WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump started in sales mode, using his State of the Union address to deliver an upbeat vision of the U.S. economy.
But that portrayal collides with the sentiment of Americans who remain anxious about the economy and haven't benefited from the policies Trump boasted about. He also took the high road to honor the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team and a war hero before pivoting abruptly to a darker tone as he ridiculed Democrats.
Here are the takeaways from the speech.
Trump's ‘roaring’ economy is at odds with sour public sentiment
Much of the nation is worried about the direction of the economy, but Trump says the good times are here.
The president insisted repeatedly that the economy is roaring and rising costs are no longer a problem.
“The roaring economy is roaring like never before,” he charged. He cheered the cost of gasoline, mortgage rates, prescription drug prices and the stock market: “Millions and millions of Americans are all gaining. Everybody’s up, way up.”
Every president uses the State of the Union to promote policies. But such optimism, as so many Americans are feeling economic strains, risks painting Trump as out of touch. Just 39% of U.S. adults approved of Trump's handling of the economy in February, according to AP-NORC polling.
Still, Trump focused much of the first hour of his speech on the economy, something Republicans had urged him to do as they head into the midterm elections.
Trump wraps himself in the flag
For a president who always seems to be spoiling for a fight, Trump also tried to summon Americans’ innate patriotic impulses. In addition to the hockey team, he singled out war heroes and those who had taken brave stands in other countries, using the moment to bestow numerous presidential medals in an effort to give the address a more positive gloss.
It underscored the president's media training and understanding that even if a moment isn't appreciated completely in real time, it can have an afterlife in the days following speech, especially on social media.
Yet in one revealing moment, Trump lamented why he couldn't give a congressional medal to himself.
Taking aim at Democrats
Tributes to the Olympic hockey team and a World War II veteran didn't unify the room for long.
The Republican president soon took aim at Democrats and blamed them directly for much of the nation’s ills.
Trump said rising health care premiums are “caused by you,” suggested Democrats “are not protecting” Social Security and blamed them for the nation’s affordability crunch. “You caused that problem. You caused that problem,” Trump said as he glared at the Democratic side of the room.
He seemed to get angrier as the speech progressed.
“These people are crazy, I’m telling you, they’re crazy,” he said. “Democrats are destroying this country.”
Trump’s MAGA base loves such aggression. It’s unclear, however, if the rest of the country feels the same.
The Supreme Court’s ‘unfortunate’ decision
By Trump’s standards, he held his tongue when it came to the Supreme Court.
After the court struck down his far-reaching tariff policy last week, Trump said the justices who voted against one of his signature issues were an “embarrassment to their families.” By Tuesday, he simply called the ruling “unfortunate.”
As he made his way through the House chamber, Trump gave a cordial but hardly warm greeting to the justices who attended. It was a far less jovial approach than he took last year to say hello to the same four members of the Court — Chief Justice John Roberts along with Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett.
Trump instead sought to treat the ruling with indifference, insisting that tariff revenues were “saving” the U.S., ignoring the fact that the levies haven’t made a significant dent in government debt. He said the tariffs were paid by foreign countries even as virtually every study concludes that costs have been paid by U.S. firms and consumers.
At one point, he seemed to take the long view that history would ultimately vindicate him even if the Supreme Court would not.
“As time goes by, I believe the tariffs paid by foreign countries will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern day system of income tax, taking a great burden off the people that I love,” he said.
The reality is far more difficult than Trump would suggest. The federal income tax is authorized by the 16th Amendment to the Constitution and the power to collect revenue is ultimately defined by Congress, not the president.
Trump vows action on election 'cheating'
The president used the biggest stage in U.S. politics to attack the integrity of U.S. elections.
“Cheating is rampant in our elections. It’s rampant,” Trump said.
Trump has made such claims for years, focused on his 2020 election loss, despite repeated judicial rulings and investigations that have found no such evidence of widespread voter fraud.
But the timing of Tuesday’s primetime claims, less than nine months before voters across America are scheduled to decide control of Congress, was noteworthy. So, too, was Trump’s suggestion that he would take action to address a problem that doesn’t appear to exist.
“They want to cheat. They have cheated, and their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat,” Trump said of Democrats. “And we’re going to stop it. We have to stop it.”
Trump is calling on Congress to pass a bill requiring voters to show a photo ID before casting ballots. But he also recently vowed to enact an executive order to address the issue, although the White House has not clarified what it might entail.
No mention of Minneapolis
Sometimes what’s not said is as notable as what is.
Trump has highlighted immigration since the very first speech in which he announced his 2016 presidential campaign. And on Tuesday night, he revived much of the same language he’s used throughout the past decade, blasting “criminal aliens” and warning of “drug lords, murderers all over our country.”
What he didn’t mention: the most aggressive immigration enforcement tactics that threatened to bring the U.S. to the brink earlier this year. He didn’t mention the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis last month at the hands of federal agents.
Indeed, it was Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., who shouted that “Alex wasn’t a criminal," referring to Alex Pretti, one of the U.S. citizens killed in Minneapolis.
Trump said nothing of his administration’s shift in tactics, including a drawdown of agents in the Twin Cities. And he made no acknowledgement of the broad concerns in the U.S. about Trump’s approach on immigration, as demonstrated by the 60% of U.S. adults who disapproved of his handling of the issue in February, according to AP-NORC polling.
Drumbeat for war gets louder
Trump has already built up the largest U.S. military presence in the Middle East in decades. And in his speech, he outlined a rationale for using those forces to launch a major military strike against Iran.
The president said that Iran and its proxies have “spread nothing but terrorism, death and hate,” adding that its leaders have killed at least 32,000 protesters in recent weeks. He also warned that the nation has developed missiles that can threaten Europe and is working on missiles “that will soon reach” the U.S.
Even more troubling, he said that Iran is trying to rebuild its nuclear program.
“My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are, by far to have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let that happen.”
Trump’s MAGA base has long cheered his promise to end costly wars abroad. It’s unclear how they might respond to another major military action in the Middle East.
On brand, the speech was the longest SOTU ever
The president, ever mindful of records that allow him to say he was the first, the best or had done the most, succeeded clearly on one thing: he beat his own record for the longest, clocking in at just under 1 hour, 48 minutes.
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