President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in American history on Tuesday evening; a 108-minute address to a joint session of Congress that broke his own previous record. The speech ranged widely across economic policy, foreign affairs, immigration, and national security, punctuated by medal ceremonies and moments of sharp partisan friction.

The address came at a politically consequential moment. Trump’s approval ratings have softened since his second term began, and both parties are positioning aggressively ahead of November’s midterm elections. Tuesday night was Trump’s most prominent opportunity to make his case directly to the American people; and he used it to focus heavily on the cost of living, new financial programs for families, and America’s posture abroad.

Honoring American Heroes

Among the most broadly praised moments of the evening were a series of award ceremonies. Trump presented Medals of Honor to retired Navy Captain E. Royce William and Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover,a helicopter pilot wounded during a January mission that Trump said led to the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro. In 1952, Williams engaged seven Soviet MiG-15s in whiteout conditions, shooting down four while his own jet absorbed more than 200 rounds. His heroism, long hidden due to Cold War secrecy, finally earned him accolades after Congressional action lifted the time limit on award reviews.

Trump awarded Purple Hearts to West Virginia National Guardsman Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe – who survived a shooting during his deployment to Washington – and posthumously to Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, killed in the same attack. Beckstrom’s parents received her medal on the floor of the House.

Trump also awarded a Medal of Freedom to Team USA Olympic goalie Connor Hellebuyck and a Legion of Merit to a Coast Guard swimmer who rescued 164 Texans from floodwaters. The appearance of the U.S. men’s gold-medal Olympic hockey team drew the only bipartisan standing ovation of the night; a fleeting moment of unity in an otherwise sharply divided chamber.

Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) called it the best presidential address he had attended since taking office in 2021. “As the president is acknowledging heroes of this nation and actually giving them their military honors in front of the world,” he said, “I think it helps us all remember why we run for office and come here.”

Economic Agenda: Affordability Takes Center Stage

Trump devoted the largest portion of his speech to economic issues, directly engaging the “affordability” message Democrats have been running on heading into the midterms. He argued that the high prices Americans have faced in recent years were a product of Democratic governance, not his own; a claim that drew loud applause from Republicans and stony silence from Democrats.

Among the specific economic proposals and claims Trump advanced:

Egg prices and food costs: Trump said his policies caused egg prices to fall by 60%. The Consumer Price Index published February 13 shows prices are down roughly 34% from a year ago; a meaningful decline, though short of the figure Trump cited.

Foreign investment: Trump claimed $18 trillion in new foreign investment secured for the U.S. economy, citing it as evidence his trade and tariff policies are working.

Drug costs: Trump said drug prices have fallen by “300%, 400%, 500%, 600%,” though he offered no sourcing for those figures.

Corporate homebuying: Trump called on Congress to permanently ban large corporations from buying residential homes. “We want homes for people, not for corporations,” he said, striking a populist note that drew applause from both sides of the aisle.

Congressional stock trading: In one of the night’s rare bipartisan moments, Trump called for banning members of Congress from trading stocks using insider information, drawing applause from Democrats and Republicans alike, though past legislative efforts on this front have stalled.

AI and energy: Trump said he has secured pledges from major technology companies to build their own power plants for AI data centers, arguing this would prevent energy costs from rising in surrounding communities.

New Retirement Account Program

One of the more substantive policy announcements of the evening was Trump’s proposal to expand retirement savings access to the roughly 50 million Americans who lack employer-sponsored plans such as 401(k)s.

Trump said he would offer those workers access to a retirement account modeled on the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan; a program available to all federal employees that provides access to low-fee index funds tied to instruments like short-term Treasuries and the S&P 500. The government would match contributions with up to $1,000 per year for those who put in $2,000 of their own money.

The White House says the plan builds on the Secure Act 2.0, passed under President Biden, which itself updated retirement legislation from Trump’s first term. A key feature of the new proposal: rather than requiring individuals to open an IRA on their own, participants could simply check a box on their tax return to enroll.

Teresa Ghilarducci, a labor economist at the New School who has studied the plan and worked on an early version of it with White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett, called the proposal significant. “It finally recognizes that most people don’t have anything saved for retirement, and they don’t save consistently,” she told Axios. “This is a big deal.”

The proposal has drawn interest across party lines and complements the administration’s separately announced Trump Accounts; 530A savings vehicles seeded with $1,000 from the U.S. Treasury for children born between 2025 and 2028, with roughly 3 million families already enrolled. Both initiatives reflect a broader White House push to get more Americans participating in financial markets.

One caveat hangs over any retirement expansion effort: the Social Security trust fund is projected to be depleted by 2033, at which point recipients would face an automatic benefit cut if Congress has not acted. Trump did not address Social Security in his remarks Tuesday night.

