WASHINGTON — Wearing his signature red tie with a navy suit with an American flag pin on his lapel, President Donald Trump offered a version of American strength as he attempted to calm nerves about the economy during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Trump vowed to maintain unilateral tariffs on foreign goods despite what he called a “disappointing” Supreme Court ruling. He said the tariffs would remain in place under fully approved and tested alternative legal statutes. Four of the justices, including three who voted against the ruling, were present in the chamber during Trump’s speech.
“Our nation is back. Bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before,” Trump declared. The president claimed that the “economy is roaring like never before” and that this is “the golden age of America.”
He touted popular policies in his controversial 2025 tax cut, from eliminating taxes on tips for wage workers to investment vehicles for newborns dubbed “Trump accounts.”
“With modest additional contributions,” Trump said, “accounts could grow to $100,000 or more by the time children turn 18.”
Trump’s speech came as polls show the majority of Americans disapprove of how the president is handling key issues, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll conducted via Ipsos’ KnowledgePanel poll.
Trump said Democrats should “be ashamed of yourselves” for not standing when he said, “The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., yelled back, “You have killed Americans!”
Trump delivered a message to Iran as tensions continue to build in the region, vowing Tehran would not obtain a nuclear weapon.
“They were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program, in particular nuclear weapons, yet they continue, starting it all over,” Trump said. “We wiped it out, and they want to start all over again and are, at this moment, again pursuing their sinister ambitions.”
The president presented a country rebounding from crisis and entering what he called a “golden age” as it nears its 250th anniversary.
This year, voters will deliver their own assessment of that claim.
