Elaina Batista Asst. Social Media Editor
President Trump delivered his State of the Union (SOTU) address on Feb. 24, the longest State of the Union address in recent history, lasting an hour and 48 minutes.
Trump honored many servicemembers and guests in the gallery, including the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s hockey team. He presented Medals of Honor to two individuals, including 100-year-old Korean War veteran E. Royce Williams. Out of the seven justices of the Supreme Court only four were in attendance: Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett.
Many Democrats boycotted the State of the Union, and some addressed a few hundred protesters who congregated in the National Mall for a counter-event dubbed the “People’s State of the Union.” Additionally, a number of others walked out as Trump delivered his remarks. Congressman Bill Foster of Illinois’s 11th congressional district took to X and posted, “Last year, I gave myself 5 bald-face lies before I walked out of Trump’s joint address. Less than one hour into his speech, I’m out.” Rep. Al Green, D-Texas was removed from the chamber due to his protesting of the address by holding up a sign that read, “Black people aren’t apes.”
Several polls show a significant dip in the president’s approval ratings heading into the midterms. According to polling conducted by Social Science Research Solutions (SSRS) for CNN, 32% of Americans now say that Trump has had the right priorities, while 68% say he hasn’t paid enough attention to the country’s most important problems.
Trump addressed several issues such as immigration, taxes, healthcare, foreign policy and Iran. When talking about inflation he stated “The Biden administration and its allies in Congress gave us the worst inflation in the history of our country. But in 12 months, my administration has driven core inflation down to the lowest level in more than five years.” He followed that by stating that gasoline prices are below $2.30 a gallon in most states and in some places $1.99 a gallon.
Daniel Dale with CNN reported that no state had an average gas price below $2.37 per gallon, according to AAA; only two states had an average below $2.50 per gallon. The national average now sits at $2.95.
Then following gas prices and inflation, Trump touched on the issue of immigration and stated in his speech, “They poured in by the millions and millions from prisons, from mental institutions. They were murderers, 11,888 murderers. They came into our country, you allowed that to happen.” The number cited by Trump comes from federal data, but experts say it is being interpreted inaccurately. While it does represent non-citizens who have entered the country, the data spans several decades, including years during Trump’s first administration, rather than reflecting a recent surge.
Reaction to the speech split sharply along ideological lines. Laura Ingraham, a right-wing Fox News host, took to X and wrote, “…Donald Trump gave one of the best SOTU addresses in recent history. Period.”
After the SOTU, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote in a letter to Trump essentially calling the president’s “bluff.” Writing in the letter, “Your claims are directly at odds with the day-to-day experiences of American households, who are struggling with rising costs of essentials, including food, housing, healthcare, childcare and electricity.”
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