The speech last night, local time in Sweden, was the longest State of the Union address of all time, 101 minutes long.
The official theme, “America at 250: Strong, Prosperous, and Respected,” was evident from the start. Trump began by talking about what he believes he has accomplished in the first year of his second term—including economic success, more jobs, and a sharp decline in immigration.
"What a difference a president can make," said Trump.
However, Trump chose to pay tribute to more than just himself, and awarded several medals to war veterans and others during the speech.
But it was far from just cheerful talk. Shortly into the speech, the president turned to the country's highest court, calling last week's ruling, which invalidated his tariffs from last year, "very unfortunate."
Democrats also got the boot early on when Trump demanded that funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) be restored. The department was partially shut down earlier in February when members of Congress could not agree on the immigration agency ICE, which Trump blamed on Democrats.
Action against Iran
However, the president did not address the high-profile shootings by federal police in Minnesota earlier this year or the widespread protests they sparked. Nor did he mention the scandals linked to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
On the foreign front, which was expected to be a small part of the speech, the president boasted that the United States had received more than 80 million barrels of oil from "our new friend and partner Venezuela."
Trump further stated that Iran “has already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our foreign military bases” and that the country is working on missiles with a range that could reach the United States. At the same time, he said he wanted to resolve the conflict through diplomacy - but that Iran had not said what the United States wanted to hear.
I will never allow the world's leading sponsor of terrorism to gain access to nuclear weapons.
Several boycotted the speech
The speech coincided in the US with the anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and Trump said they are "working hard" to end the war.
The president received a standing ovation throughout - from the Republicans. The rest of the audience sat demonstratively in their seats without applauding - except, for example, when the men's national ice hockey team's Olympic gold medalists were welcomed.
About 30 Democrats chose to boycott the speech.
