Trump Delivers 2026 State of the Union, Declares America Has Entered a Golden Age | WPN World People News

U.S. President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address of his second term to a joint session of Congress on February 24. The speech lasted nearly two hours, making it the longest State of the Union in U.S. history. Trump described his first year back in office as a Turnaround for the Age and proclaimed that the United States has returned to its peak and is entering a Golden Age. His address was met with protests and disruptions from some Democratic lawmakers, and several media outlets and fact-checking organizations challenged portions of his claims as misleading.

On the economy, Trump opened by touting that the U.S. stock market hit record highs dozens of times over the past year and that the Dow Jones Industrial Average surpassed the 50,000 mark. He reaffirmed the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which he said eliminated the tip tax, overtime tax, and the Social Security tax on older workers, among other tax reforms. He also criticized a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck down his tariff authority as an unfortunate decision and said he would use the 1974 Trade Act and other legal authorities to continue pushing global tariffs of 10–15%. Trump claimed that in the future tariffs paid by foreign countries could replace the current income tax system.

On housing, he called on Congress to ban large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes. For retirement, he proposed a universal 401(k) plan that would provide up to $1,000 in government matching contributions each year for workers without employer-sponsored plans, along with a tax-preferred investment program for children called Trump Accounts.

Regarding border security, Trump claimed zero illegal crossings over the past nine months and said fentanyl imports had been effectively halted. He also announced a War on Fraud, led by Vice President JD Vance, targeting corruption and improper spending in the federal budget as a quick path to eliminating the federal deficit, asserting it could bring the budget into balance “overnight.” However, fact-checkers note that estimates of fraud in federal spending ($233–$521 billion) fall far short of the federal budget deficit, which was about $1.8 trillion last year.

On elections, he urged Congress to pass the “SAVE America Act”, which would require voters to present proof of citizenship and photo ID at the polls.

On foreign policy, Trump highlighted actions against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, emphasizing a “peace through strength” approach and declaring that Iran must never obtain nuclear weapons. On energy, he said the U.S. secured access to more than 80 million barrels of oil from Venezuela under President “Nicolás Maduro”, claimed U.S. natural gas production reached record levels, and insisted that major technology companies build their own power plants for AI data centers to prevent higher electricity costs for households.

In recognition of upcoming milestones, Trump awarded a Medal of Honor to 100-year-old Navy veteran E. Royce Williams and aviator Eric Shover, who was injured in the operation to secure Maduro, and presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to U.S. men’s Olympic hockey goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. He concluded by reiterating that the revolution of 1776 is not over and pledged, under the banner of America First, to build a nation of opportunity, security, and respect.