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‘His Showman’s Energy Is Flagging’: The Best and Worst Moments From Trump’s State of the Union
President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, celebrating his record on immigration and the economy. “We’re winning so much,” he said. “Inflation is plummeting, incomes are rising fast. … America is respected again.” Here’s what our writers thought of his speech.
Best Moment
Binyamin Appelbaum Before speaking, Trump stopped to shake hands with the four Supreme Court justices who were in attendance. While speaking, he described the court’s rejection of his tariffs as an unfortunate disappointment, but he didn’t insult the justices nor question the court’s legitimacy. I’m counting it as a win for the rule of law.
Josh Barro Congratulating the U.S. Men’s Hockey Team on its Olympic victory — a rare part of the night when Trump seemed to be genuinely enjoying himself.
Jamelle Bouie The single best moment was when this long, exhausted and repetitive speech finally ended. It was then that I felt true relief.
Michelle Cottle The appearance of the men’s Olympic hockey team. The young guys playing to the crowd and showing off their medals were adorable. Here was an appropriate moment for those “U.S.A.” chants. So wholesome.
Michelle Goldberg The moment when, after setting a record for the longest State of the Union in recorded history, it finally ended.
Daniel McCarthy The president’s condemnation of congressional insider trading was the single most memorable moment, both for getting Democrats to stand along with Republicans and for getting laughs at the mention of Nancy Pelosi.
Matthew Schmitz Democrats are feeling emboldened on immigration amid Trump’s controversial enforcement push. But Trump effectively invoked what is still one of his strongest issues, while drawing a contrast with Democrats: “The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” Many Americans agree.
Megan K. Stack I didn’t think Trump was capable of giving a speech this boring. I expected fighting words, but he was unusually subdued. I was mildly glad to hear him say plainly that he prefers a diplomatic solution with Iran. I’m not sure I believe him — there is still considerable momentum toward attacking Iran, and Trump’s surrounding rhetoric wasn’t exactly conciliatory — but that one moment offered a tiny bit of hope.
Worst Moment
Appelbaum It was a tedious, tiresome performance. For much of the night, the president seemed to be boring everyone, perhaps most of all himself. Even his efforts to bait Democrats felt well-worn, familiar and strikingly devoid of real heat on either side.
Barro The “everything is terrible in America” section — which lasted roughly from minute 30 through 75 of this interminable and plodding address — significantly undermined the “everything is wonderful in Trump’s America” messaging that preceded it.
Bouie There are just too many bad moments to choose from. Was the worst one of the many instances where he gave lurid descriptions of pain and suffering? Was it when he began to hand out awards like reality television prizes? Or was it when he tried to write Democrats out of the political community? If I have to choose, I’d say the braying racism against Somali Americans — it would not have been out of place in a D.W. Griffith film.
Cottle So many options. The xenophobia. The scaremongering. The lying. The name-calling. The pettiness. But I’ll go with his ongoing mission to destroy faith in the electoral process. “Cheating is rampant.” The Dems “want to cheat. They have cheated.” It’s the “only way they can get elected.” Heavy sigh.
Goldberg His demagoguery against Somalis. Trump slandering an entire ethnic group at the State of the Union is a reminder of how deeply he’s debased this country.
McCarthy C-SPAN caught Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib heckling after the president called for everyone who believes government should serve American citizens rather than illegal immigrants to stand. The jeering was bad enough overall, but at that moment, it made Democrats seem decisively on the other side of the challenge Trump posed.
Schmitz Trump’s boast about $18 trillion in foreign investment, whatever its accuracy, makes little sense in light of his broader trade agenda. But if we revive American industry, which is our real goal, our trade deficit would decline — and with it, high levels of foreign investment.
Stack Trump once again smeared immigrants as violent criminals (a characterization contradicted by the data). He didn’t acknowledge the families torn apart or the avalanche of legal challenges. He didn’t once say “ICE.” He may be distancing himself, but the hate mongering continues.
What Else Mattered
Appelbaum When Roman emperors ran out of ideas, they promised bread and circuses. Trump’s speech was full of circuses, including a lengthy celebration of the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team. But he’s no Roman emperor: He made a point of reminding the American people that his administration is providing a lot less food to the poor (having “lifted” 2.4 million people off food stamps).
Barro Notwithstanding Stephen Miller’s claim that the visuals of Democrats failing to stand for applause lines in this speech will be “immortal,” there was absolutely nothing in this speech that mattered — nobody will remember it in a week.
Bouie What mattered as much, if not more, than Trump’s speech was the performance of congressional Republicans, who have fully embraced the boorish aggression of the president, attacking and jeering their Democratic colleagues. And if I had to say anything to Democrats it would be, in the words of Ice Cube: Here’s what they think about you. Act accordingly.
Cottle The conventional wisdom was that Trump’s top job tonight was to stay focused on the economy and assure struggling Americans he feels their pain. I thought his top job was to avoid coming across as America’s crabby, rambling grandpa. He was weak on both counts — but could have been even worse.
Goldberg That the speech was hateful and mendacious goes without saying. But I was struck by how boring it was, despite all the reality television stunts. Trump has usually been good at capturing attention, but his showman’s energy is flagging.
McCarthy The president’s emphasis on his successes in dealing with the now post-Maduro government in Venezuela, together with his demonstrated willingness to use force but continuing insistence on diplomacy with Iran, are the outlines of distinct foreign policy. He’s an earnest peacemaker, though not a dove.
Schmitz Sage Blair, one of Trump’s guests, came to public attention when her paternal grandmother and adoptive mother accused school officials of encouraging Blair to undergo a gender transition when she was a minor without informing her family. As Trump knows, Democrats are markedly out of step with public opinion on transgender issues.
Stack All the things elided or unmentioned: There was no clarity on Trump’s much-threatened Iran attack, nor acknowledgment that he delivered his address in Congress, where war powers rightly lie. Scant discussion of A.I., education, infrastructure. No explanation of Gaza’s future. No mention of the Epstein files.
Binyamin Appelbaum covers economics and business for Opinion.
Josh Barro, a contributing Opinion writer, hosts the podcast “Serious Trouble” and writes a newsletter, Very Serious.
Jamelle Bouie and Michelle Goldberg are Times Opinion columnists.
Michelle Cottle covers national politics for Opinion.
Daniel McCarthy is the distinguished fellow in conservative thought at the Heritage Foundation and the editor of Modern Age: A Conservative Review.
Matthew Schmitz is a founder and an editor of the online magazine Compact.
Megan K. Stack, a contributing Opinion writer, has reported from China, Russia, Egypt, Israel, Afghanistan and our border with Mexico.
Additional production by Bhabna Banerjee.
The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We’d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here’s our email: letters@nytimes.com.
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