Trump's 2026 State of the Union

As President Trump continues implementing his ambitious agenda, follow along with the MSNOW newsletter, Project 47. You'll get weekly updates sent straight to your inbox with expert analysis on the administration's latest actions and how they're affecting the American people. The American people are basically telling the president that they are not okay with any of this. Sign up for the Project 47 newsletter at ms.now slash project 47. Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States. Well, thank you very much, everybody. It's really an honor. Speaker Johnson, Vice President Vance, First Lady of the United States. Second Lady of the United States. Members of Congress and my fellow Americans, our nation is back, bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before. Thank you. an exceptional nation ever to exist on the face of the earth. And you've seen nothing yet. We're going to do better and better and better. This is the golden age of America. When I last spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis with a stagnant economy, inflation at record levels, a wide open border, horrendous recruitment for military and police, rampant crime at home and wars and chaos all over the world. But tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before and a turnaround for the ages. It is indeed a turnaround for the ages. And we will never go back to where we were just a very short time ago. We're not going back. Today our border is secure. USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! USA! Thank you. Today our border is secure. Our spirit is restored. Inflation is plummeting. Incomes are rising fast. The roaring economy is roaring like never before. And our enemies are scared. Our military and police are stacked. And America is respected again, perhaps like never before. After four years, in which millions and millions of illegal aliens poured across our borders totally unvetted and unchecked, we now have the strongest and most secure border in American history by far. In the past nine months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States. but we will always allow people to come in legally people that will love our country and will work hard to maintain our country The flow of deadly fentanyl across our border is down by a record 56% in one year. And last year, the murder rate saw its single largest decline in recorded history. This is the biggest decline. Think of it in recorded history, the lowest number in over 125 years. Year 1900. In fact, substantially before my wonderful father, I had a wonderful father, Fred, before he was born. Substantially before he was born. That's a long time ago. He wouldn't like me to say that, but that's a long time ago. The Biden administration and its allies in Congress gave us the worst inflation. in the history of our country. But in 12 months, my administration has driven core inflation down to the lowest level in more than five years. And in the last three months of 2025, it was down to 1.7 percent. Gasoline, which reached a peak of over $6 a gallon in some states under my predecessor, it was quite honestly a disaster, is now below $2.30 a gallon in most states. And in some places, $1.99 a gallon. And when I visited the great state of Iowa just a few weeks ago, I even saw $1.85 a gallon for gasoline. Mortgage rates are the lowest in four years and falling fast, and the annual cost of a typical new mortgage is down almost $5,000 just since I took office. One year. And low interest rates will solve the Biden-created housing problem well, at the same time protecting the values of those people who already own a house that really feel rich for the first time in their lives. We want to protect those values. We want to keep those values up. We're going to do both. And we are going to keep it that way. The stock market has set 53 all-time record highs since the election. Think of that. One year, boosting pensions, 401ks, and retirement accounts for the millions and millions of Americans. They're all gaining. Everybody's up, way up. In four long years, the last administration got less than $1 trillion in new investment in the United States. And when I say less, substantially less. In 12 months, I secured commitments for more than $18 trillion pouring in from all over the globe. Think of it. Much less than $1 trillion for four years versus much more than $18 trillion for one year. What a difference a president makes. A short time ago, we were a dead country. Now we are the hottest country anywhere in the world. The hottest. As thousands of new businesses are forming in factories, plants, and laboratories are being built, we have added 70,000 new construction jobs in just a very short period of time. It's getting bigger and bigger and stronger. Nobody can believe what they're watching. American oil production is up by more than 600,000 barrels a day, and we just received from our new friend and partner, Venezuela, more than 80 million barrels of oil. American natural gas production is at an all-time high because I kept my promise to drill, baby, drill. More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country. Think about that. Any time in the history of our country more working today and 100 percent of all jobs created under my administration have been in the private sector. We ended DEI in America. We cut a record number of job-killing regulations, and in one year we have lifted 2.4 million Americans, a record off of food stamps. And for all of these reasons, I say tonight, members of Congress, the state of our union is strong. Our country is winning again. In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it. People are asking me, please, please, please, Mr. President, we're winning too much. We can't take it anymore. We're not used to winning in our country. Until you came along, we're just always losing, but now we're winning too much. And I say, no, no, no. You're going to win again. you're going to win big. You're going to win bigger than ever. And to prove that point, to prove that point, here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud. The men's gold medal Olympic hockey team. Come on in. USA! USA! USA! Thank you. U.S.! U.S.! U.S.! U.S.! U.S.! That's the first time I've ever seen them get up. And actually, not all of them did get up. But they beat a fantastic Canadian team in overtime, as everybody saw, as did the American women who will soon be coming to the White House. Thank you. Thank you. Anybody votes? No, I'm not doing it. So they stood there and they weren't about to say no, because I'd never seen a goaltender play as well as goalie Connor Hallibuff. I think of it, 46 shots on goal, and I asked him, the one shot, the one where you put your stick in the back, and it hit the neck of your stick and bounced off. Do you practice that, or was that unlucky? He refused to answer that question. But I just want to tell you that the members of this great hockey squad will be very happy to hear, based on their vote and my vote, and in this case my vote was more important, that I will soon be presenting Connor with our highest civilian honor, which we will be given and which has been given to many athletes over the years. But when I say many, not too many, like 12, it's called the highest civilian honor in our country, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Great athletes have gotten that. Very great. The best. And I thought he deserved it. And I did take a vote. Every single one of them. I said, I'm not giving it if anybody goes no. And every single one of them rapidly put up their hand. So I want to thank you. What a special job you did. What special champions you are. Thank you very much. I'm also pleased to say that the next time the Olympic torch is lit, it will be here in America for the 2028 Olympics. And it's the summer version right in Los Angeles. We're going to do a good job in Los Angeles. And Los Angeles is going to be safe, just like Washington, D.C. is now one of the safest cities in the country. And this year, and I must say I got them both. I got them in my first term. And I was disappointed because I didn't think I'd be the president when this happened. But strange things took place. And now I've got them because I got the Olympics. I got the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And I wanted to claim the 250th, but I didn't get away with that one. I couldn't claim that one for myself. but we're getting the World Cup so we have the World Cup and the Olympics coming and that is exciting news applause applause applause applause applause applause so this will be a year to celebrate our country and the heroes who have kept it free men like Buddy Taggart at age 17 Buddy volunteered to defend America in World War II, serving in the Pacific under the great General Douglas MacArthur. He fought bravely in the famous Battle of Manila, worked so hard. He was badly wounded and almost killed by enemy machine guns in Luzon. And 81 years ago this month, he liberated the largest internment camp in the Philippines, one of the largest anywhere in the world. but he earned many honors including a purple heart and a bronze star, came home, started a family and tonight he is in the gallery looking forward to July 4th, 2026, his 100th birthday. So, buddy, you're a brave man, and we salute you. Even in times of challenge, setback, and immense heartache, the spirit of 1776 has always shown through very brightly. It was July 4th of last year when floodwaters tore through a girls' summer camp in Central Texas. One of the worst things I've ever seen. I was there, rising 26 feet in the matter of minutes, tragically claiming many, many lives. You all remember that one. As the waters threatened to sweep her away, 11-year-old Millie Kate McClayman closed her eyes and prayed to God. She thought she was going to die. Those prayers were answered when Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskin descended from a helicopter above. Nobody knew where he came from. it was Scott's first ever rescue mission young guy very brave very very top always top in his class and he lifted not just Millie Kate but 164 others to safety applause applause applause applause applause applause applause applause People watched Scott from a distance, and they couldn't believe what they were seeing. The winds were blowing, the rain was pouring, everything was going, and that rapid water, nobody had ever seen anything like it. They said, wow, that's something. Tonight, Scott and Millie Kate are here together, reunited for the very first time. Thank you, Scott, Millie Kate. And Petty Officer Ruskin, I'm pleased to inform you that I am now awarding you the Legion of Merit for Extraordinary Heroism, which is what it was. Extraordinary Heroism. Thank you. And I'd like to have the military aide to please come down and take care of the service. Military aide. Thank you very much. Take care of that very important service. Thank you very much. From 1776 to today, every generation of Americans has stepped forward to defend life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. and they're really doing it for the next generation. But now it's our turn. Together we're building a nation where every child has the chance to reach higher and go further. Where government answers to the people, not the powerful, and where the interests of hardworking American citizens are always our first and ultimate concern. That is the debt we owe to the heroes who came before us, And that is the promise we must keep to America for our 250th year. Last year, I urged this Congress to begin the mission by passing the largest tax cuts in American history. And our Republican majorities delivered so beautifully. Thank you, Republicans. All Democrats, every single one of them, voted against these really important and very necessary massive tax cuts. They wanted large-scale tax increases to hurt the people instead. But we held strong and with the great, big, beautiful bill, we gave you no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security for our great