Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
The State of the Union Address (“SOTU”) is an annual speech that the US President gives to Congress in which he presents his side of things to the nation. Tonight was Trump’s appearance – here’s what he had to say.
02/25/2026, 05:58February 25, 2026, 10:05
The initial situation
Trump went into his first SOTU speech of the second term feeling ailing. The US population shows up in surveys increasingly dissatisfied with the US President’s policies. Many people in the USA recently seemed to have had enough of Trump’s foreign policy excursions and impulses, while the economic situation has hardly changed and many continue to suffer from high prices. Even in the areas of migration and the economy, two issues with which Trump was able to distinguish himself in the past and which were largely responsible for his election victory, support dwindled.
This is the State of the Union address
Every year, except the one when he takes office, the US President gives a speech to the US Congress in the spring and addresses the population. The speech receives a lot of attention because presidents often announce new projects and make their priorities clear. The speech is usually given at the end of January, but sometimes as late as February or March. Trump is therefore rather late this year.
Trump celebrates himself
Political experts and also Trump’s advisory staff had previously suggested to the President that he should try to “reclaim” the narrative on these issues, since the Democrats have recently gained sovereignty over the interpretation, particularly when it comes to the economy. And indeed: This time Trump stuck to the recommendations of his advisors. He first spent several minutes highlighting his government’s successes and alleged achievements in these areas.
“Our nation is back bigger, better and stronger than ever before.”
With these words, Trump opened the speech, to great applause and a standing ovation from the Republican side in Congress. The Democrats sat quietly. Trump emphasized again that he was leading America into a “golden age” and that it was about to begin. The 79-year-old said that the USA is currently “perhaps more respected than ever before” in the world.
Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
Regarding his brutal migration policy, Trump declared that it was bearing fruit and – with his usual exuberance – that thanks to his policies the country had by far the safest borders in history. According to the US President, his migration policy is directed against people who want to come to the USA illegally. He followed up with some words that were somewhat unusual for him, saying he wanted to maintain legal immigration opportunities and continue to welcome people who loved and worked hard in the United States.
Democrat Al Green began by holding up a protest sign in reference to a racist video posted by Trump that showed the Obamas as monkeys. He had to leave the room afterwards.Image: keystone
Venezuela, the “new friend and partner”
During his speech, Trump initially spoke practically only about domestic political issues. He deviated once when talking about oil production. With a completely unexpected and clear statement: He described Venezuela as “our new friend and partner”.
The US government had Venezuela’s long-time dictator Nicolas Maduro kidnapped at the beginning of January – and shortly afterwards concluded an oil production agreement with his vice president and former ally Delcy Rodriguez. Now Venezuela is supposed to deliver oil to the USA: “We have just received more than 80 million barrels of oil from our new friend and partner, Venezuela,” said Trump.
Later in the speech, Trump brought up Venezuela again. He spoke very favorably about Delcy Rodriguez. He also promised Venezuela’s people a “bright new beginning” after the fall of Maduro.
Delcy Rodriguez received warm words from Trump.Image: keystone
Ice hockey Olympic champions are celebrated
Trump then extensively celebrated the US ice hockey team’s Olympic victory against Canada last Sunday. The US team was invited into the hall and greeted with much applause. It was the first moment during Trump’s appearance that even Democrats rose from their seats and clapped. Previously, they had sat almost motionless in their chairs and listened to Trump’s self-adulation.
Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
Goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck received a special honor: Trump announced that the best player in the final, who drove Canada to despair with his saves, would be awarded the “Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
The ice hockey stars around Connor Hellebuyck (bottom right) are celebrated.Image: keystone
The US women’s ice hockey team, which also won gold, had previously turned down an invitation from Trump. They justified this with existing professional and academic obligations. In his speech, Trump announced that he would soon be welcoming the women’s team to the White House.
Exchange of blows with Democrats after provocation
Although the Democratic MPs endured large parts of the speech almost stoically and there were far fewer heckles than before, a kind of exchange of blows still took place.
Trump provoked this: He spoke at length about the abuse of the social system for Somali immigrants in Minnesota and then asked the members of Congress in the hall to stand up if they would “put Americans and not illegal migrants first.” Of course, the Republican side jumped up to applaud while the Democrats remained seated.
Shortly afterwards, Democrats, obviously annoyed and triggered by the social media-friendly production, objected several times. Representative Ilhan Omar, who is of Somali origin, repeatedly called out to Trump that he was a liar and criticized him in light of the deadly ICE operations in Minneapolis:
“You killed Americans!”
Other Democrats also responded to the president’s statements with heckling before the situation gradually calmed down again.
Tariffs: Trump surprises with restraint
It was eagerly awaited what Trump would have to say about his customs policy, which recently suffered a severe setback with a Supreme Court ruling. The judges of the highest US legal authority were also present in the hall.
Donald Trump during his almost two-hour speech – it was the longest that a president has ever given at the State of the Union.Image: keystone
Since Trump had already sharply criticized it via social media after the verdict, some observers expected further verbal attacks during the speech. That (almost) didn’t happen. Trump was very diplomatic for his circumstances. He said the verdict was “unfortunate” and “disappointing.” But he kept himself in check and refrained from making personal attacks.
Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
Trump also downplayed the significance of the ruling. The majority of all states with which the USA is negotiating an agreement want to stick to these negotiations. Trump was convinced that another solution would be found for the continuation of the customs policy. And this without involving Congress.
The judges of the Supreme Court didn’t give a damn about the statements: they accepted Trump’s statements without moving, with an almost stone expression.
No movement: The Supreme Court members present during Trump’s speech.Image: keystone
But still foreign policy
As US presidents often do when addressing the nation, Trump focused largely on domestic policy. Only towards the end of his extremely long speech (see last point) did the 79-year-old briefly talk about the geopolitical hotspots that he otherwise deals with very extensively.
Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
- Iran: The USA has assembled an army around Iran, and there has been a threat of escalation for days despite negotiations in Geneva. Trump referred to this: “We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal.” However, Trump said he has not yet received a commitment from the Iranian government to give up nuclear weapons. He reiterated that he would “never” allow the Iranians to acquire a nuclear weapon. There was applause for this statement – including from some Democrats.
- Ukraine: Trump once again praised himself for his peace efforts around the world. However, he was taciturn about the war in Ukraine. During the election campaign, the US President promised to end the war in Eastern Europe within 24 hours. More than a year later, he still hasn’t succeeded. In relation to this, he said that he creates peace “where possible”. He again claimed that the war would never have broken out if he had been president.
- NATO: It was only a side note, but Trump also spoke briefly about NATO. He described the members of the alliance as “friends and allies”. In recent months, more and more doubts have been raised as to whether the USA would still fulfill its NATO commitments or whether the Trump administration could even initiate an exit. Trump was particularly satisfied with the allies’ willingness to increase defense spending to five percent.
Video: Watson/Lucas Zollinger
Longest speech in history
After almost 89 minutes it was clear: Trump was holding the longest State of the Union in the history of the United States. He surpassed Democrat Bill Clinton, who spoke to Congress for 88 minutes and 49 seconds in 2000. In the end, Trump spoke for an hour and 47 minutes.
With material from the SDA and DPA news agencies.