Trump to give high-stakes State of the Union as midterms loom

President Donald Trump was set to address the nation in a high-stakes speech as the country braces for possible war overseas and his administration retreats on some hardline immigration policies at home.

It’s a crucial moment for Trump, especially when prices remain high and his approval rating sags ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections. The outcome could sway the balance of Congress and make it more difficult for Trump to accomplish his policy goals in the second half of his second term.

“I'm making a speech tomorrow night,” Trump said Feb. 23 during a White House event. “It's going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about.”

Trump was set to deliver the first State of the Union of his second term to a joint session of Congress in Washington, D.C. Trump addressed the nation shortly after he retook office last year, but presidents traditionally do not deliver a formal State of the Union until after their first year in office.

Watch Trump's speech via livestream on azcentral.com

What will Trump say at the State of the Union?

Ahead of his speech, Trump signaled several priorities, including changes to elections, relations with Iran and the fate of his signature tariffs, which were recently knocked down by the conservative-majority Supreme Court

Trump promoted the SAVE Act, a bill that mirrors Arizona’s strict citizenship requirements in state elections that could change voter registration nationwide.

“We are going to have the Save America Act, one way or the other,” Trump said on Truth Social, ratcheting up pressure that lawmakers send the bill to his desk for a signature.

He also slammed the Supreme Court for its recent ruling on his controversial tariffs. The court said on Feb. 20 that Trump's emergency basis for his sweeping global tariffs was illegal.

Days later, he was set to address the same lawmakers who the court said he usurped when he implemented the tariffs.

“As President, I do not have to go back to Congress to get approval of Tariffs. It has already been gotten, in many forms, a long time ago! They were also just reaffirmed by the ridiculous and poorly crafted supreme court decision!” Trump said on Truth Social.

Trump was likely to look back at the first year of his new administration, which has been marked by an unprecedented number of policy changes and the longest government shutdown in history. He’s signed 225 executive orders since he was sworn into office in January 2025 and made major cuts to the federal workforce.

The speech could also tee up a confrontation between Trump and Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Arizona, who Trump accused of treason for reminding military members that they can refuse unlawful orders in a video.

The Pentagon attempted to demote Kelly, a retired Navy captain, over the incident, but a U.S. District Court judge temporarily halted the proceedings.

Economy and immigration remain major issues

Trump was anticipated to tout the One Big Beautiful Bill, a massive Republican-backed legislative package that was the vehicle for his second term policy agenda. The new law brought deep cuts to social programs such as food stamps and Medicaid, included billions in new immigration enforcement funding and ushered in policies he campaigned on, like tax cuts on tipped wages.

One of Arizona’s Republican lawmakers planned to bring a guest to the speech who had benefited from the legislation.

Arizona rancher Ben Menges was set to attend with Rep. Juan Ciscomani, R-Arizona. Ciscomani advocated for a provision in the bill that allows farmers to be compensated for their cattle that have been killed by the federally protected Mexican gray wolf, Ciscomani’s office said in a written statement.

Despite the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill, Trump remains under pressure to improve the economy for ordinary people, a major issue for voters who elected him in 2024. The economy appears to be stabilizing, but many say the cost of living is still too high, a problem they hoped Trump would solve.

Trump also is facing outrage over his immigration crackdown, which came to a head after two Americans were shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. His administration backed off its “Operation Metro Surge” in the city after clashes between immigration agents and protesters, but plans to build new immigrant detention centers have stoked controversy in Arizona and in other states.

Trump brought southern border crossings to a near-halt and paused visas for people from 75 countries.

Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Arizona, used her State of the Union passes to make a statement about Trump’s immigration policies. She planned to skip the speech and gave her passes to family members of Renee Nicole Good, one of the U.S. citizens killed in Minnesota.

Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Arizona, planned to skip the speech, too. Ansari said she would attend a “People’s State of the Union” counterprogramming rally with the family member of a person with cancer who was detained at the Eloy Detention Center in Arizona.

Trump has sweeping foreign policy goals

Though Trump’s speech would be aimed at the United States, his words were set to reverberate across the globe. The president is weighing military strikes on Iran as he presses the country to make a nuclear deal.

“I am the one that makes the decision, I would rather have a Deal than not but, if we don’t make a Deal, it will be a very bad day for that Country and, very sadly, its people, because they are great and wonderful, and something like this should never have happened to them,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Issues with Iran are just one piece of Trump’s ambitious foreign policy playbook. In January, the United States captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during a military operation, and Trump said he would run the country for a while. The president has also ramped up pressure on European leaders in his quest to take control of Greenland.

Trump has struggled to bring an end to the war between Russia and Ukraine, a conflict he had promised to end within 24 hours of returning to the White House.

Plus, his speech comes as dramatic scenes are playing out in Mexico after drug lord Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, known as "El Mencho," was killed in a military operation with the help of U.S. intelligence.

The State Department issued a shelter-in-place advisory for the many Americans in popular tourist destinations in Mexico, including Puerto Vallarta, Tijuana, Cancun, Tulum and others.

Stephanie Murray covers national politics and the Trump administration for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. She also co-hosts “The Gaggle,” The Republic’s weekly politics podcast. Reach her via email at [email protected] and on social media @stephanie_murr.