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R Preetha
1 March 2026 |
On 24 February, President Trump delivered his first State of the Union address of his second term to a joint session of Congress. It came against the backdrop of declining approval ratings, rising tensions with Iran, and voter frustration over the cost of living ahead of the November midterm elections. The following are the major takeaways.
1. Trump era as the beginning of the “Golden age of America”
Trump started his address by framing his second term as the start of a historic resumption for America. By associating the moment to the upcoming 250th anniversary of independence, he stated: “This is the golden age of America.” Trump contrasted present conditions with a year ago, stating he had inherited a “nation in crisis,” with steep economic issues, record-level inflation, open border, widespread crime domestically, and conflicts across the world. He put forth that the US has now witnessed a turnaround with secure borders, plummeting inflation, rising income, and a “roaring economy.”
2. Economic revival as a central narrative
Trump placed economic recovery at the core of his address. He referred to a drop in inflation, gasoline prices, and mortgage rates reaching four-year lows. He pointed to record stock market highs, 70,000 new construction jobs, and rising oil and gas production. Trump referred to cutting down on DEI programs, calling them “job-killing regulations.” The Big Beautiful Bill was lauded for providing no tax on tips, overtime and social security for senior citizens. On tariffs, he called the Supreme Court ruling as "very unfortunate.” Tariffs were described as “country-saving” and “peace protecting” measures, being one of the primary drivers for the economic turnaround. In essence, he framed economic revival around tax relief, tariffs, deregulation, energy expansion and market growth, reinforcing the claim that America is “winning again.”
3. Border Enforcement and Internal Security as a success story, with declining crime rates and the “war on fraud” over corruption
On border security, Trump highlighted that after four years the US today stands as the “strongest and most secure border in American history by far.” He put forth that in the last nine months, “zero illegal aliens” have been allowed. He added that fentanyl flows declined by 56 per cent and that the murder rate recorded its single largest drop in recorded history. He called on Congress to pass the “Dalilah law,” barring states from granting commercial licenses to undocumented migrants, and the “Save America Act,” requiring voter ID and proof of citizenship to vote. On internal security, he announced a “war on fraud” to be led by Vice President JD Vance, quoting alleged large-scale corruption in Minnesota and other states. He referred to the deployment of the National Guard and federal law enforcement to cities including Memphis, New Orleans and Washington, D.C., where he claimed crime had fallen sharply.
4. “Great Health Care Plan,” as a better plan and the Democrats’ efforts as “rip-offs”
Health Care was another key focus area in Trump’s SOTU address; he called it one of the largest “rip-offs of our times” by the Democrats, referring to the heightened health care costs. He criticised the Affordable Care Act for benefitting big insurance firms while imposing crushing costs on the public. In this context, he referred to the “Great Health Care Plan,” introduced by his administration, saying it will halt all payments to insurance companies, directly transfer the resources to people and will mandate “maximum price transparency.” He referred to the recently enacted most favoured nation agreements, stating Americans will now pay the lowest price anywhere in the world for prescription drugs, and called on Congress to codify the program into law.
5. A sharper and repeated critique of Democrats
Trump repeatedly criticised Democrats, attributing the issues of economy, immigration, health care, and internal security to policy failures by the Biden administration and its congressional allies. He referred to inflation under Biden as the worst in America’s history and critiqued Democrats for a “Biden-created housing problem.” He stated that all Democrats opposed his tax cuts and instead supported large-scale tax increases impacting the public. On security, he claimed Democrats cut off all funding for the Department of Homeland Security, creating a “Democrat shutdown,” and called for the immediate restoration of all funding. Overall, Trump associated his key agenda points to policy failures of Democrats.
6. Claims of ending eight wars, strong position on Iran and military buildup as “peace through strength”
Trump portrayed himself as a dealmaker stating he “ended eight wars” in his first ten months including Gaza, Israel and Iran, Congo and Rwanda, among others. He then referred to Iran, mentioning Operation Midnight Hammer as a breakthrough operation. Reiterating his stance on Iran, he put forth that: “I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror…to have a nuclear weapon…And no nation should ever doubt America’s resolve.” In this context, Trump referred to the US military as the “most powerful.” Rebuilding of the American military, and a recently approved trillion-dollar budget was described as “peace through strength.” He made glancing references to Venezuela, Russia, and Ukraine, and previously emphasized issues such as Greenland and China were absent in his address, reflecting changing priorities.
R Preetha is pursuing post-graduation in the Department of International Studies, Stella Maris College, Chennai, and is a Research Assistant at the National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru.
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