The State of the Union Address is a speech given by the President of the United States on the condition of the country. The first address was given by George Washington in 1790, and has been a tradition ever since. In his address on February 24, 2026, President Donald Trump spoke for an hour and 48 minutes, the longest State of the Union Address in history. His speech had many unorthodox features and seemed more like an attempt to rally voters, than a State of the Union Address.
Trump opened by talking about the strengthened economy of the US since he got elected. He claims that prices for basic necessities like gas, eggs and other basic foodstuffs have decreased dramatically.
In the early stages of the address, President Trump celebrated the US’ performance in this year’s Winter Olympics, welcoming the US Men’s and Women’s Ice Hockey Team for winning gold and awarded Men’s Goalkeeper Connor Helleybuck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Unfortunately, the Women’s Team were not in attendance.
Trump handed out more trophies that night. He awarded Royce Williams, a 100-year-old World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War veteran, the Congressional Medal of Honor. This was one of the only times when both parties in the building stood up and applauded. The President also awarded the same trophy to Eric Slover, the Chief Officer that led the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.
The medals, chants and Trump’s confident tone presented how he made America great again. But this is far from the truth. The Democrats’ refusal to applaud and Trump’s rude remarks to them displayed the division between the two parties in the US.
Although gas prices have decreased since the Biden administration, the War on Iran brought back the hefty prices, and broke Trump’s no-war promise in the beginning of his campaign. Trump reasons that the missile strikes on Iran were only a strategic military campaign, the same excuse that Putin uses for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens,” Trump said.
His statement on immigration caused a commotion in the Democratic side of the Capitol Building.
“You have killed Americans,” Ilhan Omar (D-MN) shouted from her seat.
Her outburst was backed by the infamous deaths of Renee Good, Alex Pretti and the murders of immigrants who were US citizens.
The division between the two parties was most prevalent in the Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union, led by Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger.
“[Trump] lied… scapegoated… and distracted,” Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger said.
Affordability issues ran rampant throughout Virginia. Even though many import tariffs have been struck down by the Supreme Court, Spanberger claims that “the damage to [Americans] has already been done.”
Spanberger says that the nation’s broken immigration system should not be an excuse for the mistreatment of American communities.
Furthermore, Spanberger labels Trump’s administration as corrupt for covering up the Epstein Files and plastering the Trump name all over the nation’s capital.
A rebuttal by the opposing party after a State of the Union Address has never been done in the history of the United States.
“[Trump’s speech was a] rally… not a real State of the Union,” sophomore Ronan Cheung said.
As a high school student who reads the news multiple times a day, Cheung claims that Trump has used all the “cards” in his deck. The worst part about that is that most of the “cards” were factually incorrect or completely nonsensical.
Trump said that gas prices are down; the prices have risen after the war against Iran. The President claims that drug prices have been reduced by over 300%; anything being down over 100% is mathematically impossible.
Trump’s lies and hypocrisy, alongside the rising tensions between Democrats and Republicans are a major issue in the US. But it’s the ignorance of students towards the news that should be a greater worry for the nation. Stories about economic issues, political rivalries and boring speeches might not spark much interest in students.
Although it might seem dull, keeping up with politics should be a vital part of a student’s life. However, watching and reading the news enables high school students to form their own opinions on world matters; that is the main takeaway every student will get from politics.
