Trump defends first-year record in State of the Union speech amid low approval ratings | Donald Trump
Donald Trump touted his first year in office as a success in his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening; Even so, his presidency was hampered by low popular approval ratings ahead of midterm elections in November, when voters could return control of Congress to his Democratic rivals.
The annual address to a joint session of Congress comes after months of turmoil for the Republican president, including a crackdown on immigrant communities in Minneapolis that resulted in the deaths of two U.S. citizens and a stalled progress on his campaign promise to lower the cost of living.
But Trump maintained a triumphant tone in his speech, saying he inherited a country devastated by Joe Biden and was quickly rebuilding it.
“Tonight, just one year later, we can say with honor and pride that we have achieved a transformation no one has ever seen before and a comeback that has lasted for centuries,” Trump said.
“We will never go back to where we were a short time ago. We will not go back.”
Polls have shown that many voters disagree with Trump’s handling of key issues such as the economy and immigration. The president tried to attach himself to more recent successes, at one point highlighting the U.S. men’s hockey team that won the gold medal at the Winter Olympics.
“Our country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much that we don’t really know what to do about it,” Trump said, before calling the players to make a surprise appearance in the gallery of the House chamber.
Democrats remained seated and withheld applause as he spoke, part of a “silent defiance” campaign promoted by party leaders. Some chose to skip the event, while others announced plans to attend counter programs held elsewhere, including the “People’s Unity State” organized by liberal groups.
Arizona senator Ruben Gallego said before the speech, “This administration continues to disregard the rule of law and the Constitution while failing to reduce costs for American families. I have more productive ways to spend my two hours than listening to more lies. I will pass.”
Democratic representative Al Green of Texas, who was ejected from the House chamber a year ago and later censured for heckling the president, said, “Black people are not monkeys!” in reference to Trump sharing a racist video of Barack and Michelle Obama. He held up a banner that said: Following clashes with Republicans, Green appeared to be escorted out of the chamber shortly after Trump began speaking.
Other Democrats have chosen to participate, using their pros to signal their disapproval of Trump’s policies or to draw attention to troubling issues. Many Democrats were invited as survivors of Jeffrey Epstein, the president’s late financier and onetime friend who was at the center of a tumultuous political intrigue after Congress mandated the public release of files related to sex trafficking investigations.
Congressman Suhas Subramanyam, who invited the prominent Epstein survivor’s relatives, said, “The Trump administration is countering our efforts for justice with a cover-up at every step. It is an honor to bring Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s family as our guests to the State of the Union event, a visible reminder to Trump that we are not giving up or giving up.”
The speech to a joint session of Congress is still an important moment ahead of the November midterm elections, when Trump’s Republican allies defend their tenuous control of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Beyond the United States, Trump ordered a military buildup around Iran just weeks after his special forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and put him on trial on US soil; This raises the possibility of ordering strikes against a long-time American enemy.
Trump’s cabinet and four justices of the Supreme Court attended the speech. The conservative majority had generally stood in the way of efforts to expand executive power over the past year until last week, when the president thwarted attempts to unilaterally impose tariffs on a number of trading partners. This prompted a tirade from Trump, who called judges who disagreed with him “idiots” and said he was “ashamed” of them.
In addition to liberal Elena Kagan, John Roberts, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh, all conservatives, also attended the meeting. Only Kavanaugh had said he would support Trump’s tariffs, but the president shook the hands of all four people sitting in the front row just before he began his speech.