students. And we also made interest on auto loans tax deductible the first time, but only if the car is made in America. Recently in Pennsylvania, I met Megan Hemhauser, a devoted mom whose homeschools her children, beautiful, two children, during the day while waiting tables at night as her husband works overtime operating very heavy equipment. Megan is here this evening and she's happy to tell you that she is so, so much richer because with no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and her expanded child tax credit done again by Republicans, Megan and her husband will take home more than $5,000 extra just for the year, cutting her tax bill in more than half. Megan, please stand up. We're fighting for you, Megan. Thank you, Megan. Thank you, Megan. We're fighting for you, Megan. Under our bill, parents like Megan can also activate their children's brand new Trump accounts. And I didn't name it. I did not name that. Nobody believes me, but I did not name him. He was named by a very tall man standing right there in the third row. Nice man, a good man. Tax-free investment accounts for every American child. This is something that's so special and has taken off and gone through the roof. Millions will be pre-funded courtesy of the U.S. Treasury and private individuals like Michael and Susan Dell, who have donated $6,250,000,000 to fund the Trump accounts for 25 million American children. They're great people. When I asked Michael Dell, how do you make all that money? And he said, well, I just sat on my dorm in school and I made computers and I'd sell them to people. And I just kept selling and selling and selling. And pretty amazing story. That's called the American dream. He sold a lot of computers, a lot of those laptops. So I congratulate him on that. But I really thank him and Susan, as well as others like Brad Gerstner, a very tremendous guy. He was behind it right from the beginning. Brad Gerstner. Thank you, Brad. So with modest additional contributions, these young people's accounts could grow to over $100,000 or more by the time they turn 18. Think of it. How much money is that for somebody that started with nothing? Over 100,000, could be much more than that. To make this investment in our children's future, go to TrumpAccounts.gov. TrumpAccounts.gov. And a lot of people are doing it. They're setting every record in the book. It's popular. They knew what it was going to take. I'm so proud of them. I'm so proud of the people that got it started. Now it's just taken off. One of the primary reasons for our country's stunning economic turnaround, the biggest in history where the Dow Jones broke 50,000 four years ahead of schedule and the S&P hit 7,000, where it wasn't supposed to do it for many years, were tariffs. I used these tariffs, took in hundreds of billions of dollars to make great deals for our country, both economically and on a national security basis. Everything was working well. countries that were ripping us off for decades are now paying us hundreds of billions of dollars they were ripping us so badly you all know that everybody knows it even the democrats know it they just don't want to say it and yet these countries are now happy and so are we we made deals the deals are all done and they're happy they're not making money like they used to but we're making a lot of money there was no inflation tremendous growth and the big story was how Donald Trump called the economy correctly and 22 Nobel Prize winners in economics didn't. They got it totally wrong. They got it really wrong. And then just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court. It just came down. It came down. Very unfortunate ruling. But the good news is that almost all countries and corporations want to keep the deal that they already made. Right, Scott? Knowing that the legal power that I, as president, have to make a new deal could be far worse for them, and therefore they will continue to work along the same successful path that we had negotiated before the Supreme Court's unfortunate involvement. So despite the disappointing ruling, these powerful country saving. It's saving our country the kind of money we're taking in. Peace protecting many of the wars I settled was because of the threat of tariffs. I wouldn't have been able to settle them without. We'll remain in place under fully approved and tested alternative legal statutes. And they have been tested for a long time. They're a little more complex, but they're actually probably better, leading to a solution that will be even stronger than before. Congressional action will not be necessary. It's already time-tested and approved. And as time goes by, I believe the tariffs paid for by foreign countries will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax, taking a great financial burden off the people that I love. Moving forward, factories, jobs, investment, and trillions and trillions of dollars will continue pouring into the United States of America because we finally have a president who puts America first. Put America first. I love America. For decades before I came along, we had the exact opposite. From trade to health care, from energy to immigration, everything was stolen and rigged in order to drain the wealth out of the productive, hardworking people who make our country great, who make our country run. Under Biden and his corrupt partners in Congress and beyond, it reached a breaking point with the green news scam open borders for everyone they poured in by the millions and millions from prisons from mental institutions they were murderers 11,888 murders they came into our country you allowed that to happen and record-setting inflation that cost the typical family 34,000 dollars in just a speck of time now the same people in this chamber who voted for those disasters suddenly used the word affordability, a word, they just used it. Somebody gave it to them, knowing full well that they caused and created the increased prices that all of our citizens had to endure. You caused that problem. You caused that problem. They knew their statements were a lie. They knew it. They knew their statements were a dirty, rotten lie. Their policies created the high prices. Our policies are rapidly ending them. We are doing really well. Those prices are plummeting downward. The price of eggs is down 60 percent, Madam Secretary. Thank you. The cost of chicken, butter, fruit, hotels, automobiles, rent is lower today than when I took office by a lot. And even beef, which was very high, is starting to come down significantly. Just hold on a little while. We're getting it down, and soon you will see numbers that few people would think were possible to achieve just a short time ago. Nobody can believe when they see the kind of numbers, especially energy, when they see energy going down to numbers like that, they cannot believe it. It's like another big tax cut. I'm also confronting one of the biggest ripoffs of our times, the crushing cost of health care. caused by you. Since the passage of the Unaffordable Care Act, sometimes referred to as Obamacare, big insurance company, it's gotten rich. It was meant for the insurance companies, not for the people. With our government giving them hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars a year as their stock prices soared 1,000, 1,200, 1,400, and even 1,700 percent. Like nothing else. that's why I introduced the great health care plan I want to stop all payments to big insurance companies and instead give that money directly to the people so they can buy their own health care which will be better health care at a much lower cost In addition my plan requires maximum price transparency That a big deal Sounds so simple. So big. And I did that in my first time, and the Democrats immediately terminated it with full knowledge that they were doing a very bad thing for the people. Of course, we're going to go way up, and that's what happened, and now I'm bringing them way down on health care and everything else. I'm also ending the wildly inflated cost of prescription drugs like has never happened before. Other presidents tried to do it, but they never could. They tried. Most didn't try, actually. But they tried. They said they tried. They couldn't do it. They didn't even come close. They were all talk and no action, but I got it done. Under my just enacted most favored nation agreements, Americans, who have for decades paid by far the highest prices of any nation anywhere in the world for prescription drugs, will now pay the lowest price anywhere in the world for drugs anywhere. The lowest price. So in my first year of the second term, should be my third term, but strange things happen. I took prescription drugs, a very big part of health care, from the highest price in the entire world to the lowest. That's a big achievement. the result is price differences of 300 400 500 600 percent and more all available right now at a new website called trumprx.gov and i didn't name that one either by the way and here tonight is the very first customer ever to get that big discount and it is big Catherine Rayner. For five years, she and her husband have struggled with infertility, and they turned to IVF. One drug has been costing Catherine $4,000 to purchase, but a few weeks ago, she logged onto the TrumpRx website and got that same drug that cost $4,000, got it for under $500, a reduction of much more, actually, than $3,500. Catherine, we are all praying for you and you're going to be a great mom so now I'm calling on Congress to codify my most favorite nation program into law. Now, the one thing, I'm not sure it matters because it's going to be very hard for somebody that comes along after me to say, let's raise drug prices by 700 or 800 percent. But John and Mike, if you don't mind, codify it anyway. They may do it. Codify it anyway. Thank you. Many Americans are also concerned that energy demand from AI data centers could unfairly drive up their electric utility bills. Tonight I'm pleased to announce that I have negotiated the new Rate Payer Protection Pledge. You know what that is. We're telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs. They can build their own power plants as part of their factory so that no one's prices will go up. And in many cases, prices of electricity will go down for the community and very substantially down. This is a unique strategy never used in this country before. We have an old grid. It could never handle the kind of numbers, the amount of electricity that's needed. So I'm telling them they can build their own plant. They're going to produce their own electricity. It will ensure the company's ability to get electricity while at the same time lowering prices of electricity for you. It could be very substantial for all of these cities and towns. You're going to see some good things happen over the next number of years. Another pillar of the American dream that has been under attack is homeownership. With us tonight is Rachel Wiggins, a mom of two from Houston. She placed bids on 20 homes and lost all of those bids to gigantic investment firms that bypassed inspection, paid all cash, and turned those houses into rentals, stealing away her American dream. She was devastated. And stories like this are why last month I signed executive order to ban large Wall Street investment firms from buying up into thousands single family homes. and now I'm asking Congress to make that ban permanent because homes for people really that's what we want we want homes for people not for corporations corporations are doing just fine Ray Sal thank you very much good luck with your home you'll get one We're also working to make it easier for Americans to stay for retirement. And under this administration, we will always protect Social Security and Medicare. They are not protecting it for our seniors. We will always protect Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. Since I took office, the typical 401k balance is up by at least $30,000. That's a lot of money. You have millions and millions of people. Because the stock market has done so well, setting