Avery Cheeseman, arts and culture editor

On Feb. 24, President Trump gave his State of the Union address. This marks Trump’s sixth speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. This address was 1 hour, 48 minutes, which officially makes it the longest State of the Union address in United States history. It was longer than Bill Clinton’s 2000 address and Trump’s own previous record from 2025. 

Trump discussed a wide variety of topics, but some of the biggest topics encapsulated the economy, immigration, and the overall current political climate. Trump discussed how the economy has been “roaring like never before.” The economy grew 2.2% in 2025 and 2.3% in 2024, according to CNN. He mentioned gas prices lowering to below $2.30 since he took office. According to PolitiFact, no state has an average gas price below $2.30. He also discussed the booming stock market, stating that he secured commitments for 18 trillion dollars, but on The White House’s website they state that investments are at 9.7 trillion dollars. Trump directly mentioned that his policies are enabling Americans to grow their wallets, specifically citing the lowering prices of chicken, butter and fruit, which are 2.9% more expensive this year, and beef, which is 15% more expensive, according to CNN.

Trump then took the time to defend his administration’s deportation policies and actively put pressure on Republicans to pass the “SAVE America Act.” During Trump’s discussion of immigration, he addressed Democrats about ending sanctuary states. “[…] I’m also asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious penalties for public officials who block the removal of criminal aliens, in many cases, drug lords, murderers all over our country.” He also stated that, as lawmakers, Democrats needed to understand that the duty of the American government is to protect American citizens over “illegal aliens.” He continued on, stating that Democrats should be “ashamed,” promoting the response of Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn. and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. shouting back, “you have killed Americans.”

Beyond this reply, Democrats in attendance had a wide range of reactions to Trump’s State of the Union address. The Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union address was given by Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger. Spanberger criticized Trump’s points on affordability. She further elaborated on the brokenness of our democratic system as well. She ended her address by discussing ways that Democrats were flipping the vote.

Omar’s guest, Aliya Rahman, was removed from the address by police and was later charged with refusing to obey orders and sit down. She was taken by Capitol police as she was considered to be demonstrating in Congress and the congressional buildings, which is illegal. However, Rahman was released on Wednesday morning. The country as a whole is still making up their minds about how this State of the Union address went. Many different opinions are running hot on both sides of the political aisle.