Trump Delivers Longest State of the Union Address in History, Doesn't Mention Epstein Files

Trump Delivers Longest State of the Union Address in History, Doesn't Mention Epstein Files Democratic lawmakers wore pins imploring Congress to "release the files" but Trump has claimed he's already been "exonerated" by evidence related to the convicted sex offender By Meredith Kile Meredith Kile Meredith Kile is a Digital News Writer-Editor at PEOPLE. She has been an entertainment and political journalist for more than a decade, previously working for Entertainment Tonight, VICE and Al Jazeera America. People Editorial Guidelines Published on February 24, 2026 11:09PM EST 118 Comments President Donald Trump. Credit : Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty NEED TO KNOW President Donald Trump broke the record for the longest State of the Union address in modern history on Feb. 24The president spoke for about 1 hour and 47 minutes without mentioning one of the biggest political scandals of the moment: the Epstein filesSome Democratic lawmakers attended the event wearing pins that read, 'Stand With Survivors: Release the Files' President Donald Trump delivered the first State of the Union address of his second presidential term on Tuesday, Feb. 24, but avoided any mention of one of the country's most topical political issues: the Epstein files. The president spoke for more than 100 minutes without bringing up the issue, as many Democratic lawmakers in attendance were seen wearing pins on their suits that read, "Stand With Survivors: Release the Files." Trump has continued to distance himself from the files, in which his name is mentioned more than 38,000 times across approximately 5,300 documents, according to The New York Times. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to his former friendship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Last week, he told reporters he had been "totally exonerated" by the release of the government's thousands of pages of evidence against the late financier. Our new app is here! Free, fun and full of exclusives. Scan to download now! Several Democratic members of Congress skipped attending Trump's speech, instead presenting a livestreamed "People's State of the Union" at the other end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Others brought alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein as a way to continue protesting the Trump administration's management of the evidence related to the convicted sex offender. The release of the full Epstein files was compelled by Congress, which passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025. However, files were released in a slow trickle, with some pages heavily redacted of identifying information. Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago in 1997. Davidoff Studios/Getty Earlier this month, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin spoke with reporters after he and other members of Congress were permitted to view some of the unredacted files, but he noted that the task was monumental. "The Department of Justice is under orders from Congress to release the entire Epstein file. They've released 3.5 million documents and they've withheld 3 million documents," he said. "These materials could have been released long ago, but they're just being released now." The congressman said he believes the DOJ held up the release in part to protect some of the powerful public figures whose names appear in the files. "I think that the Department of Justice has been in a cover-up mode for many months and has been trying to sweep the entire thing under the rug," he said. Related Stories DOJ Withheld Epstein Files Including Allegations That Trump Sexually Abused a Minor, Report Claims Majority of Supreme Court Justices Skip Trump's State of the Union After He Called Them a 'Disgrace to Our Nation' Hours before the State of the Union, a new report from NPR alleged that, despite Attorney General Pam Bondi's claim earlier this month that the Department of Justice had released all of the Epstein files, they may have withheld some documents, including 50 pages of FBI interviews and notes related to allegations of sexual assault against Trump by a woman who said she was a minor at the time. Responding to NPR's report, the DOJ told PEOPLE in a statement that some details were "temporarily removed for victim redactions" but have since been restored. A DOJ spokesperson said: "We have not deleted anything, and as we have always said, all documents responsive were produced, those not fall within one of the following categories: duplicates, privileged, part of an ongoing federal investigation." The White House referred PEOPLE to a DOJ statement posted on X with similar claims. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday lasted approximately 1 hour and 47 minutes, breaking the previous record set by President Bill Clinton's final State of the Union in 2000, which lasted 1 hour and 28 minutes. Close Leave a Comment Read more: Politics