The audience split in half – one side standing and cheering, the other sitting handstand – symbolized the country’s political divisions.
President Trump talks about tariffs in State of the Union address
In his State of the Union address, President Trump called the Supreme Court’s decision on tariffs a “disappointing decision.”
He mostly stuck to the script.
President Donald Trump is characterized by his tendency to ad-lib his big speeches with bombastic rhetoric, but in his State of the Union address on February 24, he read out a statistics-heavy speech that focused from the beginning on defending economic performance.
This was a defense he needed to make, given that the majority of Americans say they are stressed by high prices and pessimistic about the fate of the economy. His reputation for economic management, once an asset, is now a liability.
There, Trump highlighted positive economic statistics, took credit for lowering the prices of everything from eggs to gasoline, and introduced a mother of two who saved $5,000 in taxes last year thanks to a combination of Trump policies.
“This is a golden age for America,” Trump declared at the Capitol, saying he inherited a “nation in crisis.” “We have achieved a transformation unlike anything anyone has seen before. This is a change of time.”
That said, he didn’t offer any empathetic “I feel your pain” moments. He derided “affordability” as a term coined by Democrats.
“You caused the problem. You caused the problem,” he said, looking to the Democratic side of the aisle and then back to the Republican side. “They knew what they were saying was a dirty, rotten lie.”
Now, it’s true that the history of presidents trying to convince Americans that the economy is doing better than they think is not a promising one. Just ask Joe Biden.
But Mr. Trump offered the strongest possible case, which served as a warning to Democrats accustomed to portraying the president as out of control and out of line.
Politics as a contact sport
If the State of the Union were to predict the future political climate, it would be hard to miss the predictions from President Trump’s scathing attacks on the Democratic Party and their negative response.
It looks like it’s going to be a dark and stormy year.
He attempted what could be described as a stunt to put Democrats on the spot. “If you agree with this statement, please stand up and show your support. The American government’s first duty is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
Democrats, who usually remain calm and silent, did not stand as Republicans joined in with loud applause. Trump shook his head and looked at the Democrats with a mixture of disdain and satisfaction.
“These people are crazy, I’m telling you, they’re crazy,” he said. “We’re lucky to have a country with people like this. The Democrats were trying to destroy our country, and we stopped them.”
In the House gallery, the president hosted families of Americans killed by illegal immigrants, a poignant reminder of the administration’s success in cracking down on illegal crossings at the southern border.
In the House gallery, Democrats hosted more than a dozen women who have accused convicted sex abuse predator Jeffrey Epstein, a stark reminder of the administration’s failure to quell a global scandal.
Dozens of Democratic members of Congress boycotted the speech, choosing instead to participate in a State of the Union protest on the other side of the National Mall. Nearly everyone in the House sat in what Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called “silent defiance.”
There were some exceptions. Texas Rep. Al Green, who was ejected from a speech last year after using profanity, brought a handwritten cardboard sign that read, “Black people are not monkeys!” A reference to a racist video posted by President Trump disparaging President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama. Green was taken out again.
And Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, heckled President Trump for defending his administration’s controversial mass deportation campaign in Minneapolis. When President Trump called immigrants murderers, she yelled, “You’re the murderer,” an apparent reference to protesters Renee Good and Alex Preti, who were killed by ICE and border agents.
The split audience in the center aisle, with Republicans standing up and cheering repeatedly while Democrats sat stone-faced and disapproving, symbolized the country’s sharp political divisions.
soften one’s comments on the Supreme Court
There was no greater sign of Trump’s nighttime discipline than his words to the Supreme Court, which ruled Trump’s unfettered tariffs illegal last week in a 6-3 decision. He denounced the decision and singled out two justices he appointed who participated in the decision, Amy Coney Barrett and Neil Gorsuch.
But when he arrived to speak, he made sure to shake hands with the four black-clad justices in the front row of the hall, including Chief Justice John Roberts (who wrote the decision) and Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, and Barrett.
“It’s a very disappointing verdict,” he said. This is probably the softest expression he has made since the sentence was handed down. He dismissed the decision as a mere nuisance, without naming any of the justices, criticizing Barrett or thanking Kavanaugh for his dissent. He insisted he would use a different process to impose tariffs, which he has favored as an economic weapon.
“The country is being saved because of the money we’re taking in,” he said.
He also read the draft text carefully when discussing the conflict with Iran, which has sent a large U.S. fleet amid negotiations to limit the enrichment of nuclear material. “My hope is to resolve this issue through diplomacy,” he said. “But if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terrorism to have nuclear weapons.”
Next is the next election
Both sides of the aisle were focused on gritty politics, not grand policy.
November’s midterm elections could complicate the remainder of President Trump’s term and give Democrats a stronghold in power after two years of weakness.
What a difference a year has made!
In a speech to a joint session of Congress in 2025, the newly sworn president blamed Biden for the nation’s woes and pressed for passage of the Big Beautiful Act, which would extend the massive tax cuts of his first term. He will triumphantly sign the bill on Independence Day.
Even his two impeachment trials in his first term have never been so fraught, given that the now Republican-controlled Senate seemed all but certain to acquit him. Currently, his approval rating in reliable national polls is below 40%, with 6 in 10 Americans disapproving of his job. His standing has declined, especially among some voters critical to winning a second term, such as young people and Hispanics.
Still, Trump has not lost his arrogance. He continued his attack. He claimed that no president in history has been more successful.
Meanwhile, Democrats are increasingly confident they can flip the three or more seats needed to regain the House majority in November. That would prevent them from passing legislation to override Trump’s veto, but it would allow them to convene hearings, issue subpoenas and launch investigations into the Trump administration.
Indeed, the year ahead will be dark and stormy. Please bundle. Or maybe buckle up.
