(Photo courtesy of Library of Congress) “The United States Capitol”
Makayla Mahoney
Connector Editor
On Tuesday, February 24, at 9 PM Eastern Standard Time, President Donald Trump addressed Congress and the nation with the annual State of the Union where he detailed the administrations’ achievements and future goals. This State of the Union address hit a record time for the longest in U.S. history with one hour and forty-seven minutes, beating Trump’s previous record of one hour and forty minutes.
During the address President Trump, with Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson behind him, reported on major topics including immigration, inflation, the economy, crime, tariffs and U.S. tension with Iran. He cited statistics of the decreases in crime, drug trafficking, taxes and grocery prices and blamed Biden for his inheriting of “the worst inflation in the history of our country”. This statement among many others during the address had been misleading, exaggerated, or false, according to fact checkers such as Steve Kopack at NBC News.
President Trump followed with a boast claiming that people tell him, “Until you came along, we were always losing”, and now “we’re winning too much”. He also joked of a third term stating, “So in my first year of the second term — should be my third term. But strange things happen”.
Several people were present in the President’s guest box, with many being recognized and awarded for their service. Two Medals of Honor were awarded to the one-hundred-year-old retired Navy Captain Royce Williams, and Army Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover. The Legion of Merit award was given to Coast Guard Petty Officer, Scott Ruskan. Two Purple Hearts were also given out to Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe and the family of deceased Specialist Sarah Beckstrom.
The U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team was recognized at the State of the Union, along with UMass Lowell alumni Connor Hellebuyuck, who received a Presidential Medal of Freedom. They were met with cheers from the crowd chanting “USA”, a common theme throughout Tuesday’s address.
The U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team, who additionally won gold at this year’s Winter Olympics, turned down the President’s invitation to the State of the Union after he was heard on a call with the men’s team saying, “I must tell you we’re going to have to bring the women too; you do know that. Believe me, I probably would be impeached, OK?”
Among other controversy surrounding the address, Congressman Al Green of Houston was removed from the Capitol building at the beginning of the address holding a sign that read, “Black people aren’t apes”. This comes after President Trump’s Truth Social post which depicted Barak and Michelle Obama as apes, which was quickly removed. Congressman Green had similarly been removed at the beginning of the 2025 State of the Union for shouting at the President.
In a repeat of the 2025 State of the Union, there was a clear split of Republicans standing in applause for President Trump while the Democrats in congress remained standing. This was brought to attention many times until the President asked those in the audience to stand if they agree that “”the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens”, referencing the ongoing discourse regarding Immigration and Customs Enforcement. When congresspeople did not stand, he stated, “you should be ashamed of yourselves, not standing up”. This was met with yells from Congresswoman Tlaib of Michigan and Congresswoman Omar of Minnesota who shouted, “you have killed Americans!”
Several members of Congress used their wardrobe as an act of protest, with Congresswomen wearing white for women’s rights. More were seen with badges that read “release the — files”, concerning the full release of the Epstein files. Additionally in attendance were more than a dozen of Epstein’s survivors who had been invited by lawmakers.
Michael Carpenter, a junior mechanical engineering major at UMass Lowell, shared the importance of watching annual the State of the Union:
“I think that the State of the Union shows the character of the president in a unique way that a debate could not. They don’t have to perform against somebody, and they can show the personality that they choose on their own terms.”
The 2026 State of the Union set the stage for the nation’s upcoming midterms, with the Democratic and Republican parties vying for the majority of seats in Congress.
