On February 24, 2025, President Trump delivered the first State of the Union address of his second term. It lasted for one hour and forty-seven minutes, and is the longest address to a joint session of Congress on record.
Delivered in the year of America’s 250th anniversary of independence, the President emphasized the theme of “winning” throughout the speech. As a natural showman, he actively gave awards to military personnel and service members at various points throughout the address. Naturally, he took the opportunity to boast about the administration’s record. The speech heavily emphasized his record and did not offer much in terms of new policies.
It is interesting to see the President try to frame his administration in a positive light. A little over a year into his second term, President Trump’s approval ratings range from the mid-to-high 30s to low 40s. Most Americans have soured on the President’s record on the economy and immigration, the two issues that arguably got Trump back in the White House. It has been clear for some time that most Americans are unhappy with the current state of the country.
President Trump has claimed that there is a golden age that is occurring in America right now. He claims the economy is roaring and is doing better than ever before. On paper, the economy seems to be doing well, with job numbers, wage growth, consumer spending, and inflation being either stable or performing decently enough. However, overall consumer confidence remains low. Americans, by and large, feel that the economy is not doing well. While Trump claims to have defeated affordability, American consumers still have not adjusted to prices that surged during the Biden administration and have remained that way since. Housing and childcare continue to be unaffordable for the average American. There is a cost-of-living crisis in the United States, and middle-class and lower-class Americans are bearing the brunt of it. Whatever problems that the President admitted did exist, he blamed them on his predecessor and even mocked the word “affordability.” The President has even insisted that he will double down on his tariff policy even after the Supreme Court struck down his initial tariffs, and such tariffs have the great potential to bring up prices for the average American. Thus far, it seems as though the President will continue trying to frame the economy in a positive light, even as most Americans feel that the economy is not doing well.
On the other hand, President Trump doubled down on his immigration record. He boasted about his mass deportations and slashing of illegal immigration, and highlighted victims of violence and crimes committed by illegal immigrants. It is worth mentioning, however, that the Trump administration has been reckless in how it has carried out its mass deportations. Two American citizens were killed by immigration law enforcement in Minnesota, and there have been multiple incidents of violence against American citizens that have been perpetrated by inadequately trained and often unqualified federal agents. The increased focus that Homeland Security is putting on mass deportations actually deprioritizes other very important matters, as it pulls agents away from operations that crack down on money laundering, child exploitation, drugs, and counterterrorism. The administration’s lousy conduct on immigration has resulted in the American public actually souring over the Trump administration’s immigration record. There have even been a few polls with pluralities supporting the abolition of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement), a position that was thought to be radical and highly unpopular less than a year ago. The President has often turned to the issue of immigration, on which the public typically favors the Republicans, during election years, but it may not be enough to save the GOP this year, especially when the economy remains top of mind for most voters in America.
The address was heavy on domestic policy but mentioned very little on foreign policy. In one of the few moments the President talked about foreign policy, he claimed to have “destroyed” Iran’s nuclear facilities in last year’s strikes against the nation during its minor conflict with Israel. Yet, the U.S. has amassed its largest force in the region since the Iraq War in 2003, and the Trump administration is itching to go to war with Iran. If Iran’s nuclear facilities really are destroyed, thus rendering Iran incapable of building nuclear weapons, why is the President actively considering going to war with Iran?
This is a nice transition into the fact that, once again and as per usual, the President made multiple false statements during his speech. He implied that the 2020 election was stolen and that he should be serving his “third term” right now. He once again claimed widespread voter fraud has been occurring in U.S. elections. He falsely claimed that he inherited high inflation levels and that the borders were “wide open,” even though inflation and border crossings had substantially fallen by the time Trump had taken office. Trump claimed gas was below $2.30 per gallon in some states, even though the AAA shows the average price is not even that low in any state. He claimed that he is bringing in $18 trillion worth of investments from all over the globe, a claim that is exaggerated. Trump further claimed that “more Americans are working today than at any time during our nation’s history,” which may be true because of raw numbers, but that is solely because the U.S. population has grown. The unemployment rate has risen under this president, and job growth was weak in 2025. Trump also exaggerated the number of wars that he helped to stop and, of course, took great liberties with claiming that we were in a “golden age” with a roaring economy. The polls suggest otherwise.
Additionally, while the President has boasted about trying to stop corruption, it is evident that his own administration is rife with corruption. The Trump administration has not been very transparent regarding the Epstein files, with the Department of Justice having been found to withhold files mentioning the President. The Trump family has used the presidency to their advantage, enriching themselves and their business interests. Many unserious and incompetent individuals are holding what are meant to be serious offices and posts of power. For all the talk about Trump “draining the swamp,” it appears that the President is only adding to that swamp by filling his administration with corporate lobbyists and ignoring basic ethics.
Ultimately, the President of the United States seems to be ignoring how much Americans have soured on his presidency. The American public has soured greatly on his top two issues of the economy and immigration. The President may speak of America being in a golden age, but most Americans do not feel as if they are living in one. If the administration continues to ignore its glaring unpopularity, the Republican Party will pay dearly in November.
Emil Ordonez, a political science major at Fordham University, is the founder and editor-in-chief of Polinsights. He has been deeply passionate about politics and history since learning every U.S. President at the age of five. He was compelled to start this blog after meeting many people who were misinformed or had become apathetic about how society worked. He hopes to provide factual knowledge and insights that will encourage people, especially the young, to get more engaged in their respective communities. In his free time, he edits for Wikipedia and makes maps for elections. He aspires to work in Congress or even the White House in the future.
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