United States President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address on February 24 (local time), declaring that America is “back bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before.”
This was Trump’s first State of the Union address before the 119th joint session of the US Congress after formally accepting an invitation from Mike Johnson, the 56th Speaker of the US House of Representatives, in January.
“Tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has seen before and a turnaround for the ages,” Trump said.
He also announced that the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the US’s highest civilian honor – was being presented to Team USA’s Olympic gold medal-winning ice hockey goalie, Connor Hellebuyck, for chanting “USA!”.
Donald Trump’s State of the Union address in numbers
Here are some of the key statements from US President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address – in numbers:
- Core inflation fell to its lowest level in more than five years
- Natural gas production is at an all-time high
- Gas fell below $2.30 in many states
- US oil production is rising by more than 60,000 barrels per day
- It acquired 80 million barrels of Venezuelan oil
- Eight wars have ended under US President Trump
- A Warrior’s Dividend of $1,776 to support our military
Note: This information was obtained from Trump’s State of the Union address and posts from the White House’s official X (formerly Twitter) account on February 25 (IST).
A mini-election campaign ahead of the US midterm polls?
Notably, the speech offers the 79-year-old a rare chance to appear on every major television network at the same time and comes ahead of November’s US midterm elections. Trump and his party hoped that some attention to their achievements could help boost prospects amid declining approval ratings — even among Republican voters, the AFP report said.
It noted that some of Trump’s key policies have met with unrest, protests and setbacks during his second term in the White House. Most recently, it was the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) that struck down its global IEEPA tariffs. Other key events that have dented Trump’s approval rating include the Epstein files, a partial government shutdown, and immigration policy that has claimed lives due to the shooting of civilians by ICE officers.
According to a February 22 Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll, Trump’s approval rating among American voters is at 39%. Furthermore, only 41% approved of his overall handling of the economy and only 32% of his handling of inflation.
WATCH: Donald Trump’s full State of the Union address
On stage, Trump was seated between Vice President JD Vance and Speaker Johnson, who traditionally sit behind the president during a speech. Republicans greeted him with cheers and a standing ovation — while Democrats remained seated in protest, the report added.
Meanwhile, dozens of Democratic lawmakers boycotted Trump’s speech Tuesday, which was attended by victims of disgraced financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who demanded accountability.
(With input from agencies)
