US President Donald Trump is delivering the 2026 State of the Union address. Trump is expected to outline his administration’s actions and focus on the economy.
While it is not expected to be a centerpiece of the speech, Trump is expected to spell out some of his thinking about Iran as he considers strikes in the country.
Trump began his remarks by saying, "Our nation is back- bigger, better, stronger, and richer than ever before!"
"This July 4th, we will mark two and a half centuries of liberty and triumph, progress and freedom in the most incredible and exceptional nation ever to exist on the face of this earth - and you’ve seen nothing yet... this is the Golden Age of America," he added.
Criticizing his predecessor, Joe Biden, Trump stated, "The Biden administration and its allies in Congress gave us the worst inflation in the history of our country. But in 12 months, my administration has driven core inflation down to the lowest level in more than 5 years - and in the last 3 months of 2025, it was down to 1.7%."
"Mortgage rates are the lowest in 4 years, and falling fast - and the annual cost of the typical new mortgage is down almost $5,000 dollars just since I took office."
"When I last spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis. Today, our border is SECURE, our spirit is RESTORED, inflation is PLUMMETING, incomes are RISING FAST, the economy is ROARING, our enemies are SCARED, our military and police are STACKED, and America is RESPECTED again - perhaps like never before."
"In four long years, the last administration got less than $1 trillion dollars in new investment in the United States... In 12 months, I secured commitments for more than $18 trillion dollars pouring in from all over the globe."
"As time goes by, I believe that tariffs, paid for by foreign countries, will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax, taking a great financial burden off the people that I love."
"We are winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it. People are asking me, 'Please, please, Mr. President, we are winning too much, we can’t take it anymore, we are not used to winning,'" stated Trump, who added, "I say, 'No, no, no, you are going to win again, you are going to win big.'"
Trump called on Congress to approve legislation barring any state from granting commercial drivers' licenses to illegal aliens. He also called for illegal aliens to be barred from voting in US elections, for voters to be required to show IDs and for mail-in voting to be restricted.
He mentioned New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, describing him as a "Communist" but saying he “speaks a lot" with him. Trump described Mamdani as a “nice guy" who has “bad policies."
Trump pointed out that he ended eight wars within his first few months in office, including the war between Israel and Iran and the war in Gaza. He thanked his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and his adviser and son-in-law Jared Kushner for their help in ending the Gaza war.
He further noted that every hostage - living and dead - returned home as part of the ceasefire deal he negotiated, even though "nobody thought it was possible."
“Believe it or not," continued Trump, "Hamas worked along with Israel, and they dug, and they dug, and they dug. It’s a tough thing to do, going through bodies all over - sometimes passing up 100 bodies for each one they found. Tough job. And, uh, they finally got it back to 27. And then they found all 28."
Trump also stated that the strikes on Iran's nuclear sites last June "obliterated" Iran's nuclear program, but Iran has since killed more than 32,000 protesters and is attempting to restart its nuclear program.
"We're in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven't heard those secret words, 'We will never have a nuclear weapon'. My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain: I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon. Can’t let that happen."
"No nation should ever doubt America’s resolve. We have the most powerful military on earth - hopefully, we seldom have to use it," continued the President.