all those records, your 401ks are way up. Yet half of all of working Americans still do not have access to a retirement plan with matching contributions from an employer. to remedy this gross disparity. I'm announcing that next year my administration will give these often forgotten American workers, great people, the people that built our country, access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker. We will match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year. As we ensure that all Americans can profit from a rising stock market, Let's also ensure that members of Congress cannot corruptly profit from using insider information. They stood up for that, I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Did Nancy Pelosi stand up if she was here? Count it. Pass the Stop Insider Trading Act without delay. I wasn't sure if anybody even on this side was going to applaud for that. I'm very impressed, thank you. I'm very impressed. But when it comes to the corruption that is plundering, really, it's plundering America. There's been no more stunning example than Minnesota. The members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer. We have all the information. And in actuality, the number is much higher than that. and California, Massachusetts, Maine, and many other states are even worse. This is the kind of corruption that shreds the fabric of a nation, and we are working on it like you wouldn't believe. So tonight, although started four months ago, I am officially announcing the war on fraud to be led by our great Vice President J.D. Vance. We'll get it done. And if we're able to find enough of that fraud, we will actually have a balanced budget overnight. It'll go very quickly. That's the kind of money you're talking about. We'll balance our budget. The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception. Importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings those problems right here to the USA. and it is the American people who pay the price and higher medical bills, car insurance rates, rent, taxes, and perhaps most importantly, crime. We will take care of this problem. We're going to take care of this problem. We are not playing games. Goliath. Delilah Coleman was only five years old in June 2024 when a 18-wheel tractor trailer plowed into her stopped car traveling at 60 miles an hour or more. The driver was an illegal alien led in by Joe Biden and given a commercial driver's license by Open Borders politicians in California. Doctors said Delilah would never be able to walk or talk, have a good life. She wouldn't even be able to eat again. But against all odds, she is now in the first grade learning to walk. And she's here this evening with her dad, Marcus, a fantastic man. Delilah, please, you are a great inspiration. Please stand up. Thank you, Delilah. Many, if not most, illegal aliens do not speak English and cannot read even the most basic road signs as to direction, speed, danger, or location. That's why tonight I'm calling on Congress to pass what we will call the Delilah Law, barring any state from granting commercial driver's licenses to illegal aliens. Thank you. podcasts and yesterday as you probably saw at the white house i hosted a ceremony with americans who lost their treasured loved ones to the scourge of illegal immigration people came into our country how we allowed this to happen with our open borders these are the angel moms and families that for decades our government betrayed and our media totally ignored totally and it was terrible. Hard to believe, actually. In 2023, a 16-year-old high school cheerleader named Lizbeth Medina was supposed to perform in her town's Christmas parade, but she never arrived. Her mother, Jacqueline, went home to look for her, and she found her lying dead in a bathtub, bleeding profusely after being stabbed 25 times. Lizbeth's killer was a previously arrested illegal alien who had broken in and brutally, just brutally extinguished the brightest light in her family's life violently and viciously. Her heartbroken mother is in the gallery to remind everyone in this chamber exactly why we are deporting illegal alien criminals to our country at record numbers and we're getting them the hell out of here fast. We don't want to. Thank you very much, Jacqueline. Thank you. And we can never forget that many in this room not only allowed the border invasion to happen before I got involved, but indeed they would do it all over again if they ever had the chance. If they ever got elected, they would open up those borders to some of the worst criminals anywhere in the world. the only thing standing between Americans and a wide open border right now is President Donald J. Trump and our great Republican patriots in Congress. Thank you. As we speak, Democrats in this chamber have cut off all funding for the Department of Homeland Security. It's all cut off. It's all cut off. They have instituted another Democrat shutdown, the first one costing us two points on GDP. Two points we lost on GDP, which probably made them quite happy, actually. Now they have closed the agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorists and murderers. Tonight I'm demanding the full and immediate restoration of all funding for the border security homeland security of the united states and also for helping people clean up their snow we have no money because of the democrats and it would be nice you'd love to give your hand to clean it up but you gave no money nobody's getting paid it's a shame so you have to think about it we have in case you didn't know pretty large snowstorm out there. One of the great things about the State of the Union is how it gives Americans the chance to see clearly what their representatives really believe. So tonight I'm inviting every legislator to join with my administration in reaffirming a fundamental principle. If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support. The first duty of the American government is to Protect American citizens, not illegal aliens. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. of yourself. That is why I'm also asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious penalties for public officials who block the removal of criminal aliens. In many cases, drug lords, murderers all over our country, they're blocking the removal of these people out of our country. And you should be ashamed of yourself. USA! USA! USA! USA! And perhaps most importantly, I'm asking you to approve the Save America Act to stop illegal aliens and others who are uncommitted persons from voting in our sacred American elections. That cheating is rampant in our elections. It's rampant. It's very simple. All voters must show voter ID. All voters must show proof of citizenship in order to vote. And no more crooked mail-in ballots except for illness, disability, military, or travel. None. And this should be an easy one. And by the way, it's polling at 89%, including Democrats. 89%. And even the new communist mayor of New York City, I think he's a nice guy, actually. Speak to him a lot. Bad policy, but nice guy. Just said they want people to shovel snow. They got hit hard. Want some to shovel snow. But if you apply for that job, you need to show two original forms of ID and a social security card. Yet they don't want identification for the greatest privilege of them all voting in America. Now it's no good. No good. Both Republicans and Democrats overwhelmingly agree on the policy that we just enunciated. And Congress should unite and enact this common sense, country-saving legislation right now. And it should be before anything else happens. And the reason they don't want to do it, why would anybody not want voter ID? One reason, because they want to cheat. There's only one reason. they make up all excuses they say it's racist they come up with things you almost say what imagination they have they want to cheat they have cheated and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat and we're going to stop it we have to stop it john And here is one more opportunity to show common sense in government. In the gallery tonight are Sage Blair and her mother, Michelle. In 2021, Sage was 14 when school officials in Virginia sought to socially transition her to a new gender, treating her as a boy and hiding it from her parents. Hard to believe, isn't it? Before long, a confused Sage ran away from home. After she was found in a horrific situation in Maryland, a left-wing judge refused to return Sage to her parents because they did not immediately state that their daughter was their son. Sage was thrown into an all-boys-state home and suffered terribly for a long time. but today all of that is behind them because Sage is a proud and wonderful young woman with a full ride scholarship to Liberty University. Sage and Michelle, please stand up. And thank you for your great bravery. And who can believe that we're even speaking about things like this? Fifteen years ago, if somebody was up here and said that, they'd say, what's wrong with him? And now we have to say it because it's going on all over numerous states without even telling the parents. But surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents' arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents' will, who would believe that we've been talking about this? We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately. Look, nobody stands up. These people are crazy, I'm telling you. They're crazy. We're lucky we have a country. With people like this, Democrats are destroying our country, but we've stopped it just in the nick of time, didn't we? No one cares more about protecting America's youth than our wonderful First Lady, now a movie star. She's a movie star. Can you believe it? Who would have believed that? Over the past year, she has had an incredible impact championing AI legislation, advancing a landmark executive order on foster care, and helping secure $30 million to launch the Melania Trump Forcer Youth to Independence Initiative. It's a tremendous, really a tremendous thing that happened and had a lot of bipartisan support. She gets much better bipartisan support than I do. I get none. She gets a lot. Someday you're going to have to tell me how you did that. And students and educators in every state have joined the First Lady's efforts in the presidential AI challenge, I challenge keeping America's next generation position to succeed and strongly succeed in the future. Tonight, we welcome two young people whose lives reflect the First Lady's impact, Sierra Burns and Everest Nevermont. Thank you both. And Melania, thank you. I know how hard you worked on her. Thank you. I'm very proud to say that during my time in office, both the first four years and in particular this last year, there has been a tremendous renewal in religion, faith, Christianity, and belief in God. tremendous this is especially true among young people and a big part of that had to do with my great friend Charlie Kirk great guy So last year, Charlie was violently murdered by an assassin and martyred, really martyred for his beliefs. His wonderful wife, Erica, is with us tonight. Erica, please stand. Thank you, Erica. You threw a lot. In Charlie's memory, we must all come together to reaffirm that America is one nation under God, and we must totally reject political violence of any kind. we love religion and we love bringing it back and it's coming back at levels that nobody actually thought possible it's really a beautiful thing to see above all unleashing america's promise requires keeping our community safe we have made incredible strides yet dangerous repeat offenders continue to be released by pro-crime Democrat politicians again and again. We are honored to be joined tonight by a woman who's been through hell, Anya Zuretska. In 2022, she and her beautiful daughter, so beautiful, what a beautiful young woman. Irina fled, war-torn Ukraine to live with relatives near Charlotte, North Carolina. And by the way, what's going on with Charlotte? Last summer, 23-year-old Irina was riding home on the train when a