Trump’s State of the Union Is…Problematic

Donald Trump Speaks to Congress During the February 2026 State of the Union Address

On February 24, 2026, Donald Trump entered the House of Representatives Chamber within the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., to give his fourth State of the Union address. Since taking office in January 2025, Trump’s Administration has been fraught with controversy and his insistence on pushing increasingly unpopular policies.

Leading up to this particular speech – a presidential standard since George Washington delivered the first one on January 8, 1790 – Trump’s net approval rating was at a dismal 36%, literally the lowest approval rating of any president in American history since polling began.

“Speaker Johnson, Vice President Vance, First Lady of the United States, Second Lady of the United States, members of Congress, and my fellow Americans…our nation is back. Bigger, better, and richer than ever before.”

Richer? Hardly.

If Trump was referring to himself and his billionaire buddies, that statement might ring true.

Since taking office for his second term, Trump and his family have profited a staggering $4 billion (yes, with a “b”), primarily through a combination of new cryptocurrency ventures, expanded foreign real estate deals, and the continued monetization of his brand.

This blatant profiteering stands in stark contrast to the effects of his “Big Beautiful Bill,” which served to reduce taxes for corporations and high earners while cutting healthcare and food assistance for lower-income families.

As Trump and his family raked in millions almost daily, the “BBB” increased the nation’s deficit to over $3 trillion (yes, with a “t”), raised costs for necessities like groceries, and limited Medicaid eligibility for those who need it the most.

While inflation is currently lower than it was when he initially took office (3.0% as of January 2025, down to 2.4% as of January 2026), some costs associated with food and energy services have continued to show higher fluctuating rates.

Those tariffs are not helping the average American to mitigate costs, either…

“More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country. Think about that – any time in the history of our country, more working today, and 100% of all jobs created under my administration have been private sector jobs.”

Oh…really?

Job growth slowed sharply in 2025, with U.S. employers adding only 181,000 jobs as compared to the 1.4 million (yes, with an “m”) that were added in 2024.

While job gains did pick up a tick in January 2026, those gains were concentrated in healthcare, an industry typically insulated from the difficulties of the broader economy.

Unemployment has remained low at 4.3% as of January 2026…but that is higher than the 4% it was before Trump took office.

“Every service member recently received a Warrior Dividend of $1,776. They put it on my desk. We got the money from tariffs and other things. A lot of money we have.”

Nope.

The funds – which Trump had allocated to equate to $1776 (face palm) – did not originate from tariffs, but rather from a previously allocated supplemental housing fund appropriated by Congress as part of Trump’s domestic spending bill from the Summer of 2025…which makes his lie even worse since he should have known exactly where the money came from.

Compounding the ridiculousness of the lie was the acting comptroller for the Defense Department, Jules W. Hurst III, also lying in an attempt to apparently suck up to Trump by stating:

“We are grateful to President Trump, Chairman [Roger] Wicker, Chairman [Mike] Rogers and the other members of Congress who have made this Warrior Dividend possible through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Pathetic.

“I am also ending the wildly inflated cost of prescription drugs. Other presidents tried to do it, but they never could. They didn’t even come close.”

Liar, liar, pants on fire.

Funny thing: Joe Biden, not Trump, signed the Inflation Reduction Act back in 2022, which:

• Capped the price of insulin at $35 a month for people on Medicare

• Placed a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare recipients

• Allowed Medicare to negotiate drug prices for the first time in history

On January 1st after signing the Inflation Reduction Act, the first negotiated prices took effect, including for the blood thinner Eliquis and the cancer drug Imbruvica.

After the law capped insulin prices for Medicare patients, drugmakers extended $35 monthly caps to privately insured patients.

Sleepy Joe, not Dementia Donnie, delivered.

For his part, Trump struck voluntary deals with at least 16 drugmakers…in exchange for tariff relief.

He also launched the self-pay platform Trump Rx, which so far offers cash prices for only 43 medications.

Most of those deals, however, don’t change what people with private insurance or Medicare pay at the pharmacy.

Art of the deal indeed.

“The Biden administration and its allies in Congress gave us the worst inflation in history of our country. But in 12 months, my administration has driven core inflation down to the lowest level in more than five years, and in the last three months of 2025 it was down to 1.7%.”

Speaking of inflation…this is also a lie.

Something that a lot of people don’t realize – but those around Trump in charge of such things most assuredly do – is that inflation is not measured in just three-month periods.

The consumer price index, which is the most cited inflation metric, includes food and energy.

While energy prices have been slowly dropping, food prices have actually been rising over the last year…as pretty much anyone can confirm.

Reviewed on an annual basis, inflation was at 2.9% when Trump took office, which is not a record high level.

In April 2025, inflation fell to 2.3% before spiking again…after Trump imposed his sweeping worldwide tariffs.

(There’s that word again…)

“Last year, I urged this Congress to begin the mission by passing the largest tax cut in American history, and our Republican majority delivered so beautifully.”

While we could dissect all of Trump’s statements from his State of the Union – which clocked in at one hour and 48 minutes, literally the longest (and arguably the most boring…) address in American history – for the purposes of this article we will end on Trump’s self-assessment of his “Big Beautiful Bill” being the “largest tax cut in history.”

Long story short? That is yet another lie.

The “BBB” cut taxes for many people and businesses, but also cut an array of federal programs, including roughly $1 trillion (yes, with a “t”) from Medicaid and substantially cut funding from the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

As a result, more than 10 million people will potentially lose health insurance coverage by 2034.

Additionally, funding was cut for:

• Community safety

• Juvenile justice

• Child protection programs

  
  

The Bigger Problem

There are other statements Trump made during his address that were also either blatantly false or lacked necessary context. Very few topics could be identified as being true.

Why would Trump lie about so much that could be easily fact checked?

Because Trump is all about “the win,” even when he isn’t winning.

Perception is everything and he believes that if he repeats something enough times, it will become the truth to those listening, specifically his MAGA base.

He still clings to the assumption that MAGA is his to control and lead…but cracks have started to grow wider.

His administration’s handling of the Epstein Files, the murders of Renee Good and Alex Pretti and others by his Immigration and Customs Enforcement goons, his potential war crimes against Venezuela, and now his potential “forever war” against Iran have split even his most ardent supporters…

…and given Democrats multiple openings to take control of not just the House, but also the Senate.

The Clock Is Ticking

Time is ticking away…and Trump knows it.

Winter – and the midterms – are coming.