(VOVWORLD) - President Donald Trump on Tuesday delivered the first State of the Union address of his second term. He touted his administration's economic and national security achievements and defended his global tariff policy. Trump also said he prefers diplomatic solutions with Iran but kept warning of military action.
In his opening remarks, Trump declared that “the golden age of America is upon us.” "Our nation is back bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before", he added. Trump praised the US’s socio-economic achievements since he returned to office a year ago, citing more jobs, more new companies, and energy prices, as well as record gains in the Dow Jones and S&P 500 indices.
President Trump said that in the past 9 months, no illegal immigrants have been admitted into the US thanks to his administration. He criticized certain communities of foreign origin in the state of Minnesota for the February conflicts between Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers (ICE) and locals.
He also criticized a US Supreme Court's ruling last Friday, which rejects the sweeping global tariffs his administration has been pursuing since 2025, calling it "disappointing". President Trump said the tariffs brought in "hundreds of billions of dollars to make great deals for our country, both economically and on a national security basis". He vowed to pursue other legal measures to implement the newly announced 15% global tariff, most likely under section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974.
"So, despite the disappointing ruling, these powerful, country-saving (measures) will remain in place under fully approved and tested alternative legal statutes. They’re a little more complex, but they’re actually, probably, better, leading to a solution that will be even stronger than before."
President Trump briefly discussed foreign relation issues in his State of the Union address, but did mention the US's tensions with Iran. He said his preference is to resolve the Iran nuclear issue via diplomacy, adding the US would never let Iran have nuclear weapons, while accusing Iran of seeking to develop missiles that could strike the US mainland.
Trump said the US is maintaining good relations with the incumbent government of Venezuela, but did not mention the US raid and arrest of Venezuela's then-President Nicolas Maduro.
He concluded his address after 108 minutes, the longest by any US President since delivering a State of the Union address before Congress became customary in 1964.