Tariffs and Trade

Trump defended his tariff agenda despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down a significant portion of his tariff authority. He expressed confidence that the tariffs would survive under alternative legal statutes and laid out a longer-term vision: that revenue from tariffs paid by foreign countries could eventually reduce or replace the federal income tax burden on American workers. Economic policy experts have broadly questioned whether tariff revenue could realistically replace income tax receipts, but the idea drew strong applause from the Republican side of the chamber.

Foreign Policy: Iran and Venezuela

Trump addressed two major foreign policy situations late in his speech. On Iran, he leveled three accusations: that the regime has killed and maimed American troops with roadside bombs, is pursuing missiles capable of reaching the United States, and is working toward nuclear weapons capability. “I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said, adding that his preference is diplomacy but that all options remain available. U.S. and Iranian envoys are scheduled to meet in Geneva Thursday.

On Venezuela, Trump praised the military operation that brought President Nicolas Maduro to New York to face justice, calling it “one of the most complex, spectacular feats of military competence and power in world history.” Earlier in the speech, Trump had referred to Venezuela as “our new friend and partner.”

Immigration and Homeland Security

Trump challenged Democratic lawmakers to stand and affirm that the first duty of the U.S. government is to protect American citizens rather than illegal aliens. Republicans stood; Democrats largely did not. “You should be ashamed of yourselves,” Trump told Democrats who remained seated.

Trump also accused Democrats of cutting off funding for the Department of Homeland Security, a reference to an ongoing spending dispute that has led to a partial shutdown of the agency. Democrats have argued the funding standoff stems from concerns about executive overreach by DHS law enforcement.

The Democratic Response

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivered the Democratic rebuttal from Williamsburg, Virginia, arguing that Trump’s policies had made life less affordable for American families through tariffs, cuts to food programs, and immigration enforcement that she said had separated families and detained U.S. citizens. “We did not hear truth from our president,” Spanberger said.

Inside the chamber, roughly half of Democratic lawmakers boycotted the speech. Rep. Al Green (D-TX) was removed from the chamber after holding up a handmade sign criticizing a meme posted to the Trump social media account depicting former President Barack Obama and his wife as monkeys. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a sharply critical statement after the address concluded.

Republican Reaction

Republican lawmakers were largely positive in their post-speech assessments, with particular praise for the affordability focus. Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said Trump spoke to the things “moms and dads worry about when they lie down at night to sleep and can’t.” Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) – who has at times clashed with Trump on tariffs and foreign policy – said the affordability focus was the right call and that Trump “should talk this way every day.”

Post-Address Polls

Trump’s address earned mostly positive reviews from a Republican-leaning audience, a CNN/SSRS poll found, though many viewers still weren’t convinced he’s prioritizing the nation’s biggest challenges or poised to lower everyday costs. About two-thirds of those who tuned in reacted positively, with 38% saying they felt “very positive.” Those numbers trail the reception of last year’s speech and his first-term addresses, and they roughly mirror ratings for former President Joe Biden’s final State of the Union.

Such upbeat reactions are typical, however, since these speeches tend to draw supporters of the sitting president; this year’s audience was about 13 points more Republican than the public overall.

The address did boost some viewers’ confidence: belief that Trump’s policies would move the country in the right direction rose from 54% before the speech to 64% after. Confidence that he has the right priorities ticked up from 44% to 54%.

But Trump did not fully satisfy viewers on the issues they cared about most. Nearly half said he devoted too little attention to the cost of living, despite the speech setting a record for length. Only 31% expressed strong confidence that he could make living expenses more affordable, and opinions on his use of tariffs were evenly divided.

Following the address, 62% of viewers said Trump’s economic and immigration policies would move the country in a positive direction. While his economic ratings matched last year’s, his immigration numbers slipped back to levels seen in his first term. Among those dissatisfied with his attention to immigration, more said he focused on it too much than too little.On broader leadership questions, 45% felt highly confident in Trump’s ability to lead, 43% were very confident in his use of military power, and 38% voiced strong confidence in his decision-making on Iran.

Despite the attention presidential addresses draw, they rarely shift public opinion in a significant way, CNN said, and Trump’s standing with the wider public remains low. A separate CNN poll conducted before the speech placed his approval rating at 36%.

Bottom Line

Tuesday’s address was the most prominent single moment Trump will likely have before November’s midterms to make his case to the country. The speech was strongest when it stayed focused on kitchen-table economics and the new retirement and savings proposals; areas where the policy substance is real and the bipartisan appetite exists. It was less disciplined in its more combative passages, which, while energizing to the Republican base, are unlikely to move the independents and soft supporters the party will need to hold Congress in the fall.

The retirement account proposal in particular represents the kind of durable, cross-aisle policy idea that could generate momentum if the administration follows through with legislative specifics. Whether Tuesday night’s address translates into a political reset remains to be seen, but it gave supporters a substantive platform to rally around heading into a consequential election year.