deranged monster who had been arrested over a dozen times and was released through no cash bail stood up and viciously slashed a knife through her neck and body. No one will ever forget there were people on that train. No one will ever forget the expression of terror on Irina's face as she looked up at her attacker in the last seconds of her life. She died instantly. She had escaped a brutal war only to be slain by a hardened criminal set free to kill in America, came in through open borders. Mrs. Zaretska, tonight I promise you we will ensure justice for your magnificent daughter, Irina. Thank you. How do you not stand? How do you not stand? I'm asking this Congress to pass tough legislation to ensure that violent and dangerous repeat offenders are put behind bars, and importantly, that they stay there. Starting last summer, I deployed our National Guard and federal law enforcement to restore law and order to our most dangerous cities, including Memphis, Tennessee, big success, New Orleans, Louisiana, big success. And our nation's capital itself, Washington, D.C., where we have almost no crime anymore in Washington, D.C. How did that happen? In fact, crime in Washington is now at the lowest level ever recorded and murders in D.C. this January were down close to 100% from a year ago. They don't like to hear that. One of the sick people, one of the brave service members who helped achieve this stunning turnaround was 20-year-old West Virginia Army National Guard Specialist Sarah Beckstrom. After a four-month deployment, she voluntarily extended her service, and her rank was going to be lifted. She was doing so well. They were so proud of her. But the very next day, she was on patrol near the White House when she was ambushed and shot in the head by a terrorist monster from Afghanistan. Shouldn't have been in our country. And all because she wore the uniform of our nation, she was shot. He traveled here because he didn't like people wearing our uniform. He was sick and deranged. Shouldn't have been in our country. Sarah Beckstrom died in order to defend our capital, and we are honored to be joined by her wonderful parents. Gary and Evalee. Your daughter was a true American patriot and she will be greatly missed. She was a great person. I saw reports on her. They've never seen anything like it. Thank you. So sorry. Thank you very much. A great young lady. I saw reports that were like, perfect. She's perfect. Serving alongside Sarah that day was Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe. The terrorist shot Andrew in the head, and no one thought he could possibly make it. the two of them, Sarah and Andrew both shot violently in the head neither was expected to make it they weren't even given a chance except his wonderful mother named Melody who I spoke to the same night and she was so positive the doctors thought that Andrew was gone but his mother said no, no Mr. President, Andrew will be fine he's going to make it, I've never seen anything like it I mean he was given almost no chance she said i have no doubt sir he's going to be okay this was a conversation that i had with her that night with her son laying helplessly in bed blood all over everybody is praying she said sir he will be okay the doctors didn't understand what she was saying and after looking at the results of the damage done neither did i she was so strong and conclusive that even Andrew's great father felt she didn't really understand the gravity of the situation. But she turned out to be right. Right, Melanie? She turned out to be right. Amazing, actually. I said, where does this woman come from? She's the most positive person I've ever met. With God's help, Andrew has battled back from the edge of death. And we're talking about the edge of death. On his way to a miraculous recovery. He's got a little work to do, but he's doing great. Nice to see you. He's a good looking guy. Nice to see you. Thanks, Andrew. Thank you very much. So, Andrew, while you're up, now I'm going to ask a highly respected General James Seward to present Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe and the great family of Sarah Beckstrom. with the award created by our late, great President George Washington himself. It's called the Purple Heart. Thank you. We love you all. Love you. We're proudly restoring safety for Americans at home, and we are also restoring security for Americans abroad. Our country has never been stronger. My first ten months, I ended eight wars, including Cambodia isn't it funny sick people Cambodia and Thailand Pakistan and India would have been a nuclear war 35 million people said the Prime Minister of Pakistan would have died if it were not for my involvement Kosovo and Serbia Israel and Iran Egypt and Ethiopia Armenia and Azerbaijan the Congo and Rwanda and of course the war in Gaza which proceeds at a very low level it's just about there and I want to thank Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner for your help thank you Steve thank you Jared And I also want to thank the man they report to, Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. Thank you, Marco. Thank you. And some of the Democrats are now saying, I can't believe we approve that guy. And he said it's an honor that they feel that way. Right, Marco? You have done a great job. Great Secretary of State. I think he'll go down as the best of it. Under the sea fire I negotiated, every single hostage, both living and dead, has been returned home. Can you believe me? Nobody thought it was possible. Nobody thought that was possible. Both living and dead. And those parents who had a dead son, their boy, they'd always tell me their boy, they wanted him as much as though he were living. That was an amazing period of time. And they came back, and we got all of the living hostages back, and many, many before them, but I always said those last 20 are going to be very tough. But we got many, many more hundreds. But I said those last 20 are going to be tough. We got them back. But we only got back 14 or 15 of the dead of the 28. And believe it or not, Hamas worked along with Israel. And they dug and they dug and they dug. It's a tough thing to do. Going through bodies all over. passing up 100 bodies sometimes for each one that they found tough job and they finally got it back to 27 and then steve and jared they got it back to 28 they found all 28 nobody thought that was possible but we did it and i remember the family of the 28th they were so grieved but they were so happy, as happy as it's possible to be. They had their boy back. The mother said, sir, we have our boy back. What a period of time that was. But we got them all back. So thank you both very much. Thank you. And we're working very hard to end the Ninth war, the killing and slaughter between Russia and Ukraine, where 25,000 soldiers are dying each and every month. Think of that, 25,000 soldiers are dying a month. A war which would have never happened if I were president. It would have never happened. As president, I will make peace wherever I can, but I will never hesitate to confront threats to America wherever we must. That's why in a breakthrough operation last June, the United States military obliterated Iran's nuclear weapons program with an attack on Iranian soil known as Operation Midnight Hammer. for decades it had been the policy of the United States never to allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon many decades since they seized control of that proud nation 47 years ago the regime and its murderous proxies have spread nothing but terrorism and death and hate. They've killed and maimed thousands of American service members and hundreds of thousands and even millions of people with what's called roadside bombs. They were the kings of the roadside bomb. And we took out Soleimani. I did that during my first term. Had a huge impact. He was the father of the roadside road. And just over the last couple of months with the protests, they've killed at least, it looks like, 32,000 protests. 32,000 protesters in their own country. They shot them and hung them. we stopped them from hanging a lot of them with the threat of serious violence but this is some terrible people they've already developed missiles that can threaten europe and our bases overseas and they're working to build missiles that will soon reach the united states of america after midnight hammer they were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program, in particular nuclear weapons, yet they continue starting it all over. We wiped it out, and they want to start all over again, and are at this moment again pursuing their sinister ambitions. We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven't heard those secret words. We will never have a nuclear weapon. My preference. My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon. Can't let that happen. And no nation should ever doubt America's result. We have the most powerful military on earth. I rebuilt the military in my first term. We're going to continue to do so. Also, we just approved a trillion dollar budget. We have no choice. We have to be strong. because hopefully we will seldom have to use this great power that we built together. It's really called peace through strength and it's been very, very effective. so thanks to Republicans in Congress we're investing that record number of dollars have no choice in the United States Armed Forces also creating a lot of jobs but we're not even doing it for that reason because as I said, we have more jobs, more people working today than ever before in the history of our country. And NATO countries are friends and allies. They are. They're our friends and they're our allies. I just agreed at my very strong request to pay 5% of GDP for military defense rather than the 2% which they weren't paying. We were paying for almost all of them. Now they're paying 5% as opposed to not paying 6%. And getting that 5% was something which everyone said would never be done, could not happen. We got it really easily with one meeting. And a big difference between 2% that's not paid. We were paying, afraid of many of them, very few were paid up. Now 5%, then they're paid. and everything we send over to Ukraine is sent through NATO and they pay us in full. They pay us totally in full. Every branch of our armed forces is setting records for recruitment. This is so exciting. And every service member we send. And every service member recently received a warrior dividend of $1,776. You know, they put it on my desk. We got the money from tariffs and other things. A lot of money we have. We have much more money than people understand. Have to rebuild that program a little bit, but it won't take long. but we got the money and it was seventeen hundred and seventy five dollars and i they wanted my approval and i said what's the number seventeen hundred and seventy five dollars i said wait a minute for one more dollar we can have seventeen seventy six i said we're going to figure that i never asked anybody if we could afford it one more dollar i said seventeen seventy six and i said that's good and i'll tell you what our military that was four months ago our military i never see a person in the military that doesn't thank me for it, so we're honored to do it. They deserve it. And we call it 1776. It was great. And we love our military. We love our law enforcement. We love our firemen. You know, the firemen don't get mentioned enough. We love our firemen. We're also... ... ... ... ... ... ... We're also restoring American security and dominance in the Western Hemisphere, acting to secure our national interests and defend our country from violence, drugs, terrorism, and foreign interference. For years, large swaths of territory in our region, including large parts of Mexico, really large parts of Mexico, have been controlled by murderous drug cartels. That's why I designated these cartels as foreign terrorist organizations, and I declared illicit fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. And with our new military campaign, we have stopped record amounts of drugs coming into our