Trump’s marathon State of Union: Big claims and the questions he left unanswered

In a lengthy address, Trump on Tuesday laid out his administration’s future plans before Congress and lauded what he described as a “turn around for the ages” in the 12 months since he began his second presidential term.

The response among Congress illustrated the deep divisions that continue to define US politics. While Republicans cheered and gave standing ovations, Democrats reacted with stony silence, occasional heckles and walk outs.

One of the only announcements to garner applause across the aisles was a call by Trump to impose a law to stop insider trading among politicians. 

Read moreHeckles, expulsion, cheers: Top moments from Trump’s State of the Union speech

With the US midterm elections just over seven months away, the televised address was also a change for Trump speak about key issues and convince voters that Republicans should retain control of the House and Senate. Did he succeed?

Trump lauds ‘golden age’ amid rising cost of living

Ahead of Trump’s address, polls showed that most Americans wanted Trump to talk about the cost of living as a top priority, with many keen for his administration to increase its focus on lowering prices for consumer goods, food, housing and healthcare. 

Trump on Tuesday claimed a range of economic wins for voters in the past 12 months – from bringing inflation down to 1.7% to lowering the cost of eggs by 60% – many of which were false or exaggerated. 

For instance, a claim to have “lifted 2.4 million Americans… off food stamps” disguised the fact that a decline in food stamp use is largely due to disruption in distribution caused by a November 2025 government shutdown and changes in eligibility laws.

“Most Americans have quite different experiences with the economy relative to the portrait painted by Trump,” said Jon Rogowski, professor of American politics at the University of Chicago. 

“Economic growth has slowed during his administration, and costs for many goods – including food – have risen. Most people are unlikely to find Trump’s assertions persuasive or reassuring as they belie Americans’ own experiences.”

Tariffs here to stay, despite unpopularity

The president reiterated his belief that imposing steep tariffs on foreign countries had brought in “hundreds of billions of dollars” to the US and given him leverage in negotiations with foreign powers.

He also claimed that pursuing his tariff policy would reduce financial burden on Americans – despite the fact that the taxes drive up prices for consumer goods – and criticised the “unfortunate involvement” of the Supreme Court, who recently ruled that some of his tariffs were illegal.

Recent polling showed that 64% of Americans disapprove of Trumps tariffs, but the president showed little indication of changing course. 

“He again demonstrated that he either does not understand how tariffs work or is deliberately misrepresenting them as a source of foreign revenues benefiting the US rather than an effective tax on its population,” said Jack Rakove, William R. Coe professor of history, emeritus at Stanford University and winner of the 1997 Pulitzer Prize for history.

'Liar!': Tensions flare over immigration

Another topic Americans were keen for Trump to address was immigration, particularly his administration’s heavy-handed approach to deportations led by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

Two US citizens were shot during disputes with ICE officers in Minneapolis in January, sparking nationwide protests. 

Read moreThousands march in cities across US in 'national shutdown' against immigration crackdown

While Trump did not address concerns over ICE directly, he did claim to have secured US borders and completely stopped illegal immigration. 

He frequently referred to immigrants as a destabilising and dangerous force in the US, telling numerous stories of graphic violence perpetrated against US citizens by “hardened criminals” and “terrorists”. 

When Trump did mention Minneapolis it was to reference a large-scale fraud operation on the city’s social services involving some members of the city’s Somali community – which provoked a heckle from Minnesota representative and house Democrat Ilhan Omar, who called Trump a “liar”.

She later shouted at the president: "You have killed Americans".

Questions linger over Iran, Gaza and Ukraine

Trump was expected to use his address as a platform to justify a potential US military strike on Iran to voters – but he gave US foreign policy little airtime overall.

“Ukraine got only a few seconds of attention. His discussion of Israel and Gaza focused mainly on the recovery of all the hostages. He said nothing about how political power would be reconstituted in Gaza or about his Board of Peace,” said Rakove.

Trump took credit for ousting former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and striking an oil deal with the country, as well as stopping the flow of drugs into the US from Mexico and the Caribbean. 

On Iran, Trump praised a US military strike on the country’s nuclear arsenal last year, but said his preference going forward “is to solve this problem through diplomacy” – even as the US continues a massive build up of warships and fighter jets in the Middle East.

"Trump missed a chance to explain his thinking about Iran," said Rogowski, adding that it was "notable" the president did not spend more time explaining the case for military intervention to voters.

"While he raised questions about Iran’s nuclear program and the regime’s treatment of protestors, he forecast little about what next steps the US might take."

Nothing to say on the Epstein files

The unfolding scandal surrounding late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was completely absent from Trump’s speech.

Trump ran for the presidency on a promise to release millions of pages of FBI files shedding light on the activities of Epstein and his web of powerful contacts in the upper echelons of politics, business and academia. 

His administration has overseen the protracted release of heavily redacted tranches of the files – often blocking references to Trump himself – which have largely failed to satisfy public demand for more information.

While Trump declined to mention the scandal, Democrats including former house speaker Nancy Pelosi wore badges in solidarity with Epstein’s victims calling for more of the FBI files to be released.

A path to midterm victory?

While Republicans in attendance responded with almost blanket enthusiasm to Trump’s speech, their path to retaining to power in November’s midterm elections is far from assured.

Polling head of the State of the Union address showed a noticeable drop in his approval rating, with voters particularly unhappy with how Trump is handling immigration, the economy and tariffs. 

“Republican members of Congress are unlikely to have exited the chamber tonight reinvigorated,” said Rogowski. “Trump did not deliver any new messaging, framing, or line of attack on economy and immigration. There were no new ideas on which Republicans can stake their chances.”

“Once Republicans gather out-of-doors or go home at night, they can hardly think they have turned a corner on the way to the midterms,” added Rakove. “The polling has all been moving in one direction, and there seems to be more breaking news about the Epstein files and the Department of Justice's coverup of Trump's place in it that is not going to disappear.”

Another issue was the sheer length of the president’s address. Coming in at one hour and 47 minutes, Trump gave the longest State of the Union speech in history. 

As he spoke, cameras scanning the audience in Congress picked up multiple instances of yawns, fidgeting and, possibly, the odd snooze.

“Many voters are unlikely to have tuned in for the full speech,” Rogowski said, “and the Republicans applauding upon its conclusion were probably doing so out of relief rather than enthusiasm.”