On Feb. 24, President Donald J. Trump delivered the first State of the Union address of his second term. He had previously given an address to a joint session of Congress in March 2025, but it was not legally mandated and, therefore, not an official State of the Union address. That speech set the record for the longest address to Congress by a president in American history, until Mr. Trump broke his own record by speaking for more than 120 minutes.
Mr. Trump spent much of his time acknowledging those in the audience instead of targeting specific policy, including the Olympic Gold Medal-winning United States Men’s Hockey Team. Others in the audience included Erika Kirk, the widow of the late political activist Charlie Kirk, the family of Sarah Beckstrom, a national guardswoman who died in the line of duty, and other military personnel.
Although Mr. Trump said the state of the union was strong, his tone and the stark contrast of Republicans and Democrats in the chamber spoke to the continued, and seemingly widening, divide in American politics.
Mr. Trump also took the opportunity to award two Medals of Honor, including one to Capt. Royce Williams, a 100-year-old retired Navy officer. Mr. Trump remarked, some said jokingly, that if he could give himself a Medal of Honor, he would do so.
He clashed with Democratic members of Congress throughout the speech. Many Democratic lawmakers did not attend out of protest, and those who did rarely clapped. Some, including Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), shouted out at him at points during the speech.
“You should be ashamed of yourselves,” Mr. Trump said at one point, appearing to bait his political opponents after asking them to show that they prioritized American citizens over illegal immigrants.
For a second straight year, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was removed from the chamber for protesting as the president was speaking. He held a large sign that said “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES,” referring to a video posted on social media by Mr. Trump that depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), just confirmed as the new secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, attempted to rip the sign apart.
“I wanted him to know it, and I wanted him to see it up close,” Mr. Green said afterward. “Based off the expression on his face, he got the message.”
The central themes of the address were the economy and immigration, two themes Mr. Trump’s MAGA supporters love. The speech was, for the most part, directed primarily towards his base, seemingly not intended to draw anyone new into his camp.
On the economy, Mr. Trump boasted of prosperity, despite recent polls by the Pew Research Center showing that 72 percent of U.S. adults rate the economy as only fair or poor.
Mr. Trump defended his record on immigration, citing various examples of his success after blaming former President Joe Biden for perceived failures.
The president ended his speech by applauding himself and saying that the golden age of America is upon us.
In a rare moment of bipartisanship that gave hope to some, representatives Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) could be seen sitting across from each other during the speech. The two led the effort to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act through the House, and they are currently leading an effort to end the ongoing conflict with Iran.
“It is still possible to cross the aisle in America,” Mr. Khanna wrote in an Instagram post.