country and virtually stopped it completely coming in by water or sea. You probably noticed that. He very seriously damaged their fishing industry also. Nobody wants to go fishing anymore. We've also taken down one of the most sinister cartel kingpins of all. You saw that yesterday. In January. in January elite American warriors carried out one of the most complex spectacular feats of military competence and power in world history no one's seen anything like it foreign leaders I won't tell you who called me and they said very impressive they couldn't believe they all watched. They saw what happened. This is a different fighting force that we had years ago when we fought to tie. You know, it's a great fighting force. I'm so proud of it. Look at Space Force. Space Force is my baby. As we did that, my baby is becoming so important. Thank you. And America's armed forces overwhelmed all defenses and utterly defeated enemy, good fighters, to end the reign of outlawed dictator Nicolas Maduro and bring him to face American justice. And this was an absolutely colossal victory for the security of the United States, and it also opens up a bright new beginning for the people of Venezuela. We're working closely with the new president of Venezuela, Delce Rodriguez, to unleash extraordinary economic gains for both of our countries and to bring new hope to those who have suffered so terribly. They really did suffer. With us tonight is Alejandro Gonzalez. She grew up in a tight-knit Venezuelan family and was especially close to her beloved uncle Enrique. But after Enrique ran for office and opposed Maduro, he was kidnapped by Maduro's security forces and thrown into the regime's really infamous prison in Caracas. Alejandro feared she would never see her uncle again. She feared for her own life also. But since the raid, we have worked with the new leadership, and they have ordered the closure of that vile prison and released hundreds of political prisoners already, with more to come. Alejandro, I'm pleased to inform you that not only has your uncle been released, but he is here tonight. We brought him over to celebrate his freedom with you in person. Enrique, please come down. Thank you. Thank you, Enrique. Have a good time. Nice to have you back, Enrique. There were many heroes on that January raid to capture Maduro. Really great heroes. It was very dangerous. They knew we were coming. They were all set. But the deeds of one warrior that night will live forever in the eternal chronicles of military valor, Chief Warrant Officer 5, Eric Slover, planned a mission and was the flight lead in the cockpit of the first helicopter. A big, beautiful, powerful helicopter. It was a massive Chinook carrying, as you can imagine, many, many American warfighters. Wearing the dog tags, his wife Amy had blessed with holy water before he left. She knew it was going to be a rough one. Eric steered the Chinook under the cover of night and descended swiftly upon Madura's heavily protected military fortress. This was a major military installation. Protected by thousands of soldiers and guarded by Russian and Chinese military technology. How did that work out? Not too good. While preparing to land, enemy machine guns fired from every angle. And Eric was hit very badly in the leg and hip, one bullet after another. He absorbed four agonizing shots, shredding his leg into numerous pieces. And yet, despite the fact that the use of his legs was vital to a successful helicopter flight, the most important part of flying a helicopter to deliver the many commandos who would capture and detain Maduro was the only thing Eric was thinking about then even as he was gushing blood which was flowing back down the aisle helicopter lands at a steep angle the machine gun stood right in front of him two machine gunners who escaped the wrath of the previous planes Eric maneuvered his helicopter with all of those lives and souls to face the enemy and let his gunners eliminate the threat turn the helicopter around so the gunners could take care of business saving the lives of his fellow warriors from what could have been a catastrophic crash deep in enemy territory only after safely landing the helicopter with all the warriors aboard in the exact right spot which was vital to the mission probably would have happened maybe cancel the mission if that didn't happen Eric told his co-pilot also wounded but not as gravely to take over I'm about ready to pass out the success of the entire mission and the lives of his fellow warriors Hinge and Eric's ability to take searing pain it was unbelievable what's happened to his legs of the bullets and keep on flying and landing and people knew what was happening everybody in the back of the helicopter knew because they saw the blood pouring down the aisle chief warrant officer Slover is still recovering from his serious wounds but I'm thrilled to say that he is here tonight with his wife Amy, Eric and Amy come on in Thank you. So we have a surprise, Eric and Amy, in recognition of Eric's actions above and beyond the call of duty, I would now like to ask General Jonathan Braga to present Chief Warrant Officer Slover with our nation's highest military award, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Thank you. Thank you. Well, thank you very much, Eric and Amy. Great to get to know you. I met with them and with a lot of their fellow warriors at Fort Bragg recently. You know, there's the name Fort Bragg. We have it back. We brought it back. We won the first World War winner, the second World War winner. And then they decided to change the name. So we changed it back. Everybody wanted it changed back, too. and ten of Eric's fellow warriors from that incredible night of victory will also be receiving medals at a private ceremony that will soon be held at the White House. Thank you. Thank you, Eric. That's a big one. Tonight we've celebrated many truly extraordinary American patriots, but there is one last living legend to honor before we go. He is one more heroic American aviator, Navy fighter pilot. Royce Williams served in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, flying more than 220 missions. In disguise over Korea in 1952, Royce was in the dogfight of a lifetime, legendary dogfight. Flying through blizzard conditions, his squadron was ambushed by seven Soviet fighter planes. It was his first aerial combat of the war, and despite being massively outnumbered and outgunned, Royce led the takedown of four enemy jets and almost destroyed the others, vanquishing his adversaries while taking 263 bullets to his own plane and being furiously hurt. His story was secret for over 50 years. He didn't even want to tell his wife, but the legend grew and grew. but tonight at 100 years old this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves he was alleged long before this evening Royce please stand up and I will ask the First Lady of the United States to present Captain Royce Williams with his Congressional Medal of Honor Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Royce, and thank you, Eric. I've always wanted the Congressional Medal of Honor, but I was informed I'm not allowed to give it to myself, and I wouldn't know why I'd be taking it, but if they ever open up that law, I will be there with you someday. But, you know, that's our highest honor, Congressional Medal of Honor, and that's a big thing, and it's an honor to be in the same room with you. Thank you both very much, Eric. Thank you. Thank you. 250 years is a long time in the life of a nation, but in other sense, it's really a mere moment in the eye of history. two of the gentlemen we met in the gallery this evening took their first breaths one century ago 100 years before that on july 4th 1826 the author of the declaration of independence brilliant thomas jefferson drew his last breath just a single long human lifespan separates the giants who declared and won our independence from the heroes who stand among us tonight. Everything our nation has done, everything we have achieved, has been the work of those few great lifetimes. In those brief chapters, Americans built this nation from 13 humble colonies into the pinnacle of human civilization and human freedom, the strongest, wealthiest, most powerful, most successful nation in all of history. Americans ventured out across the daunting and dangerous continent. We carved paths through an unforgiving wilderness, settled a boundless frontier, and tamed the beautiful but very, very dangerous Wild West. From empty marshes and wide-open plains, we raised up the world's greatest cities. Together we mastered the world's mightiest industries, and shattered histories, monsters, tyrannies. And we liberated millions from the chains of fascism, communism, oppression, and terror. Americans lifted humanity into the skies on the wings of aluminum and steel. And then we launched mankind into the stars on rockets powered by sheer American will and unyielding American pride. We wired the globe with our ingenuity. We captivated the planet with American culture. And now we are pioneering the next great American breakthroughs that will change the entire world. All of this and so much more is the enduring legacy, unmatched glory, of the hardworking patriots who built and defended this country and who still carry the hopes and freedoms on all of humanity's backs. For years they were forgotten, betrayed, and cast aside. But that great betrayal is over and they will never be forgotten again. Because when the world needs courage, daring, vision, and inspiration, it is still turning to America. And when God needs a nation to work his miracles, he knows exactly who to ask. There is no challenge Americans cannot overcome. no frontier too vast for us to conquer no dream too bold for us to chase no horizon too distant for us to claim for our destiny is written by the hand of providence and these first 250 years were just the beginning from the rugged border towns of Texas to the heartland villages of Michigan from the sun-kissed shores of Florida to the endless fields of the Dakotas and from the historic streets of Philadelphia to right here in our nation's capital, Washington, D.C., the golden age of America is upon us. The revolution that began in 1776 has not ended. It still continues because the flame of liberty and independence still burns in the heart of every American patriot. and our future will be bigger, better, brighter, bolder, and more glorious than ever before. Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America. We're just coming up on 11 p.m. Eastern Time. You have just experienced the longest State of the Union ever in State of the Union history. It wasn't just the feeling you had, it was the math. Over an hour and 47 minutes, the president blowing out of the water the previous record for the longest State of the Union speech ever, a record he himself set last year. in terms of the length of the speech which I think will probably be the bottom line up front that people take away from this speech was just how achingly long it was part of that was because of the pace the president proceeded through this speech with two remarkably different speeds at the very beginning he was speaking very quickly and very excitedly, and he ran through a number of striking lies on economic matters. At the very beginning of the speech, he talked about having inherited the worst inflation in the history of the country, completely ignoring the worst inflation in the history of the country was in the 1980s and the 1920s. He then talked about gas prices and misstated them dramatically. Gas prices on average are like $2.94 a gallon. He was talking about $1.85 a gallon gas. He then talked about his miraculous and best ever in the history of the country job creation. Just for context, in 2023 under Joe Biden, the economy created over 2 million jobs. 2024 under Joe Biden, the economy created over 2 million jobs. 2025 under Donald Trump, job creation was less than 200,000 jobs. So it's a wild misstatement by the president. also in general talking about the health of the economy, talked about having inherited the worst economy in the history of the country and turned it into the best. Economic growth, GDP growth in 2023 was 2.9% under Joe Biden. 