Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R., Wis.) told the Washington Reporter that President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address was “a speech for the ages.” He’s right.
This was Trump’s best State of the Union yet. He made a persuasive case for continuing his administration’s progress, which has made America safer and more prosperous, and he set a clear agenda for Congress to follow.
Here’s why the speech worked.
First, the issue that matters most, Trump showed he has delivered on his promise to make America more prosperous. “It was positive,” Rep. Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.) told the Reporter. “It was hopeful, and it was uplifting. It was also emotional. I teared up no fewer than three times.”
While President Joe Biden once treated putting more Americans on food stamps and welfare as an accomplishment, Trump drew a clear contrast. As he said, “In one year, we have lifted 2.4 million Americans, a record, off of food stamps.”
That has happened in part because the economy truly is improving. The president cited statistic after statistic of lower inflation, higher wage growth, and rising prosperity.
It has also come from common-sense reforms like the Republicans’ Working Families Tax Cut, which cracked down on fraud and created stronger incentives for people to leave welfare and reenter the workforce.
Second, on energy, the president talked about keeping his word. “American natural gas production is at an all-time high because I kept my promise to drill, baby, drill.”
Just as important was Trump’s announcement of a new ratepayer protection pledge that requires tech companies to provide their own power, so AI data center demand doesn’t drive up utility bills for families.
Third, Trump focused on health care, a topic the Reporter has interviewed him about. He shouted out Catherine Rayner, TrumpRx’s first customer, who was able to get a $4,000 fertility drug for under $500.
As the Reporter wrote in a recent editorial, real policy wins are rare in Washington. TrumpRx is one of them.
The immigration section of Trump’s speech was the strongest. Sen. Tim Scott (R., S.C.), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) and of the Senate Banking Committee, suggested that he agreed when he told the Reporter what the takeaways were.
“Last night, President Trump delivered a clear message about honoring our heroes, restoring security at our border, and putting the safety and strength of our country front and center,” Scott said. “The stories shared throughout the address were powerful reminders of our resilience and why putting America first matters for the future of the next generation.”
“In the past nine months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States,” the president said. He added that fentanyl crossings are down 56 percent and that the murder rate saw its “single largest decline in recorded history.”
Those are numbers that Democrats simply can’t explain away.
What further elevated Tuesday night’s address was how the president tied it to the country’s 250th anniversary.
“These first 250 years were just the beginning,” he said in closing. “The Golden Age of America is upon us. The revolution that began in 1776 has not ended — it still continues, because the flame of liberty and independence still burns in the heart of every American patriot.”
That’s the kind of optimistic, forward-looking message the country needs. And he honored some of America’s most deserving heroes.
Tulsi Gabbard, the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) — and herself a longtime military veteran — noted as much following Trump’s speech.
“President Trump delivered a powerful and inspiring speech about the many results delivered in a historic first year and the powerful vision he has for our future as we celebrate our 250th year of freedom,” Gabbard said. “In just one year, we stopped thousands of terrorist cartels and gangs from accessing the homeland, ushered in an era of transparency and accountability, prioritized the health and wellness of our people, and began to restore a government that is of, for and by the people as our Founders intended.”
“President Trump tonight not only highlighted our successes as a nation but he also honored and celebrated every day Americans who have been a part of what makes our nation special, like CW5 Eric Slover and Captain Royce Williams (Ret.) who he presented with the Medal of Honor, Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe and Army Spc. Sarah Beckstrom who he honored with the Purple Heart, World War Two hero Buddy Taggart who will celebrate his 100th birthday on July 4th, and of course the U.S. Men’s Hockey team straight off their Olympic gold medal win,” Gabbard continued. “The Golden Age of America is upon us, and we will work every day to ensure ‘the flame of liberty and independence still burns in the heart of every American patriot. Our mission continues.'”
President Trump delivered a great speech. But it was a great speech because it was backed by real policy wins. Rep. Randy Fine (R., Fla.) also told the Reporter following Trump’s speech that “Democrats hate America and Americans. Republicans are the only option to give us another 250 years.”
Now it’s Congress’s turn to keep delivering more.
