Live updates: Trump delivers 2026 State of the Union address

President Donald Trump will tout his accomplishments from his first year in office as he celebrates what the country has achieved in its first 250 years.

“Tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before, and a turnaround for the ages,” Trump will say, according to his prepared remarks. “We will never go back to where we were just a short time ago.”

Amid the country’s 250th birthday celebrations, which will reach fever-pitch this summer, Trump plans to underscore how, “from 1776 to today, every generation of Americans has stepped forward to defend life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for the next.”

READ THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER’S COVERAGE OF AMERICA 250

“Now, it is our turn,” Trump will say, according to excerpts seen before he arrived onstage. “Together, we are building a nation where every child has the chance to reach higher and go farther — where government answers to the people, not the powerful — and where the interests of hardworking American Citizens are always our first and ultimate concern.”

Trump will specifically promote his economic policy as voters tell pollsters the economy is among their top concerns, criticizing Democrats for their role in the ongoing partial federal government shutdown.

“Last month, I signed an Executive Order to ban large Wall Street investment firms from buying up, in the thousands, single-family homes,” he will say. “And now I am asking Congress to make that ban permanent, because homes are for people, not corporations.”

In her rebuttal to the president’s State of the Union, Spanberger accused Trump of engaging in lies and deceit to enrich himself instead of serving the nation selflessly.

“In his speech tonight, the president did what he always does,” she said. “He lied, he scapegoated, and he distracted. And he offered no real solutions to our nation’s pressing challenges, so many of which he is actively making worse.”

The Democratic governor went on to claim Trump is trying to “divide” and “enrage” the public, which she believes he is doing purposefully to benefit himself and his inner circle.

“Who benefits from his rhetoric, his policies, his actions, the short list of laws he’s pushed through this Republican Congress? Somebody must be benefiting,” she continued. “He’s enriching himself, his family, his friends. The scale of the corruption is unprecedented.”

Spanberger cited his handling of the Epstein files, billionaire donations for the White House ballroom project, and his decision to name federal buildings after himself as ways in which Trump is corrupt.

“This is not what our founders envisioned, not by a long shot,” she said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) provided a more succinct summary of his thoughts on Trump’s State of the Union: “Well, that was boring.”

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) appeared to doze off during Trump‘s State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Suozzi was caught on camera closing his eyes and holding his head up with his hand while seated around an hour into the address. The clip falls in line with Democrats’ initial hits at Trump’s address as they attempt to paint it as boring.

“Well, that was boring,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) posted on X.

Spanberger hammered home her messaging on affordability in response to Trump’s State of the Union.

“Is the president working to make life more affordable for you and your family?” she asked in front of a live audience for her rebuttal to Trump’s speech.

The governor noted she won the general election by 15 percentage points last fall on the affordability issue, which Trump later focused on in his economic messaging.

“Here in Virginia, I am working with our state legislature to lower costs and make the commonwealth more affordable,” Spanberger said. “And it’s not just me. Democrats across the country are laser-focused on affordability in our nation’s capital and in state capitals and communities across America in the most innovative and exceptional nation in the history of the world.

“Americans deserve to know that their leaders are focused on addressing the problems that keep them up at night — problems that dictate where you live, whether you can afford to start a business, or whether you have to skip a prescription in order to buy groceries.”

Spanberger pointed to Gov. Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) as another newly elected Democrat who is focused on the cost of living in her state. Like Spanberger, Sherrill is a former congresswoman.

The White House is slamming Democrats for not standing over certain statements from Trump‘s State of the Union address.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed the lawmakers on X for refusing to stand in applause over 11 lines the White House deemed applause-worthy.

Leavitt listed the following instances that she believed deserved applause: “Putting American citizens over illegal aliens,” “voter ID laws,” “the murder rate at the lowest since 1900,” “keeping violent criminals locked up,” “protecting parental rights,” “stopping fraud,” angel families,” “price transparency,” “taking on drug cartels,” “no tax on tips, overtime, and Social Security,” and “the most secure border in history.”

“The contrast could not be clearer: Democrats are crazy!” Leavitt wrote. “President Trump and Republicans are for common sense!”

Leavitt’s messaging echoes the words of the president, who slammed Democrats as “crazy” for not standing over certain lines and told them, “You should be ashamed.”

Spanberger is delivering the Democratic Party’s rebuttal to Trump’s lengthy State of the Union address in front of a live audience that can be heard clapping.

The new governor challenged Trump’s messaging on affordability, an issue she focused on during her 2025 gubernatorial campaign.

“Is the president working for you?” she asked.

Normally, State of the Union rebuttals are delivered by sitting members of Congress. Spanberger was once a member of Congress before she became governor last month.

Trump has left the House floor after finishing his 2026 State of the Union address.

Trump broke his own record for the longest State of the Union with the Tuesday night speech, speaking for 108 minutes. During his 2025 address, Trump spoke for 99.5 minutes.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) is giving the Democratic rebuttal to Trump’s address in Colonial Williamsburg.

After Melania Trump presented 100-year-old Navy fighter pilot Royce Williams with the Medal of Honor, Donald Trump joked that he has “always wanted” the highest award for military valor.

“I’ve always wanted the congressional Medal of Honor, but I was informed I’m not allowed to give it to myself, and I wouldn’t know why I’d be taking it,” Donald Trump said.

