Elaina Batista\u00a0Asst. Social Media Editor<\/p>\n
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<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump honored many servicemembers and guests in the gallery, including the gold medal-winning U.S. men\u2019s 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<\/a>: Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Brett Kavanaugh and Justice Amy Coney Barrett.<\/p>\n 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 \u201cPeople\u2019s State of the Union.\u201d<\/a> Additionally, a number of others walked out as Trump delivered his remarks. Congressman Bill Foster of Illinois\u2019s 11th congressional district took to X<\/a> and posted, \u201cLast year, I gave myself 5 bald-face lies before I walked out of Trump\u2019s joint address. Less than one hour into his speech, I\u2019m out.\u201d Rep. Al Green, D-Texas<\/a> was removed from the chamber due to his protesting of the address by holding up a sign that read, \u201cBlack people aren\u2019t apes.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Several polls show a significant dip in the president\u2019s approval ratings<\/a> heading into the midterms. According to polling<\/a> 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\u2019t paid enough attention to the country\u2019s most important problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump addressed several issues such as immigration, taxes, healthcare, foreign policy and Iran. When talking about inflation he stated \u201cThe 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.\u201d He followed that by stating that gasoline prices<\/a> are below $2.30 a gallon in most states and in some places $1.99 a gallon.\u00a0<\/p>\n Daniel Dale with CNN<\/a> 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n Then following gas prices and inflation, Trump touched on the issue of immigration<\/a> and stated in his speech, \u201cThey 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.\u201d 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\u2019s first administration, rather than reflecting a recent surge.<\/p>\n Reaction to the speech split sharply along ideological lines. Laura Ingraham, a right-wing Fox News host, took to X<\/a> and wrote, \u201c\u2026Donald Trump gave one of the best SOTU addresses in recent history. Period.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n After the SOTU, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote in a letter to Trump essentially calling the president\u2019s \u201cbluff.\u201d Writing in the letter, \u201cYour 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.\u201d<\/p>\n Like this:<\/p>\n Like Loading…<\/p>\n