Photo: Alamy | Op-ed by Summer Lane
When history books are written about President Donald Trump’s historic second term, Tuesday night’s riveting State of the Union address will doubtless be one of the most remarkable highlights.
In a speech that lasted nearly two hours, the president delivered a message to Americans that firmly declared the nation’s “Golden Age” had arrived. The address was breathless in its delivery – well-paced, thoughtful, and fitting for the wise elder statesman the president has become.
Some speeches wax on endlessly. Some are too short. Tuesday night’s address was neither. It was perfectly executed. It hit on every major issue – the economy, the border, justice, and American pride. It was heavy with calls for unity, equal justice, and common sense.
And perhaps most beautifully, it gave opponents to the president’s agenda every opportunity to rise above the political muck and show a little respect for Americans, and for several very special and honored guests on Tuesday night.
Alas, Democrats did not rise to the occasion.
Despite left-wing bitterness, the State of the Union was a soaring success for President Trump. It hit all the right notes, and several times, it provoked Americans to tears.
Stirring up American pride and empathy
“Members of Congress and my fellow Americans: our nation is back!” President Trump declared in his opening remarks. “Bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before.”
The president dug in strongly to his administration’s incredibly efficient work securing the border. “In the past nine months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States,” he said, citing the newest data from the Department of Homeland Security. “But we will always allow people to come in legally.”
He also championed the 56 percent drop in fentanyl trafficking into the United States over the past year.
The president touched on many topics during his speech, but his transition from one subject to the next was seamless: He proudly championed plummeting inflation and milder gas prices. He highlighted the “Trump Accounts” for newborn American babies. He handed out a Purple Heart to National Guardsman Andrew Wolfe, who was shot in the head last fall while deployed in Washington, D.C. He honored the memory of the late and great Turning Point USA President Charlie Kirk and paid homage to the life of Irena Zarutska, a young woman brutally slaughtered on the Lynx Blue Line in Charlotte, North Carolina, by a repeat offender last year.
He recognized many other guests and highlighted their stories, using these Americans as an illustration for exactly what his administration is working toward and why.
Every recognition brought either tears or pride to the American heart:
- The USA Hockey Team that recently won the Gold Medal at the Winter Olympics appeared in the chamber, drawing loud applause. It drummed up intense American pride, and the president even announced that Team USA Gold Medal Hockey hero Connor Hellebuyck would be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
- The president recognized homeschooling mom and waitress Megan Hemhouser last night, highlighting the integral help that the “One Big Beautiful Bill” has had in cutting her tax bill “in more than half,” due to the president’s “no tax on tips” and “no tax on overtime” items in the legislation.
- The president further recognized Catherine Rayner, a former Navy spouse struggling with infertility. She will benefit, the president said, from his “Most Favored Nation” drug pricing negotiation, which will bring down the cost of infertility-related drugs. “Catherine, we are all praying for you—you’re going to be a GREAT mom,” the president said. “So now, I am calling on Congress to codify my Most Favored Nation program into law.”
- President Trump told the story of Dalilah Coleman, a little girl who, at the age of five, suffered life-altering injuries after an illegal alien driving an 18-wheeler crashed into her family’s car. Dalilah was recognized during the speech last night. She suffers now from a traumatic brain injury, Cerebral Palsy, and will need lifelong care and therapy, according to the White House. Shockingly, Democrats refused to stand for little Dalilah and acknowledge her heroism. They refused to applaud her courage in overcoming her injuries in the wake of illegal alien-related crime and injustice.
- The president highlighted the intense story of Sage Blair, a young girl who, at the age of 14, was subjected to a public school’s attempts to secretly socially transition her to a new gender, “treating her as a boy and hiding it from her parents,” the president said. Sage was taken from her parents by a radical judge in Maryland because they wouldn’t refer to her as “their son.” With those horrors behind her, Sage has now received a scholarship, the president said, to Liberty University. “Surely we can all agree that no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will,” President Trump said.
- President Trump awarded Chief Warrant Officer 5 Eric Slover, one of the servicemembers who carried out Operation Absolute Resolve in Venezuela, the Congressional Medal of Honor. Slover was injured during the mission. He was present in the gallery and received the medal during the speech.
Moments like this gave President Trump’s speech a vividly authentic touch. Americans didn’t just hear about what’s going on in the country today – they saw it. They felt it. And it was perfect.
Ignoring the opposition
Democrat obstinacy and bitter hatred were on full display during the State of the Union. Between yelling at the president over Somali fraud or refusing to stand for Dalilah Coleman, they looked like the spiteful swamp creatures they are.
It was a heartbreaking moment watching Anna Zarutska, the mother of slain Irena Zarutska, wipe tears from her cheeks when the president recognized her during the address. It was even more heartbreaking to realize that most Democrats refused to stand for her. A simple nonpartisan display of kindness or empathy shouldn’t be that hard, but for D.C.’s slimiest, it is.
“How do you not stand?” President Trump remarked from the podium, chastising their pitiful behavior.
Wisely, the president largely ignored Democrat tantrums and bad attitudes during his speech, showing the world what real leadership can – and should – look like.
A Golden Age
Tuesday’s State of the Union address was very Trump, but it was also highly populist. It keyed into the issues that Americans are most concerned about – the economy, illegal immigration, drug prices, and tax cuts – and it was sprinkled with moments of purity, like the recognition of World War II hero Buddy Taggart, who was seated beside First Lady Melania Trump.
Taggart, a Purple Heart and Bronze Star recipient, will celebrate his 100th birthday on July 4, 2026 – the nation’s 250th anniversary.
“From 1776 to today, every generation of Americans have stepped forward to defend life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness…Together, we’re building a nation where every child has the chance to reach higher and go further—where government answers to the people, not the powerful—and where the interests of hardworking American citizens are always our first and ultimate concern,” the president declared. “That is the debt we owe to the heroes who came before us—and that is the promise we must keep to America for our 250th year.”
President Trump’s State of the Union was a masterclass for presidents to come. He was calm, measured, and Washingtonian. The Founding Fathers, watching down from heaven, would be proud.