By Trevor Hunnicutt and Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, a potentially pivotal moment as the White House seeks to firm up support among Republican voters ahead of November’s midterm election.
Trump spoke against a backdrop of rising tensions with Iran and voter frustration with the high cost of living.
Here are some takeaways from Trump’s address:
IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID
Trump put dollars and cents at the heart of his speech, suggesting his aides, who have been pushing him for weeks to speak more about the economy, have prevailed for now.
He offered a broad-based sweep of kitchen-table economic issues – housing, healthcare, utility bills, crime, retirement – but he again stopped short of acknowledging that many Americans are still struggling with the high cost of living, including food and house prices.
Trump promised that his healthcare proposals to reduce drug prices and make federal payments directly to people would be cost-saving. He insisted that the tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court were generating revenue and were being restored under different legal authority.
Some party strategists have warned that without a more emphatic message on inflation, Trump’s Republican Party is at risk of losing control of Congress in the November midterm election.
In Trump’s telling, inflation, mortgage rates and gas prices are falling, while the stock market, oil production and foreign direct investment are booming along with construction and factory jobs.
But government data shows inflation ticked up last year, while the economy lost factory jobs and overall job creation was anemic. And while prices of some items – like eggs – have dropped since Trump’s return to the White House, food and other prices more broadly have increased.
Voters tell pollsters they are anxious about the economy and are dissatisfied with Trump’s handling of the issue. Some 56% disapprove of his handling of the economy, Reuters/Ipsos polling shows, while 36% approve.
POLITICAL THEATER
Despite an uncharacteristically disciplined performance, Trump peppered his State of the Union address with made-for-TV flourishes designed to illustrate his case to voters. He doled out medals, introduced surprise guests and clashed with Democrats.
Awards for Korean War Navy pilot E. Royce Williams and Team USA hockey goaltender Connor Hellebuyck – and the public name-checking of invited guests, including slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s widow Erika – punctuated the speech.
Trump gave Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, a helicopter pilot injured during the operation to capture then-Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, a Medal of Honor.
Each gesture underscored how the addresses have become political theater over the years, as much about the optics as about the policies.
Trump, ever the showman, has used flashy displays of patriotism to advance his political goals. He staged a military parade on his 79th birthday and has regularly delivered sharply partisan speeches to active-duty servicemembers.
On Tuesday, Trump’s efforts to reinforce narratives he wants voters to internalize were unmistakable. Members of the U.S. men’s ice hockey team, fresh off an Olympic gold medal, were presented as proof that America is “winning” again under Trump’s leadership.
Other guests were introduced as cautionary tales: Dalilah Coleman, a seven‑year‑old injured in a car accident, was cited as evidence of the dangers Trump associates with immigration, while Liberty University student Sage Blair was held up as an example in his critique of schools and transgender policies.
CASE FOR WAR
One of the most-asked questions going into Trump’s speech was whether he would finally make a detailed case for war against Iran, elaborating on the reason for the major U.S. military buildup in the Middle East.
But the president did not mention Iran until well over an hour into his speech. And when he did, he fell back on his standard talking points, saying it was imperative to keep a bomb out of Tehran’s hands. He accused Iran of sowing terror via regional proxy groups and again said the leadership in Tehran had killed tens of thousands of people during recent protests.
He did not articulate why military action was urgent now, nor did he say precisely what he hoped to achieve. He gave little hint about which way he was leaning on using the military – a preoccupation at home and abroad.
During the first 75 minutes, he made only a glancing reference to Venezuela, while Russia and Ukraine were barely mentioned at all. His fixation on acquiring Greenland — a dispute that has strained transatlantic relations — did not come up.
While he spent a good chunk of time later discussing conflicts that his administration has been trying to resolve, the lack of national security and foreign policy talk up front was conspicuous, given how much time and political capital he has been spending on diplomacy.
He has in recent weeks dispatched his closest aides to far-flung capitals to try to settle the war in Ukraine and negotiate with Iran. Last month, his administration deposed the leader of Venezuela, and much of the administration’s time and energy has been focused on managing relations with the South American country.
TRUMP SEEKS TO REGAIN UPPER HAND ON IMMIGRATION
Trump used the speech to try to reclaim the narrative on immigration. While that issue was once a key political strength, it has morphed into a weakness in recent months amid a backlash against the high-profile killings of two U.S. citizens by immigration agents and a mass deportation drive that has proven more popular in theory than in practice.
He never mentioned the work of the Border Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – agencies whose masked agents have been the public face of his crackdown in American cities.
He did, however, highlight crimes carried out by immigrants in graphic terms. And he argued that Democrats could not be trusted to secure the country’s borders and keep Americans safe.
In a sense, it was a return to form for Trump. The president dedicated much of his time on the campaign trail in 2024 to describing the dangers posed by immigrants, a message that resonated with voters. Stripped from his speech was any mention of his own administration’s enforcement tactics.
Overall, Trump sought to steer attention away from the most controversial elements of his immigration enforcement push while highlighting the elements of his message that have resonated in the past.
CHANGING PRIORITIES
Trump’s speech offered a window into his administration’s changing priorities from almost a year ago, the last time he spoke to a joint session of Congress.
What’s gone: a host of foreign policy subjects treated in depth. These include plans to reclaim the Panama Canal and annex Greenland. China, which merited six mentions last year, received none this year. Trump has relaxed policy toward China ahead of his planned state visit in five weeks, and he has backed off for now on his Greenland threats.
Also cut from this year’s remarks was praise for Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. Trump’s affection for both projects has dimmed. Trump did say he would launch a program focused on fraud and chaired by Vice President JD Vance.
What’s in: In addition to a bucket of deliverables on the economy, Trump added a fresh push for election law changes ahead of the November midterms, including voter ID and limits on mail ballots.
TRUMP TAKES AIM AT DEMOCRATS
Trump argued that Republicans deserved two more years of control of Congress because of their handling of the economy, immigration and public safety. But beyond those policy issues, he made a far more visceral appeal to voters to back Republicans.
“These people are crazy,” he said of Democratic lawmakers in the chamber who have voted against most of his legislative proposals and who view his presidency as one that has weakened democratic institutions. “Democrats are destroying this country, but we’ve stopped it just in the nick of time,” he said.
On a number of occasions, Trump took aim at Democrats as anti-American and acting against the best interests of the country, highlighting the increasingly partisan tone of the annual speech.
Democrats stayed in their seats, visibly irritating Trump, while Republicans leapt to their feet to applaud the president on issues ranging from gender politics to illegal migration and crime.
Some, like Representatives Al Green, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, shouted at Trump. For those Democrats, Trump’s views on those issues are divisive and problematic — and upset large parts of their base.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Gram Slattery, editing by Ross Colvin, Colleen Jenkins, Deepa Babington and Howard Goller)
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