Donald Trump’s State of the Union Address: How the US President Strayed from the Truth
Nine months before congressional elections, Donald Trump's State of the Union address was meant to convince Americans that their country was thriving. It looks like he has failed to do so.
About half an hour — this is usually how much most viewers manage to watch a talking head on a TV or smartphone screen. After that, the audience drops off sharply. That's why even Richard Nixon limited his annual address to the nation to little more than 30 minutes. So did his successors.
Donald Trump, however, just cannot do that. Dozens, if not hundreds, of digressions, anecdotes and completely random thoughts also caused his speech to be extended to almost two hours. The president's advisers managed to convince their boss to at least, within the first two quarters of an hour, include what is most important for Americans: a blueprint for improving the state of the economy.
The Situation in the U.S. Is That the Overwhelming Majority of Americans Are Critical of the State of the Economy
Trump's ratings are disastrous, and if this is not reversed, Republicans will lose control of one, if not both, houses of Congress in November. A poll conducted a few days ago for ABC shows that only 39% of voters support the head of state, while 60% have a negative opinion of him.
Trump has repeatedly faced poor ratings in the past. However, he was able to emerge unscathed in the election because, on two or three key issues for Americans, he succeeded in convincing his compatriots of his point of view. Studies show that, this time, the election outcome will be decided on several issues: assessment of the state of the economy, food, immigration and security.
That's what Trump is focused on.
"Our nation is back. Bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before," he started his speech. And he repeated his assurance from the day of his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, that America is entering a "golden age" of its development. What followed was a rosy picture of the state of the country. "Prices are plummeting! The roaring economy is roaring like never before," the president assured. He announced that, in only a year, foreign investors had promised to invest the sky-high sum of $18 trillion in the U.S. He also claimed that never before had so many jobs been created.
But how much does that have to do with reality? Inflation in the U.S. had already fallen in the last period of Joe Biden's presidency, and Trump has not been able to further reduce it. It is 2.9% compared to a year earlier. Hence, 65% of Americans reject Trump's policy on limiting price increases. And 64% have a negative attitude to the tariffs introduced since April by Trump, seeing this as the cause of high prices.
It's no different with the economy. In the last year, the president didn't accelerate it compared to the last year of the Biden administration. And now that the annual growth rate has collapsed to 1.4%, at this point 57% of Americans have a negative view of the president’s record. The White House itself says that pledges — not real decisions — on foreign investment amount to $9 trillion, an amount half the size that Trump talked about.
A few days before the president's speech, the Supreme Court declared that the punitive tariffs imposed by the White House are illegal. It ruled that this was Congress's prerogative. On Tuesday, four of the nine justices appeared in Congress. Trump did not directly attack them, although he called the verdict "unfortunate"* and "completely false."* But above all, he refused to back down. He said he would impose "even more powerful tariffs,"* which "will not require congressional engagement."* But the reality here is also different. Right after the Supreme Court ruling, Washington introduced universal 10% tariffs (Trump announced 15%). However, they can only be in force for 150 days, after which they must be approved by Congress. We are talking about July, right before the elections. Will Republicans then, as one, support a proposal that is not popular in the country or instead, reject it in order to save their own political careers?
Trump Is Not Afraid of Being Held Accountable for a Coup Attempt
This Tuesday, Trump clearly played to the polarization of the American political scene. He attacked Democrats directly at one point, calling them "crazy." He wanted to consolidate his team. He succeeded so much that The New York Times correspondent present in the room, who had previously worked in Moscow, said that the Republican's behavior reminded him of what he saw during Vladimir Putin's speech.
One thing is certain: Trump is not afraid of the rule of law. "It should be my third term," he said, reiterating his unfounded claim that the 2020 election was rigged. He was never prosecuted for the attempted coup on Jan. 6, 2021.
The longer the speech lasted, the deeper Trump delved into his own world. He announced the start of a "war on corruption" to ensure that the country's huge (nearly $40 trillion) debt is paid off. This impossible task was entrusted to JD Vance. The president declared that the country's border has never been so secure. Here, he has strong arguments to support this — the number of illegal crossings decreased dramatically during his presidency, although this process had begun under Biden. But Americans pay more attention to the brutal methods U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents use to apprehend those suspected of illegally staying in the country. Fifty-eight percent don't support the president's immigration policy.
Only the most persistent made it to the foreign policy part of the speech. But they did not find out what Trump's plans for Iran are. Will he attack Tehran to distract Americans from problems at home? We don't know.** The good news for Poland is that the president is delighted with NATO'S PURL program to buy American weapons for Ukraine with European money. Apparently, the White House does not intend to withhold this key support for Kyiv.
*Editor's Note: These quotes, accurately translated, could not be independently verified.
