On Feb. 24, President Donald Trump delivered the first State of the Union address of his second term.
The State of the Union address is an annual message delivered by the current president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress. These addresses typically occur near the beginning of each calendar year and are intended to report on the current state of the nation. During the speech, the president outlines the nation’s budget, economic condition, current events, legislative priorities, achievements, and policy proposals.
In what is now known as the longest address of its kind — lasting just under one hour and 48 minutes and surpassing Bill Clinton’s previous record by roughly 20 minutes —Trump praised the nation as becoming bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever. However, his approval ratings seem to say otherwise. According to CNN Politics, just 32% of Americans approve of the president’s performance, while a staggering 68% disapprove. The speech came at a pivotal time for the president, as tensions surrounding immigration policy, the possibility of conflict with Iran, and allegations regarding Trump’s alleged connection to the Epstein files continue to generate political controversy.
Using data from YouGov, The Economist projected Donald Trump’s approval ratings state by state. Their analysis showed growing dissatisfaction even in states that voted for him in 2024, including Iowa, Indiana, and Ohio, where disapproval rates increased by more than 10 percentage points. In Texas, the projection showed a 16.3% increase in disapproval.
Critics argue that the address contained numerous misleading or inaccurate claims and that, despite its name, the speech didn’t address anything of value. Trump claimed to a divided Congress and audience of millions of Americans that America is the “hottest” country on Earth, despite his job approval rating standing at 36% in agreement and 63% in disapproval. Job growth also declined compared with the previous year. U.S. employers added about 181,000 jobs during 2025, compared with more than 1.4 million jobs added in 2024. While some studies show that hiring increased in January, Trump’s claim that “more Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country” has been criticized as exaggerated.
Trump also faced criticism for topics that were not addressed during the speech. He did not mention the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti while highlighting the families of victims of violent crimes allegedly committed by undocumented immigrants. Trump also drew backlash when he presented the mother of Iryna Zarutska, the Ukrainian woman killed on a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, last year, and made a false claim that the man who murdered Zarutska “came in through open borders.” DeCarlos Brown Jr., the alleged killer of Zarutska, was a U.S. citizen born in Charlotte.
NPR has an annotated fact check of every claim President Trump made in his 108-minute SOTU address. It’s no shock that the world is finally waking up to the dangers Donald Trump is putting America in.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger wanted Americans to ask themselves during the official Democratic response: “Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family?”
“We all know the answer is no,” Spanberger said.
Important election dates and deadlines for Florida are available here. Cast your vote when the midterms open, so we don’t have another movie-length presidential address.