2024 was 2.8% under Joe Biden. Last year, under Donald Trump, it was 2.2%. So again, just sort of rushing through these statements. He was bragging about grocery prices, food prices. Inflation there is actually up 2.9% over general inflation at 2.5%. Grocery inflation is up this year compared to last year. The president didn't seem very invested in the lies that he was telling about the economy, but he did list a whole bunch of them right off the bat. But as I say, some of the takeaway there I think is mostly going to be his pace and his freneticism. I asked our control room to pull just one 30-second clip from this front section of the speech so you can just hear how wound up and weird he was. In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it. People are asking me, please, please, please, Mr. President, we're winning too much. We can't take it anymore. We're not used to winning in our country. until you came along with just always losing, but now we're winning too much. And I say, no, no, no, you're going to win again. You're going to win big. You're going to win bigger than ever. That was what was going on with the president at the beginning of his speech. We at least at that point thought that the speech would go quickly because he was speaking quickly, even if he was ad-libbing a lot. But then he ended up slowing down a lot, and particularly slowing down markedly for long stretches of the speech that were essentially sort of violence porn. He talked about people being covered in blood, gushing blood, blood pouring out of things. He talked about people being on the edge of death. He went into graphic detail on a number of different people's injuries of various kind. And in those moments, he slowed down, ad-libbed a lot, and tried to give seemingly as much sort of gory detail as he could, talking about very bloody scenes. He also, I should mention, in talking in very stark detail about a terrible attack on a Ukrainian woman in North Carolina, ad-libbed that the person who had attacked her had gotten into this country because of open borders, which was not at all true. That woman was not attacked by somebody who had come from outside this country. But that was the sort of again sort of violently pornographic riffing that the president did very slowly throughout the back half of his speech which made it go on for the longest period any State of the Union address has ever gone on before There were very few actual proposals that were announced. He announced a war on fraud to be led by J.D. Vance. He announced something about 401ks. I think the length of the speech, there'll be two takeaways, I take it, from this speech. And one is the length of it as the president luxuriated in the descriptions of the goriest things that have ever been mentioned in any State of the Union speech. And I think also this indelible image from just before he started. Congressman Al Green, who famously heckled the president and sort of wielded his cane at the president last year, this time holding up a sign at the beginning of the speech that said black people aren't apes, before he was rushed out of the chamber. That, of course, is a reference to the president having posted something on social media, putting the heads and faces of former president and former first lady Barack and Michelle Obama on apes' bodies. Representative Green putting that front and center tonight at the very start of this speech. The president has now rushed out of the chamber fairly quickly, and we now await the Democratic response. Nicole, what did you see tonight? Well, I saw the same things you saw, but I circled the same moment, and I didn't know what sound like you were going to play, but there were two things said before the speech that just clanged in my ears the whole time. One of them was Senator Cory Booker, who said to you in response to your last question, in explanation for why he wasn't going, Donald Trump is violating the rule of law. He's violating judicial orders. He's taking our children. He's violating our public safety. This should not be business as usual. Our country is in crisis. And then Stephanie Ruhl talked about how he's in a gilded bubble. And I actually viewed the speech as a window. as Chris said, he's not trying to persuade anyone of anything this was a window into what Stephanie's describing he lives in a world and after he talks about all that winning he talks about how everyone comes up to him and talks about how hot we are well, do you know who thinks that? I mean, 34% of Americans approve of the job he's doing I don't know what subset thinks the country's hot but it definitely, most likely includes the people on the omelet line at Mar-a-Lago and so his entire feedback loop is exactly what Steph Ruhl described after being with him today. Not just a bubble, which all presidents can end up in, most tried hard to push out of it literally and figuratively. He has wrapped himself in the kind of people who think the country is hot. And when he said that to a country of which 66% disapprove of the job he's doing, including large swaths of his own coalition, just revealed himself to be completely, completely out of touch. Jen, we're about, we think, just a couple of minutes away, maybe even less than that, away from Abigail Sandberger's Democratic response. We'll have to go to that in a minute. But let me get your first response to Trump's remarks. As I was watching that, I was just thinking about the fact that we're just over eight months from the midterm elections. And that is no matter what number of people battled through that nearly two-hour speech, it's still going to be his largest audience of the year. And if you're sitting in a White House before a speech for any president, you're thinking about a couple things. How does the president use that speech to give a message to not just the people in the chamber, but his political allies out there about what they should be talking about, what the agenda is, what the winning message is? And Trump decided to double down on things that are hugely unpopular. I mean, to your point, it was like a three-part speech. There was the gross, violent pornography part of it. There was the circus entertainer part where he was bringing out unrelated people and vignettes. And then there was a part that was policy-ish, right? And that was doubling down on tariffs in the ABC poll, 72% of independents disapprove, and doubling down on immigration and his policies were 58% disapprove. So if you're a Republican sitting there, you're a Republican running for office, that is not a speech that gives you a guidance, not a speech that helps you out there try to win. I'm looking forward to hearing everybody's response to what we just heard there, but we're going to go right now to Williamsburg, Virginia. Governor Abigail Spanberger set to deliver the Democratic response to President Trump's State of the Union. Here she is. Good evening. Good evening and welcome to historic Williamsburg. We are gathered here in the chambers of the House of Burgesses. In 1705, the people of the Virginia colony gathered here to take on the extraordinary task of governing themselves. Before there was a Declaration of Independence, a Constitution, or a Bill of Rights, there were people in this room. The people who served here ultimately dreamed of what a new nation, unlike anything the world had ever seen, could be. The United States was founded on the idea that ordinary people could reject the unacceptable excesses of poor leadership, band together to demand better of their government, and create a nation that would be an example for the world. And this year, as we celebrate 250 years since America declared our independence from tyranny, I can think of no better place to speak to you as we reflect on the current state of our union. Tonight, as we watched our nation's lawmakers gather for a joint session of Congress, we did not hear the truth from our president. So let's speak plainly and honestly. And let me ask you, the American people watching at home, three questions. Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family? Is the president working to keep Americans safe both at home and abroad? Is the president working for you? As I campaigned for governor last year, I traveled to every corner of Virginia, and I heard the same pressing concern everywhere. Costs are too high in housing, health care, energy, and child care. And I know these same conversations are being had all across this country. because since this president took office last year, his reckless trade policies have forced American families to pay more than $1,700 each in tariff costs. Small businesses have suffered. Farmers have suffered. Some losing entire markets. Everyday Americans are paying the price. And even though the Supreme Court struck these tariffs down four days ago, the damage to us, the American people, has already been done. Meanwhile, the president is planning for new tariffs, another massive tax hike on you and your family. And Republicans in Congress, they remain unwilling to assert their constitutional authority to stop him. They're making your life harder. They're making your life more expensive. They're even making it more difficult to see a doctor. Rural health clinics in Virginia and across the country are already closing their doors thanks to the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill, championed by the president and Republicans in Congress. And tonight, the president celebrated this law, the one threatening rural hospitals, stripping health care for millions of Americans and driving up costs in energy and housing, all while cutting food programs for hungry kids. But here in Virginia, I am working with our state legislature to lower costs and make the Commonwealth more affordable. And it's not just me. Democrats across the country are laser focused on affordability in our nation's capital and in state capitals and communities across America. in the most innovative and exceptional nation in the history of the world, Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night. Problems that dictate where you live, whether you can afford to start a business or whether you have to skip a prescription in order to buy groceries. So I'll ask again, is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family? We all know the answer is no. I grew up in a house of service. My mother was a nurse and my father was a career law enforcement officer. I began my career by following in my father's footsteps as a federal agent working money laundering and narcotics cases. I worked side by side with local and state police to keep our community safe and to uphold and enforce the law. Law enforcement officers across the country know that it is a unique responsibility to do the serious work of investigating crimes, comforting victims, and making arrests. It's about building trust, and that requires an abiding sense of duty and commitment to community. And yet, our president has sent poorly trained federal agents into our cities where they have arrested and detained American citizens and people who aspire to be Americans. And they have done it without a warrant. They have ripped nursing mothers away from their babies. They have sent children, a little boy in a blue bunny hat, children to far off detention centers. and they have killed American citizens in our streets. And they have done it all with their faces masked from accountability. Every minute spent sowing fear is a minute not spent investigating murders, crimes against children, or the criminals defrauding seniors of their life savings. Our president told us tonight that we are safer. Because these agents arrest mothers and detain children? Think about that. Our broken immigration system is something to be fixed, not an excuse for unaccountable agents to terrorize our communities. After working in law enforcement, I continued my career of service as a CIA officer, working