LIZ PEEK: America expected one thing from Trump’s State of the Union. It got another
Call me crazy, but I loved President Trump’s State of the Union speech.
Yes, it was long — the longest in at least 60 years — but it was also entertaining. It was optimistic, positive and hopeful about America’s future. Right off the bat, on Tuesday night, Trump introduced the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team, and though they didn’t lead the chamber in singing the national anthem (my secret hope), they did show off their gold medals to thunderous applause and shouts of "U-S-A! U-S-A!" That set the celebratory and triumphant tone of the evening.
Trump did not appear to be a president under siege, struggling with sagging approval ratings; far from it. He was at his best; he was relaxed, at times funny, and appropriately incredulous at the smallness and absurdity of his Democratic opponents. My guess is that he gets a much-needed bounce from this performance — not only because of his likable delivery, but also because he reviewed the enormous number of accomplishments that he and his Cabinet have racked up in a single year.
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As important, he avoided picking a fight with the Supreme Court, which could easily have soured the mood. He described the Supreme Court’s ruling declaring his tariffs illegal as "disappointing" and "unfortunate," but then moved on, talking up the importance of tariffs in leveling the playing field for U.S. firms and in attracting trillions of dollars of investment into the United States.
He also packed the gallery with a crowd of sympathetic and admirable people whose lives and experiences not only served to demonstrate the policies he touted but also inspired the audience.
Who could fail to applaud the children who are surviving grievous injuries, or the pilot wounded during the extraction of Venezuela’s illegitimate president, Nicolás Maduro, who managed to carry out the mission and was then awarded the Medal of Honor? Or the National Guardsman shot in the head who is recovering against all odds? The stories are heartwarming and incorporate much that is exceptional about the United States — the bravery, sacrifice and patriotism that characterize so many heroes.
President Trump’s most important mission was to remind people that President Joe Biden left behind a mess and that he is working to fix it. Trump inherited from Biden an economy dependent on gigantic federal spending, an open border unprotected from a rush of criminals who flooded in among the millions who entered illegally, and prices that soared more than 20% in four short years.
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A massive influx of undocumented migrants poured into cities like New York, causing chaos, crime and rising budget headaches as the public had to foot the bill for migrants receiving taxpayer-funded health care, education and housing. Those problems are ongoing, despite Trump’s efforts to deport the criminals who are also making our cities unsafe. In his speech, he called upon Congress to outlaw sanctuary cities. It won’t happen, but it should.
Trump ran on closing the border; today it is more secure than ever. As he reminded voters, if Democrats return to power, they will reverse his efforts.
As is customary, Trump cataloged his greatest hits. He celebrated the "One Big Beautiful Bill," which he said contained the biggest tax cuts in U.S. history, including reduced taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security. (He introduced a couple from Pennsylvania who are saving over $5,000 per year from the bill.) Trump also touted his efforts to bring down prescription drug prices, to make IVF more affordable — and sympathetically introduced a young woman trying to become a mom — and to establish price transparency in health care.
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He touted the "Trump Accounts" for young children, which he said could help them get a running start in life, and called out computer innovator Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, for contributing more than $6 billion to the program.
He also talked up his plan to make tech companies operating data centers pay for the copious electricity those projects require. Electricity prices have soared across the country, thanks in large part to what he described as reckless energy policies put in place by climate-focused Democrats. Trump is trying to fix that.
Another plan to increase affordability is his recent executive order banning large Wall Street financial firms from buying up homes. At the margin, this may help, as will lower mortgage rates. Such initiatives are meant to reduce the cost of living, which is likely to play a large role in the midterm elections.
The president and his team are also focusing on rooting out welfare fraud, which he said is rampant. Trump said that eliminating theft of taxpayer dollars could eliminate the deficit. It won’t, but it can surely help. Even Joe Biden’s Government Accountability Office said the country was losing hundreds of billions of dollars every year to fraud and theft; the Biden White House ignored the problem, but the Trump White House is addressing it.
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The theft of billions of dollars in welfare payments in Minnesota by primarily Somali criminals became an overnight political liability for Democratic Gov. Tim Walz and other state officials who, at best, ignored the problem. Trump has designated Vice President JD Vance to lead the fraud investigation; you can be sure that Democrat-run states like California and New York will be in the crosshairs.
It was a good night for the president; it was a bad night for Democrats. Over 70 Democrats shamefully boycotted the speech, which only made their dour presence less impactful.
President Trump more than once called out Democrats, in some cases, for opposing popular items like tax cuts and voter ID laws. He also berated them for supporting unpopular measures like gender reassignment of minors without parental approval. As he introduced a family whose daughter had experienced that misfortune, he waved his hand at Democrats, saying, "These people are crazy." Most would agree.
President Trump got the message: He needs to make life more affordable. Now he has to follow through. After Tuesday night, the country knows he is working at it.