US President Donald Trump will deliver his first State of the Union address on Tuesday (local time) since returning to the White House for his second term in January 2025, NPR reported.
The speech will allow him to highlight his agenda and shape his party’s message ahead of the midterm elections, which are scheduled for 2026. But his major speech comes at a time when Trump’s agenda has been complicated on several fronts, including trade, where his tariff policy has been struck down by the Supreme Court, and immigration, where the US president and Democrats in Congress have stepped up funding for the Department of the Interior (DHS because of funding for the Department of the Interior).
Trump’s State of the Union Address: Everything You Need to Know
When does the address start?
Trump is expected to begin his speech at 9:30 pm ET (7:30 am IST), NPR reported, adding that it could be a long speech. In 2025, when Trump gave a speech to Congress that wasn’t technically a State of the Union address, it lasted more than 90 minutes. It even broke the record for the longest joint address in at least six decades.
How to watch Trump’s State of the Union address?
Major news networks are expected to broadcast Trump’s speech live and also carry coverage throughout the day, The Guardian reported. CBS and PBS will also broadcast live on their YouTube channels.
What is Trump expected to discuss?
Trump’s first State of the Union address is likely to focus on issues such as immigration, which has been a key pillar of Trump’s second term. His administration has consistently defended its enforcement agenda, saying it is aimed at removing those who live in the country illegally and have committed dangerous crimes. However, the NPR report indicates that lawmakers have expressed concern about the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in cities across the country. Concerns arose after two American citizens were killed in Minneapolis in January 2026.
The US president is also likely to target tariffs, something that has long been advocated as a way to boost domestic manufacturing. However, on February 20, the Supreme Court struck them down and declared them illegal, putting the two sides at a crossroads. The speech also comes at a significant time in US foreign policy, as Trump has been pressing Iran over its nuclear program and has not ruled out using force to do so. The US military has expanded its presence in the Middle East in recent days, with the Trump administration sending more fighter jets and a second aircraft carrier.
Among the topics, Trump’s main theme is likely to center on how America is booming with new jobs and local manufacturing, even though many Americans don’t feel that way, according to the AP. Trump, who promised plenty of talk about the economy, said: “It’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about.”
Does the address happen every year?
According to an NPR report, the State of the Union address is part of the job for every American president. The US Constitution requires the President to “from time to time report to the Congress concerning the state of the Union”. The address is intended to be a sort of recapitulation of their previous year in office.
