By: Quinn Hathaway
Media Production Editor
President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union Address (SOTU) in U.S. history on Feb. 24, with his speech lasting one hour and forty-seven minutes. The placement of the address in late February allows the holding president to bolster their agenda in attempts to win voters heading into the crucial midterm elections. In his record-breaking address, Trump chose to mainly focus on immigration policy and economic updates.
Trump’s first topic in the speech was immigration-based, saying that “in the past nine months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States.” He followed his extensive monologue with a short statement about how he welcomed legal immigrants, ones that “will work hard to maintain our country,” and later shared a myriad of stories reflecting negatively on illegal immigrants, announcing a new bill barring any illegal “aliens” from obtaining licences to operate commercial vehicles.
Trump proceeded to spend a considerable amount of time discussing the state of the economy prior to his second term in office. Trump stated, “The Biden administration…gave us the worst inflation in the history of our country,” a claim that many news stations and economists disproved. Scott Horsley, Chief Economist Correspondent for NPR, noted, “By the time President Joe Biden left office [in 2024], inflation had fallen to 3%,” further explaining that inflation dropped to 2.3% last April before returning to 3% in September, halfway through Trump’s first year of his second term.
Outside of his economic fallacies and political updates, Trump also addressed the recent Winter Olympics, bringing in the men’s Olympic hockey team, who had won gold days prior at the Milano-Cortina Games. Trump himself had called the men’s team to invite them to the White House. The call faced immediate backlash online, with many Americans upset that Trump was treating the women’s team as not only inferior to the men’s team but also as a nuisance. The women’s team proceeded to decline Trump’s lackluster invitation, though the men’s team appeared, with Trump declaring that goalie Connor Hellebuyck will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
In the final moments of his speech, Trump concluded with a patriotic message, emphasizing that “the flame of liberty and independence still burns.” Themes of patriotism are already translating into Trump’s recent events. The US hosted the Shield of Americas Summit on Mar. 7, which showcased Trump continuing to bolster his America First policies. He highlighted the crackdown on illegal immigration and the increase in economic deals, both major components of his SOTU. As the election season progresses, Trump will likely continue to advocate the policies presented in his lengthy SOTU.
(Sources: NBC, NPR, NYT, The White House)