President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in modern history on Tuesday (February 24), speaking to a joint session of Congress about his economic agenda, foreign policy moves, and second-year priorities.

President Trump used his first official State of the Union address of his second term to declare a new "golden age" for America, defending his administration's economic and immigration policies before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday (February 24) in Washington, D.C.

“Tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before, and a turnaround for the ages,” said Trump.

“It is indeed a turnaround for the ages.”

The speech, which ran for 1 hour and 47 minutes, covered a wide range of topics, from tariffs and prescription drug prices to foreign policy and crime. It grew increasingly contentious as the night went on, marked by tense exchanges between the president and Democratic lawmakers.

President Trump touted the economy as a major success, claiming he had secured trillions of dollars in investment commitments from around the world and that tariffs paid by foreign countries would eventually replace income taxes.

On tariffs, Trump stood firm despite the Supreme Court striking down roughly half of his import taxes last week, ruling he had exceeded his authority. He called it "an unfortunate ruling," delivering the rebuke directly to the justices seated in the front row of the House chamber.

Trump also celebrated the passage of what he called the "great big beautiful bill," a sweeping tax and spending package he signed into law last summer that eliminated federal income taxes on tips and overtime pay and created "Trump Accounts" — $1,000 investment funds for newborn children.

Trump also touted U.S. oil and gas production. According to the Energy Information Administration, the U.S. set an annual crude oil production record last year, rising about 400,000 barrels per day from 2024 — though that trend began four years prior and production is expected to dip in 2026. Natural gas production, however, is forecast to hit record levels in both 2026 and 2027.

Immigration was also a central theme of the night. Trump said that in the past nine months, "zero illegal aliens" had been admitted to the United States, pointing to border arrest numbers that have fallen to their lowest levels since the mid-1960s. He called on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, claiming that election cheating by noncitizens is "rampant."

On the world stage, Trump pointed to the fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza as one of his biggest achievements, saying every hostage — "both living and dead" — had been returned.

One of the speech's biggest foreign policy moments came when President Trump addressed Iran. He repeated his claim that the U.S. military "obliterated" Iran's nuclear weapons program during last June's Operation Midnight Hammer.

On Venezuela, Trump boasted that the U.S. "just received" more than 80 million barrels of oil from "our new friend and partner." That followed last month's capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro in an audacious military operation. Maduro and his wife were taken to New York, where they face federal drug conspiracy charges. He also introduced Venezuelan opposition lawmaker Enrique Marquez, who was freed after Maduro's capture, as a guest of honor.

Trump also called on Congress to pass the Stop Insider Trading Act, which would ban members of Congress from trading stocks based on insider knowledge. The proposal drew applause from both sides of the aisle.

On prescription drugs, Trump claimed Americans would now pay the lowest prices in the world. Trump told lawmakers he wanted to end payments to large insurance companies and give Americans money directly through health savings accounts. Experts noted that his "Great Health Care Plan" has not yet been written into legislation. He also claimed he had cut prescription drug prices to the lowest levels in the world, a statement fact-checkers said was not accurate. According to a Yale University study, Americans continue to pay several times more for prescription drugs than people in comparable countries.

In a rare show of bipartisanship, the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic men's hockey team received a standing ovation from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. Trump announced that goaltender Connor Hellebuyck — who made 41 saves in Team USA's 2-1 victory over Canada at the Milan Winter Olympics — would receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Trump also announced that the U.S. women's hockey team, which also won gold, would soon visit the White House.

With midterm elections approaching in November, the speech is widely seen as an early preview of the message Republican candidates will carry to voters as they fight to hold their majorities in the House and Senate.

Mel Taylor