**Editor's Note: On Feb. 28, 2026, the United States and Israel reported that they had carried out military strikes on Iran.
About half an hour — this is usually how much most viewers manage to watch a talking head on a TV or smartphone screen. After that, the audience drops off sharply. That's why even Richard Nixon limited his annual address to the nation to little more than 30 minutes. So did his successors.
Donald Trump, however, just cannot do that. Dozens, if not hundreds, of digressions, anecdotes and completely random thoughts also caused his speech to be extended to almost two hours. The president's advisers managed to convince their boss to at least, within the first two quarters of an hour, include what is most important for Americans: a blueprint for improving the state of the economy.
The Situation in the U.S. Is That the Overwhelming Majority of Americans Are Critical of the State of the Economy
Trump's ratings are disastrous, and if this is not reversed, Republicans will lose control of one, if not both, houses of Congress in November. A poll conducted a few days ago for ABC shows that only 39% of voters support the head of state, while 60% have a negative opinion of him.
Trump has repeatedly faced poor ratings in the past. However, he was able to emerge unscathed in the election because, on two or three key issues for Americans, he succeeded in convincing his compatriots of his point of view. Studies show that, this time, the election outcome will be decided on several issues: assessment of the state of the economy, food, immigration and security.
That's what Trump is focused on.
"Our nation is back. Bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before," he started his speech. And he repeated his assurance from the day of his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, that America is entering a "golden age" of its development. What followed was a rosy picture of the state of the country. "Prices are plummeting! The roaring economy is roaring like never before," the president assured. He announced that, in only a year, foreign investors had promised to invest the sky-high sum of $18 trillion in the U.S. He also claimed that never before had so many jobs been created.
But how much does that have to do with reality? Inflation in the U.S. had already fallen in the last period of Joe Biden's presidency, and Trump has not been able to further reduce it. It is 2.9% compared to a year earlier. Hence, 65% of Americans reject Trump's policy on limiting price increases. And 64% have a negative attitude to the tariffs introduced since April by Trump, seeing this as the cause of high prices.
It's no different with the economy. In the last year, the president didn't accelerate it compared to the last year of the Biden administration. And now that the annual growth rate has collapsed to 1.4%, at this point 57% of Americans have a negative view of the president’s record. The White House itself says that pledges — not real decisions — on foreign investment amount to $9 trillion, an amount half the size that Trump talked about.
A few days before the president's speech, the Supreme Court declared that the punitive tariffs imposed by the White House are illegal. It ruled that this was Congress's prerogative. On Tuesday, four of the nine justices appeared in Congress. Trump did not directly attack them, although he called the verdict "unfortunate"* and "completely false."* But above all, he refused to back down. He said he would impose "even more powerful tariffs,"* which "will not require congressional engagement."* But the reality here is also different. Right after the Supreme Court ruling, Washington introduced universal 10% tariffs (Trump announced 15%). However, they can only be in force for 150 days, after which they must be approved by Congress. We are talking about July, right before the elections. Will Republicans then, as one, support a proposal that is not popular in the country or instead, reject it in order to save their own political careers?
Trump Is Not Afraid of Being Held Accountable for a Coup Attempt
This Tuesday, Trump clearly played to the polarization of the American political scene. He attacked Democrats directly at one point, calling them "crazy." He wanted to consolidate his team. He succeeded so much that The New York Times correspondent present in the room, who had previously worked in Moscow, said that the Republican's behavior reminded him of what he saw during Vladimir Putin's speech.
One thing is certain: Trump is not afraid of the rule of law. "It should be my third term," he said, reiterating his unfounded claim that the 2020 election was rigged. He was never prosecuted for the attempted coup on Jan. 6, 2021.
The longer the speech lasted, the deeper Trump delved into his own world. He announced the start of a "war on corruption" to ensure that the country's huge (nearly $40 trillion) debt is paid off. This impossible task was entrusted to JD Vance. The president declared that the country's border has never been so secure. Here, he has strong arguments to support this — the number of illegal crossings decreased dramatically during his presidency, although this process had begun under Biden. But Americans pay more attention to the brutal methods U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents use to apprehend those suspected of illegally staying in the country. Fifty-eight percent don't support the president's immigration policy.
Only the most persistent made it to the foreign policy part of the speech. But they did not find out what Trump's plans for Iran are. Will he attack Tehran to distract Americans from problems at home? We don't know.** The good news for Poland is that the president is delighted with NATO'S PURL program to buy American weapons for Ukraine with European money. Apparently, the White House does not intend to withhold this key support for Kyiv.
*Editor's Note: These quotes, accurately translated, could not be independently verified.
**Editor's Note: On Feb. 28, 2026, the United States and Israel reported that they had carried out military strikes on Iran.
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