US News Metro Long Island Politics

Sports NFL MLB Olympics NBA NHL College Football College Basketball WNBA

Business Personal Finance

Entertainment TV Movies Music Celebrities Awards Theater

Lifestyle Weird But True Sex & Relationships Viral Trends Human Interest Parenting Fashion & Beauty Food & Drink Travel

Health Wellness Fitness Health Care Medicine Men’s Health Women’s Health Mental Health Nutrition

Science Space Environment Wildlife Archaeology

Today’s Paper Covers Columnists Horoscopes Crosswords & Games Sports Odds Podcasts Careers

Email Newsletters Official Store Home Delivery Tips

Trump’s most partisan State of the Union ever still appeals to unity

President Donald Trump gave one of the best — and most strident — speeches of his career on Tuesday when he delivered the first State of the Union of his second term.

Trump always excels in these set-piece performances. He knows how to use the whole room as an instrument — even the halls behind the chamber, where troops returning home sometimes wait to surprise tearful spouses.

On Tuesday, it was the gold-medal-winning men’s hockey team waiting in the wings, almost stealing the show when they emerged to a raucous standing ovation.

Even some Democrats broke their stony silence to stand.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever seen them get up,” Trump quipped. “And actually, not all of them did get up.”

Trump is pursuing his own gold medal: holding Congress in the midterms, a rare achievement for a sitting president.

He took jabs at Democrats all night, drawing a clear distinction between the two sides.

He attacked them for their government shutdowns. He slammed them for voting against tax cuts in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” — prompting another rare ovation from Democrats, who applauded themselves.

Trump also recounted some of his early successes.

His first — which even critics acknowledge — is securing the border.

Illegal migration had slowed to “zero,” Trump noted, leading to a steep drop in drug smuggling and crime. He added: “We will always allow people to come in legally, people that will love our country.”

The president also discussed his work to end wars — sometimes through diplomacy, sometimes through........

© New York Post