awarded to Army Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover, a helicopter pilot wounded during the high-risk raid that led to the capture of Maduro in January. Slover was flying the lead CH-47 Chinook when it came under heavy fire, sustaining multiple gunshot wounds while keeping the aircraft steady enough for the mission to continue.
Overall, Trump’s speech was fairly unrevealing in what his plans are aside from more tariffs. Watching the analysis afterwards, Trump Republicans loved it and partisan Democrats hated it. The battle in the midterms and federal elections really comes down to Independents — which broke for Trump in 2016, not 2020, but then again for him in 2024.
The Honorable Patrick J. Murphy is a Wharton lecturer, vetrepreneur, and the 32nd Army Under Secretary after earning the Bronze Star for service in Baghdad, Iraq as an All-American with the 82nd Airborne Division —@PatrickMurphyPA on Instagram and Twitter.
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