Trump hails ‘golden age’ as US voters sour on economy
Katharine Jackson and Joseph Ax |
US President Donald Trump has boasted in his State of the Union address that he has ushered in “the golden age of America”, seeking to project an aura of success despite sagging approval ratings before November’s midterm election.
Heeding calls from Republican lawmakers worried they could lose their congressional majority, 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.
But it was unclear whether his rosy assessment would assuage Americans’ anger about the cost of living.
Trump sought to blame his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, for high prices, but opinion polls show voters hold Trump responsible for not doing more to improve affordability.
“Our nation is back – bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before,” Trump said on Tuesday to cheers from fellow Republicans in Congress, with dozens of empty seats on the Democratic side a reminder that many lawmakers skipped the speech for anti-Trump rallies outside.
The annual speech came at a fraught moment for Trump’s presidency, with polls showing most Americans have soured on his performance, anxieties rising over Iran, and his signature tariff policy foundering after the US Supreme Court struck down most of his import taxes.
For much of the speech, Trump was uncharacteristically disciplined, mostly appearing to stick to his prepared remarks and eschewing his usual stream-of-consciousness digressions.
But he flashed his combative side while discussing his immigration crackdown, exchanging shouted insults with several Democratic lawmakers.
The former reality television star injected plenty of spectacle into the event.
At one point, he bragged about all the “winning” the US had experienced before introducing members of the US men’s ice hockey team, who entered the chamber wearing the gold medals they won at the Winter Olympics on Sunday.
The 79-year-old Trump’s speech lasted an hour and 47 minutes, breaking the record he set in 2025 for the longest presidential address to Congress.
While Trump said inflation was “plummeting”, prices for groceries, housing, insurance and utilities remain significantly higher than they were a few years ago.
Democrats hope to seize control of both houses of Congress from Republicans in November.
Trump, who attacked the Supreme Court in personal terms after the tariff decision on Friday, held his fire, shaking hands with the four justices present as he entered the chamber.
He called the ruling “unfortunate” but argued it would ultimately have little impact on his trade policy.
Trump spent little time on foreign policy.
He again claimed he “ended” eight wars – an exaggeration – and barely mentioned Ukraine despite Tuesday marking the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion.
Trump also did not offer clarity regarding his plans for Iran amid signs he is inching closer to a military conflict with Tehran.
He said he preferred to deal with Iran through diplomacy, “but one thing is certain: I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon”.
When Trump turned to immigration, he repeated the same rhetoric from his 2024 campaign, claiming undocumented migrants were responsible for a wave of violent crime despite studies showing that is not the case.
“You should be ashamed,” he told Democrats, chastising them for refusing to fund the Department of Homeland Security unless measures are taken to curb the aggressive tactics of immigration agents.
Opinion polls show most Americans believe Trump’s immigration crackdown has gone too far, after two US citizens were shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis.
As Trump praised his immigration enforcement, Democrat Ilhan Omar, who represents a Minneapolis US House district, shouted: “You have killed Americans!”
Other Democrats offered quieter messages of protest, with a number of women wearing tags saying “release the files”, referring to the scandal surrounding convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Reuters