Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Delivering America’s longest State of the Union speech to the US Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump, 79, facing a mid-term election later this year, tried to calm economic jitters and claimed the dawn of a ‘golden age.’
He boasted that he had ushered in “the golden age of America,” seeking to project an aura of success despite sagging approval ratings and deepening voter frustration ahead of November’s midterm election.
Responding to calls from Republican lawmakers, worried they could lose their US Congressional majority in the November midterm polls, Trump spent the first hour of his televised speech focused on the economy, saying he had slowed inflation, driven the stock market to record heights, signed sweeping tax cuts and lowered drug prices.
Democratic Representative Al Green, who held high a protest sign, was escorted out of the House of Representatives chamber at the start of President Trump’s address, the media reported on Wednesday.
In a rather rambling and incoherent speech, Trump declared that “we’re winning so much,” saying he’d sparked a jobs and manufacturing boom at home while imposing a new world order abroad — hoping that offering a long list of his accomplishments can counter approval ratings that have been falling.
Trump spoke for 1 hour and 41 minutes, breaking Bill Clinton’s record of one hour and 20 minutes.
His main objective was to convince increasingly wary Americans that the economy is stronger than many believed and that they should vote for more of the same by backing Republicans in November 2026 midterm elections.
Trump appealed to bipartisan patriotic sentiments, dramatically inviting the Olympic gold-medal winning US men’s rice hockey team into the House chamber to applause. The team came to the US Capitol after an afternoon visit to the White House.
“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, Mister President, we’re winning too much. We can’t take it anymore,'” Trump boasted before introducing the team.
“’We’re not used to winning in our country until you came along.’”
In another made-for-TV moment, he announced he would be awarding the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America’s highest civilian honor, to the hockey team’s goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck.
Trump championed his immigration crackdowns and slashing of the federal government, as well as his push to preserve widespread tariffs that the Supreme Court just struck down. As he has in the past, he declared states largely run by Democrats, singling out Minnesota where alleged illegal immigrants have been protesting against eviction.
The US President also announced that technology companies involved in artificial intelligence (AI) are agreeing to pay higher electricity rates in areas where their data centers are located. Data centers tend to use large volumes of electricity, potentially increasing the cost of power to other consumers in the area.
He drew applause only from Democrats while describing the Supreme Court’s ruling last week striking down many of his signature tariff policies. He called it “an unfortunate ruling” and said “everything was working well” before the court’s decision.
But Trump said he would plow ahead, using “alternative” laws to impose the taxes on imports and telling lawmakers, “Congressional action will not be necessary.”
He also made a bold prediction, suggesting that someday tariffs would “substantially replace” the modern income tax system. He claimed the tariffs are paid by foreign countries despite evidence that the costs are borne by American consumers and businesses.
“It’s saving our country,” Trump said of tariffs, adding that they were “peace-protecting.”
Democrats also stood for Trump vowing to crackdown on insider trading by lawmakers, prompting Trump to offer, “I’m very impressed.”
When some heckling continued, Trump proclaimed, “You should be ashamed of yourselves.” Later, he pointed at Democrats and proclaimed, “These people are crazy,” adding, “Democrats are destroying our country.”
Democratic Rep Al Green was escorted from the chamber after he unfurled a sign of protest that read “Black People Aren’t Apes!” The sign appeared to be a reference to a social media video Trump had posted earlier this month depicting former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as primates in a jungle. Green was also removed during Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress last year.
Trump devoted relatively little time in his speech to efforts to bring down the cost of living — despite polling showing that his handling of the economy and kitchen table issues has slipped.
On Tuesday, he blamed his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, along with Democratic lawmakers in the chamber, saying they were responsible for rising prices and health care costs, two issues his opponents have repeatedly raised against him.
The President boasted of taming inflation and said he has the economy humming, given that the Dow Jones Industrial Average recently exceeded 50,000 points for the first time.
Trump spent relatively little time on foreign policy also, despite his address coming as two US aircraft carriers have been dispatched to the Middle East amid tensions with Iran.
Trump has repeatedly recounted how US airstrikes last summer pounded Tehran’s nuclear capabilities, and lauded the raid that ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as well as his administration’s brokering of a ceasefire in Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.
But he’s also strained US military alliances with NATO, thanks to his push to seize Greenland from Denmark and his failure to take a harder line with Russian President Vladimir Putin in seeking an end to the war in Ukraine. Tuesday was the fourth anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine war.
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