Melania Trump awarded the medal to Williams, who served in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. Williams flew 220 missions over Korea in disguise, according to the president. Donald Trump, who has never served in the military himself, earned a loud laugh with his statement that he covets the medal.

“If they ever open up that law, I will be there with you someday,” Donald Trump said.

First lady Melania Trump, as directed by the president, awarded U.S. military veteran E. Royce Williams with the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Trump honored the Navy fighter pilot who fought in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. During the Korean War, Williams flew more than 220 secret missions into Korea in 1952.

“His story was secret for over 50 years,” Donald Trump said. “He didn’t even want to tell his wife, but the legend grew and grew. Tonight, at 100 years old, this brave Navy captain is finally getting the recognition he deserves. He was a legend long before this evening.”

After the first lady presented the medal, Williams received a standing ovation and applause for a long amount of time. Once the applause died down, Donald Trump made a joke.

“I’ve always wanted the Congressional Medal of Honor, but I was informed I’m not allowed to give it to myself. And I wouldn’t know why I’d be taking it,” he quipped.

Trump invited a surprise guest to the State of the Union, the formerly imprisoned Venezuelan opposition activist Enrique Márquez.

Márquez entered the chamber and reunited with members of his family as the president recounted the successful military operation to kidnap former Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

The former opposition candidate was among a large number of political prisoners detained by the Maduro regime which were released under U.S. orders following the dictator’s abduction.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address live from Williamsburg, Virginia. 

Spanberger, who previously served in Congress for six years, became the first woman elected governor of the Southern state, flipping control of the office from Republican to Democrat in November.

A mother of three school-aged daughters, Spanberger was also a former CIA case officer who worked undercover to prevent terrorist attacks and track cartels.

Her speech is expected to focus on affordability, including the high costs of housing, healthcare, energy, and groceries. She is also expected to address how Trump’s policies have created global uncertainty and to highlight what ordinary citizens can do to push back and get involved heading into November’s midterm elections.

“We are at a defining moment in our nation’s history,” Spanberger said in a statement ahead of her address. “Virginians and Americans across the country are contending with rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring.”

Delivering a party’s response to the president’s State of the Union address is widely viewed as a prestigious assignment and who the party chooses often signals who it sees as an emerging leader. 

However, in recent years, the person tasked with giving the rebuttal has been plagued by an alleged “curse.”

In 2009, then-Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, a rising star in the Republican Party, delivered his rebuttal to former President Barack Obama’s first State of the Union address. His awkward introduction, which was compared to Kenneth the Page’s character from “30 Rock,” dogged him, and his 2016 presidential run ended in a thud. Former Rep. Michele Bachmann’s off-camera stare made her the joke of late-night comedians, as did then-Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio’s dry mouth and near-constant water-sipping. Republican Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama’s kitchen-table monologue did her no favors, either. 

Trump praised Space Force, saying it felt like his own child during the State of the Union address.

“Look at Space Force. Space Force is my baby,” he said. “My baby is becoming so important.”

Trump established the Space Force, the sixth independent branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, in December 2019 during his first term. The branch is responsible for satellite communications, missile warnings, and environmental monitoring.

TRUMP SHAMES DEMS FOR NOT PUTTING AMERICANS OVER ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

Trump said he was “so proud” of the U.S. military, which he noted is a “different fighting force than we had years ago.” He pointed to the operation that led to the capture of former Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro as an example of the the American military’s greatness.

Trump set a record for the longest State of the Union address in history Tuesday night with a speech that lasted for 108 minutes.

Trump bested his previous mark, set last year, of 99 1/2 minutes. That speech, though, was not an official State of the Union address but an address to a joint session of Congress.

Trump had previewed that this year’s speech would be a long one, saying before it began that “it’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about.”

Trump tends to speak for longer than other presidents from the modern era. His previous State of the Union addresses averaged over an hour and 20 minutes, according to the American Presidency Project.

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As the White House amasses its “massive Armada” to remind Iran of the consequences to come if it does not accede to U.S. demands in negotiating a nuclear deal, Trump reiterated his pledge to “never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon.”

Although Trump has faced a friendly fire campaign from MAGA defectors such as Tucker Carlson and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene over last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer, Trump’s decisive actions against the Iranian regime, far from being an about-face, are a fulfillment of a decade’s worth of promises.

Trump has railed against the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action since former President Barack Obama originally brokered it.

In 2015, Trump called the JCPOA a “dangerous” and “bad deal” that Obama negotiated “from desperation,” and the year later, Trump insisted that “under a Trump administration, Iran will never, never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.” After 10 years of that pledge, Trump is finally warning the ayatollah that time is up.

Trump said Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska was killed by a man who “came in through open borders,” though the murder suspect is not an illegal immigrant.

“She had escaped a brutal war only to be slain by a hardened criminal set free to kill in America, came in through open borders,” Trump said.

Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, is the suspect accused of killing Zarutska in late August in Charlotte, North Carolina. He did not immigrate to the United States or come through “open borders,” as the president suggested, but is a repeat violent offender. Brown was born in the U.S. in Charlotte, according to the Charlotte Observer.

Brown, who was booked on first-degree murder charges and held without bond, had over a dozen charges in his background before the August stabbing. Brown was previously jailed for armed robbery.