undercover to protect the United States and our allies from global threats, terrorism, nuclear weapons, and the aggression of adversarial nations around the globe. But as the president spoke of his perceived successes tonight, he continues to cede economic power and technological strength to Russia, bow down to China, bow down to a Russian dictator, and make plans for war with Iran. Here's the truth. Over the last year through doge, mass firings, and the appointment of deeply unserious people to our nation's most serious positions, our president has endangered the long and storied history of the United States of America being a force for good. So I'll ask again, is the president working to keep Americans safe, both at home and abroad? We all know the answer is no. In his speech tonight, the president did what he always does. He lied, he scapegoated, and he distracted. And he offered no real solutions to our nation's pressing challenges, so many of which he is actively making worse. He tries to divide us. He tries to enrage us, to pit us against one another, neighbor against neighbor. And sometimes he succeeds. And so you have to ask, who benefits from his rhetoric, his policies, his actions, the short list of laws he's pushed through this Republican Congress? Somebody must be benefiting. He's enriching himself, his family, his friends. The scale of the corruption is unprecedented. There's the cover-up of the Epstein files, the crypto scams, cozying up to foreign princes for airplanes and billionaires for ballrooms, putting his name and face on buildings all over our nation's capital. This is not what our founders envisioned, not by a long shot. So I'll ask again, is the president working for you? We all know the answer is no. But here's the special thing about America. On our 250th anniversary, we know better than any nation what is possible when ordinary citizens like those who once dreamed right here in this room reject the unacceptable and demand more of their government. We see it in the determination of students organizing school walkouts all across the country, whose voices are becoming so powerful that the governor of Texas seeks to silence them. We see it in the bravery of Americans in Minnesota standing up for their communities, from peacefully protesting in sub-zero temperatures to carpooling children to school so that their immigrant parents are not ripped away from them. in the parking lot. As a mother of three school-aged daughters, I am inspired by their bravery, but I am sickened that it is necessary. And Americans across the country are taking action. They are going to the ballot box to reject this chaos. With their votes, they are writing a new story, a more hopeful story. In November, I won my election by 15 points. And we won 13 new seats in our state legislature. Because voters decided they wanted something different. Our campaign earned votes from Democrats, Republicans, independents, and everyone in between. Because they knew as citizens they could demand more. That they could vote for what they believe matters. and that they didn't need to be constrained by a party or political affiliation. This is happening across the country. New Jersey elected Mikey Sherrill as governor in a double-digit victory. Democrats flipped state legislative seats in places like Georgia, Iowa, Mississippi, and Texas. The list goes on and on. Ordinary Americans are stepping up to run in the spirit of our forefathers. They are running to demand more and to do more for their neighbors and communities. I know this story well. I first ran for office in 2018 alongside dozens of other Democrats who did the seemingly impossible, flipping 41 seats in Congress. In my case, I was the first Democrat elected in 50 years, swinging our district 17 points. Those who are stepping up now to run will win in November because Americans, you at home, know you can demand more. And that we are working to lower costs. We are working to keep our communities and our country safe. And we are working for you. In his farewell address, George Washington warned us about the possibility of, quote, cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men rising to power. But he also encouraged us, all Americans, to unite in a common cause, to move this nation forward. That is our charge once more, and that is what we are seeing across the country. It is deeply American and patriotic to do so, and it is how we ensure that the state of our union remains strong, not just this year, but for the next 250 years as well, because we, the people, have the power to make change, the power to stand up for what is right, the power to demand more of our nation. May God bless the Commonwealth of Virginia and may God bless the United States of America. As President Trump continues implementing his ambitious agenda, follow along with the MSNOW newsletter, Project 47. You'll get weekly updates sent straight to your inbox with expert analysis on the administration's latest actions and how they're affecting the American people. The American people are basically telling the president that they are not OK with any of this. Sign up for the Project 47 newsletter at MS.now slash Project 47. from Williamsburg, Virginia the official democratic response to President Trump's State of the Union tonight delivered by newly elected Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger she is a calm presence, she is a she is a steady presence in terms of the way that she presents her material, but that was a rip-roaring speech, that was to my mind, that was a very good speech, I think she has avoided the curse of the opposite party's response, which we so often see after State of the Union. We always talk about how difficult it is to follow up the tremendous pomp and circumstance of that room and the presidency, and there are all these notorious moments, Marco Rubio at the water, the Kate Britt response a few years back. I'm still scarred by the Kate That was really quite memorable. And, you know, what struck me there, aside from the sort of smart thing that she had borrowed from Bob McDonnell, who also did this, and having people there so you're clapping, you're not, you know, it's not in an empty room. It was forthright, straightforward, succinct, and normal. It was the opposite of weird. What we just saw before that was very odd. I mean, profoundly odd. And, you know, that's sort of Trump's shtick at this point. He's a strange person. And his strangeness is kind of, like, captivating to some, beguiling to others. That was kind of the antidote to that. I was struck also, as she talked about her section on immigration, because it was a little bit of a, it was a real window into how the politics of that issue have changed, particularly what was in her speech and was not in Donald Trump's very long speech. She talked about masked ICE agents. She talked about children in Spider-Man backpacks being taken away. She talked about American citizens being killed. There are now, we know, three of them, not just two, one of which was apparently kind of covered up by Department of Homeland Security. The one in Texas recently? In Texas last year. And what was striking about that is as she went through that litany, again, this is a fairly centrist politician, as she said, centristy, like ran a pretty centrist campaign, forthrightly on offense on those issues. And then I thought back and I was like, oh, you know what? That is pretty striking. Go back to the Trump speech. There's one mention in Minnesota and it's on the fraud question. There is no mention of the deployment there. There is no mention of anything that's happened there in the last, I mean, something that was at the center of the nation's imagination. The deaths of two Americans, the marauding agents on the streets. Not a defense. No mention. There's no mention of Tom Homan. There's no mention of Kristi Noe. All of that, which I think he thought was going to be his big calling card. Gregory Profino is crying at home right now in the shoe he lives in. Nazis. I mean, but think about that. Like, think about here's your big thing. You're doing, you know, and this is your big Stephen Miller, Donald Trump project. We're doing mass deportation. They had the mass deportation signs out of the RNC. And now you are, and you've been doing it. And the whole country's been watching, and you have your big speech. Yeah, only the Democrats will talk about it to remind America what they've seen. Yeah, it's very interesting. Michael? Yeah, I want to pick up on that point because the way he brought all of that into focus was in the stories he told about immigrants killing white people in America. Yeah. That was back to playing the hits. It was back to playing the hits. He was trying to make it very clear. I'm not going to tell you about Minnesota. I'm going to tell you about the truth. You know why the truth is on the ground. Let me tell you the story about the young woman who was killed over here or the young woman who was killed over there. So Donald Trump, wanting to avoid the very thing that you just talked about, did a little side curve around the corner. Let me take you on a different kind of trip to that block. So you see it from a different perspective, my perspective. And I thought that was a very fascinating way to do it because the issue is so fraught and because Americans are so resolute about how they feel about it, right? And he didn't want to step into that. He wasn't going to step into that. So let me remind you of the thing you're afraid of. Let me remind you of the thing you don't like. Let me talk about blood. Let me talk about blood. The blood and the gore. The blood and the gore. I love the way you talked about it was violence porn. It was really kind of just like, dude, really? This is how you're going to talk about a U.S. soldier who was wounded? This is how you're going to talk about a young woman who was attacked? But, again, that's the calling card. That's the energy that his base feeds off of. They like those stories. They want to hear those stories because they run over and over in a loop in their minds in so many ways. The second point off of that, it's really interesting what Trump's economy is. It's really three things. It's the market, Wall Street. It's 401ks, right? And it's tariffs. That's it. That's it. And so now he's sort of reaching out and saying, hey, I'm going to give your child $1,000 a year. I'm still trying to figure out how $18,000 over 18 years grows to $100,000. But, okay, there may be some good math there. But this is his way of trying to connect the dot with everyday folks that he's abandoned and left to the side of the economic road. The last point, and this goes to the governor of Virginia, I'm not a fan of the speech after the speech for a whole host of reasons. The response. The response. Category. For a whole lot of reasons, Lars and I could probably identify with over the years. because in many respects, unless you're prepared to take that moment and tell the country what you're going to do, don't talk to me. I mean, regardless of what Donald Trump says or George Bush or Barack Obama, the opposing party should come in that moment and say, you just heard this, but let me tell you what we're prepared to put on the floor tomorrow. And that's how we begin to reignite an idea around policy and around parties kind of trying to solve problems. Don't give – that was a good speech. I'm not going to take it from the governor. I like the speech, and she hit on some really good things. But I just think we need to think a little bit bigger and better as political, how we can move the country off of what we're now in into something a little better. I think it was an anti-authoritarian measure. No, not just specifically, but in the way she said people who are going to run this year are going to win. And I won. I turned a seat by 17 points that a Democrat hadn't held in 50 years, and we took 41 seats, she's trying to say he is portraying himself as a dictator for life in this country. There is a political future coming, and we are going to ascend in that