The State of the Union, divided

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in U.S. history Tuesday, clocking in at one hour and 47 minutes, as he defended his first year back in office and faced immediate rebuttal from Democrats over tariffs, corruption allegations, and affordability.

Trump addresses Supreme Court tariff ruling

The speech came after the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s tariffs. Mr. Trump said the countries that struck deals with his administration would continue on the same path regardless of the court’s decision.

“They will continue to work along the same successful path that we had negotiated before the Supreme Court’s unfortunate involvement,” Trump said.

A recent Washington Post poll found 60 percent of respondents disapprove of the president’s job performance.

“Our nation is back bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before,” Trump said during the address.

Democratic rebuttal targets Trump personally

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivered the Democratic rebuttal, focusing her remarks directly on Trump.

“He’s enriching himself, his family, his friends. The scale of the corruption is unprecedented. There’s the cover up of the Epstein files, the crypto scams, cozying up to foreign princes for airplanes and billionaires for ballrooms, putting his name and face on buildings all over our nation’s capital,” Spanberger said.

Both parties continue to compete over messaging on affordability, which is expected to be a central issue for voters in November.

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