Analysis of President Trump’s 2026 State of the Union Address
USA TODAY’s Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page takes a closer look at President Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address.
According to Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert, the State of the Union address was not powerful.
Both late-night hosts went on air Tuesday night to share their immediate reactions to President Donald Trump’s first official State of the Union address on Feb. 24 of his second term.
Kimmel described it as an “angry” speech that was “like a Christmas message from the Grinch” and asked, “If you talk incoherently for almost two hours, is it still technically a speech, or does it turn into a conviction at some point?”
USA TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment.
The “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” host also had a field day with a historically long speech, which at one hour and 47 minutes was the longest on record. “He’s probably still going, right?” Kimmel quipped. “We’re going to have to hire an orchestra to make him perform like he did at the Oscars. When the 90 minutes are up, just go to the YMCA and be done.”
“Our country is back,” President Trump told lawmakers in a speech, characterizing the United States as being in a “golden age” in the year of the country’s 250th anniversary. The president was joined by Erica Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, to discuss everything from the economy to immigration.
However, in his monologue, Kimmel described the “real situation in the Commonwealth” that the United States is led by “a lunatic who wants to be king.”
Colbert also appeared live on “The Late Show” after the State of the Union address and concluded that “there really wasn’t that much new content” in Trump’s speech.
Colbert noted that the speech came at a critical time when Trump was struggling with low approval ratings, but suggested it was unlikely to change people’s minds about the president and his policies.
“It was a dark speech full of divisive lies. It is unlikely to gain much support from voters disillusioned with the chaos and dysfunction of the second government,” the comedian said.
Colbert also teased that the theme of his speech is “250 Years of America: Strong, Prosperous, Respected,” and joked, “I feel like we’re not strong, prosperous, and respected.”
It was Colbert’s last time covering the President’s State of the Union address on “The Late Show,” with the final episode scheduled to air in May after CBS canceled the show last year.
Jimmy Fallon also joked about President Trump’s speech on “The Tonight Show,” telling viewers that the president’s speech was “focused on his major accomplishments, and after those eight seconds, he just kept going for an hour and a half.”