political future. And so think about things essentially in a shorter time frame. And that's – I actually – I was thinking about it in those same terms, like, oh, she's not talking about a lot of policy. She's trying to give people a vision of there still being a democracy in this country in which the chairs will change in terms of who's in them. Lawrence, both speeches. So to the governor's speech, and I take Michael's point, but I do think she did something really effective, which is, remember, her job, Donald Trump's job, is to try to elect Republicans in the coming election. That's what this speech was supposed to be. It was supposed to be a campaign speech. Her job is trying to win seats for Democrats. And so with that in mind, she left the voter with a very simple question. She said, is the president working for you? And what I loved was the way the answer was phrased. She didn't just say no. She said, we all know the answer is no. I'm sure it is. A national, unanimous opinion that you know it. He just cares about building the ballroom. He does not care about building anything in your community. And to the Trump speech, it has to be in proportional terms. the least amount of governing policy per minute of speech. So you've got about two hours. The biggest applause in the speech is for a goalie. It's not for the president. It's for a hockey player and his team. And 20% of it maybe is about policy. All the rest of it is introducing people in the audience and stealing the applause that way. And when you get to the policy, the policy is he wants tariffs to replace the income. So you are in raging dementia when you're in the policy section of the out of control. He's gone. And here's the nutty thing. The Republican Party. I didn't even absorb that that actually was what he was proposing. But you're right. That was it. But it's worse. The Republican Party in that room could have just winced and been quiet. They clapped for it. They clapped for it because they are lost. And so the policy piece of the speech was absolute zero. And all the rest of it was just trying to cheat applause from people he brought to the show. Yeah, I mean, to echo Laura's saying he's gone, I'm reminded of Grateful Dead. He's gone rolling down the track. Nothing's going to bring him back. and I do think people are watching this. Donald Trump has done the best when everyone forgets how he governs and he can just make promises, and he got a little high off that in 24. It's over. For him to sit around and make up things about tariffs, as Lawrence is reminding people, when consumers and businesses have had a year to watch the tariff debacle and then in the worst timing ever have the Supreme Court say, you're powerless, you can't do this without Congress anyway, I think was a reality check. Epstein, which we started off with one of the big stories tonight on, has been a reality check that even the right wing podcasters and influencers don't always want to lie for him on. And so we're watching someone who maybe if you can't see into the party, if you've ever tried to go to like a late night concert or rave and there's a cover and you don't know if it's worth paying, you're looking through the glass and it looks like it could be cool and crowded, you're not sure. Other times, if you go up there and it's like a glass window and you see it and you're like, there's no party in there. They're just charging a cover. This isn't happening. This was Donald Trump saying, hey, look, we got a party going. Look at these people. You like hockey. You like the military. Everybody tells me we're hot. We're hot. We're hot. We're hot. No, you're not. We can see behind you. You're standing in front of this empty room. And a lot of people like hockey and, of course, saluting our soldiers. but you don't get to just steal that when you're at 36% and the country's waiting for solution. So I thought that was a real failure. Quickly on the Democratic speech, I hear Michael's point. It was more concise than the president's speech. Oh, yeah. So you got this targeting. So is the Bible. And you really got a preview of the next generation of Democrats, which spans from Virginia to Imamdani and says, I think what you referenced, they have momentum, they just won these last ones. Who knows, but it looks good in the midterms. So get ready, America, because the whole thing is shifting. And people love winning. I mean, as bad and as difficult as things are out there, including the economy, and neither party is going to win by minimizing that, a little mojo goes a long way. Yeah, being able to say that this is going to change. These guys are not going to be in charge forever. Democrats have a plan, and we're going to win, and you need to start thinking about the next stage of American politics. People are thinking of the hottest opposition party in the country. I heard. They're hot. Now you've made me have the most awkward segue ever because we're going to a reverend now. Thanks, Grant. Appreciate it. Let's bring in Georgia U.S. Senator, the Reverend Raphael Warnock. Senator Warnock, it's a pleasure to have you with us tonight. Thank you very much for being here. Good to be here with you. It was hard for us watching here from our studio to have a sense of what was happening in the room. We know that there was some interaction between the president and Democratic members of Congress or the Senate. We know that there was a demonstration by Representative Al Green at the beginning holding a very pointed sign which said black people are not apes in reference to an incredibly racist film posted online by the president not long ago. So what can you tell us about what happened in the room and what it was like for you to be there for the remarks this evening? Well, that speech was hard to watch. It was incredibly hard to sit through. One year after Donald Trump entered office, the American people are suffering. And the most marginalized members of the American family are suffocating under his policies. His costs are up across the board, owing in large part to his tariffs, which are a tax on virtually everything for everybody. Health care is out of reach. They kicked 15 million Americans off of their health care, double health care costs for some 22 million Americans. Americans are literally being disappeared off of the streets by masked men jumping out of unmarked cars. Donald Trump knows that he is losing. We heard tonight the rumblings of a desperate man who's trying to present the best case he can for the midterms. It was half lies, half grievances. He knows that he is quickly losing power. And so a signature part of his plan, as he expressed it tonight, was to try to find some way to pass the so-called SAVE Act. They certainly aren't trying to save America. They're trying to save their power at any cost. Senator Warnock, it's Jen Psaki. I wanted to ask you about what happens tomorrow, because tomorrow when everybody wakes up, the speech is, of course, over. The Supreme Court has rebuked, of course, still Donald Trump's tariff policy that was very present in his speech. There's still the question of the Epstein files. There's so many issues for Democrats to talk about as they're trying to win back seats just eight months from now. What do you do with this speech and where do Democrats go from here? Well, listen, you have to center the concerns of ordinary people. And I think it's so important to say that at the top of your lungs, especially on a night like tonight, because the State of the Union, let's face it, is political drama in many respects. And Donald Trump is the ultimate performer. He is a reality television show entertainer. And we got a whole lot of that tonight. But the reality is I brought to the State of the Union Bill Lee, who is the CEO of a rural hospital in Georgia, Evans County Memorial Hospital. This hospital sits in the district that Donald Trump won by leaps and bounds by 70 percent. It's a red district. But that health care, their health care infrastructure, that hospital is struggling. They lost their labor and delivery unit a few years ago, and they could well lose their ICU because of Donald Trump's policies. And I thought it was important for me to be there because I represent all of Georgia. And I thought if Donald Trump was going to lie about what he's doing for health care, he should have to do it in the faces of my own constituents and people who are seeing millions of Americans lose their health care and costs going up across the board for ordinary people while things are going incredibly well for billionaires and people like him. Senator Warnock, it's Rachel Maddow again. I wanted to ask you about something that Governor Spanberger said in her Democratic response tonight. She said he tried to enrage us, to divide us, to pit us against one another, neighbor against neighbor, and sometimes he succeeds. And so you have to ask, who benefits from this rhetoric, his policies, his actions, and the short list of laws he's pushed through the Republican Congress? Someone must be benefiting. He's enriching himself, his family, his friends. The scale of the corruption is unprecedented. There's a cover-up of the Epstein files, the crypto scams, cozying up to foreign princes for airplanes and billionaires for ballrooms, putting his face and name on buildings all over our nation's capital. This is not what our founders envisioned. Very striking and aggressive remarks from Governor Spanberger there. And the corruption part of it and the Epstein scandal part of it obviously are resonating today with this new news that the Justice Department appears to have withheld dozens of pages of documents that appear to relate to serious allegations against President Trump himself and a minor child. What is your sense of the Epstein files release and whether or not Democrats have the ability to continue to force additional accountability in that story? Well, I think the American people should ask, why does he want to disclose all of the files? What does he have to hide? Donald Trump is a plague on the American conscience. He is a desperate and divisive demagogue who's trying to distract us because he doesn't know how to lead us. And so what we witnessed tonight is really deeper than partisan politics. I'm not naive about what happens in politics. We've all seen the brass knuckle politics. You know, it's a contact sport. But I can tell you as someone who was sitting in the chamber tonight, he unleashes a kind of poison into our politics that divides neighbor against neighbor. I wonder time and time again as I listen to him, what are my colleagues thinking as he's saying all of these things in the vicious way in which he attacks? It's really beyond partisanship. It is a kind of wickedness being unleashed in the ether. And it has consequences, tragic consequences, sometimes deadly consequences. He is tearing at the fabric of our nation. And why is he doing this? Because as he keeps us distracted, as he keeps people looking at their neighbor and remaining suspicious of them, because they're perceived to be other in some way. He is moving wealth from the bottom to the top. He is enriching his family and people like himself while keeping Americans at each other's throat. But the American people are smart. They are savvy. And the polling shows us that they see what Donald Trump is up to. And come November, they're going to call him to account and those who are enabling him in Congress. Strong words, stirring words. Senator Raphael Warna, Democrat of Georgia, sir, thank you very much. I know it's been a long night, and that was a long speech to sit through. Thank you very much for being here, sir. Thank you. As President Trump continues implementing his ambitious agenda, follow along with the MSNOW newsletter, Project 47. You'll get weekly updates sent straight to your inbox with expert analysis on the administration's latest actions and how they're affecting the American people. The American people are basically telling the president that they are not okay with any of this. Sign up for the Project 47 newsletter at ms.now slash project 47.