Was that Trump or Biden? State of the Union was a sad spectacle | Opinion
The State of the Union show has long been one of the most tedious moments in American politics, a drawn-out spectacle incongruously mixed with an interminable list of applause lines and unrelated policy proposals that are soon forgotten.
Tuesday night proved that now, however, it really is a distillation of the warped state of the nation, or at least its politics: wild exaggerations, empty promises, performative nonsense, an ability to agree on almost nothing — and the steady degradation of any kind of comity or norms across the aisle.
It’s hard to pick the worst moment. Was it Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar screaming at President Donald Trump from her seat, angry at his comments about Somalian immigrants in her state? Was it Trump sweeping his arm across the seated Democrats and shouting: “These people are crazy!” Was it Trump claiming to have restored Christianity? You know things have gotten out of control when Houston Rep. Al Green being booted from Trump’s speech in the first minutes can’t even crack the top 5 wackiest moments.
The madness even overshadowed Trump turning the annual ritual into a game show: Connor Hellebuyck, come on down, you get a Presidential Medal of Freedom for your impressive Olympic hockey goaltending! (OK, that part was actually kind of cool.)
The decline of the State of the Union address, like the decay of so many of our political rites and institutions, has been happening for a while, but Tuesday night was a new low. Like every major American moment, from the Super Bowl to our interminably long campaigns, it was a bloated, overdone, exhausting spectacle.
Fewer than 20 years ago, it was shocking when one Republican congressman shouted at President Barack Obama that he was lying about his health care legislation. Now, the shouts, insults and petulance know no bounds.
Democrats couldn’t clap for even the good parts of Trump speech
For the most part, Trump mastered the showmanship elements. And Democrats didn’t exactly cover themselves in glory, refusing to clap for a secure border or, oddly, a tribute to legal immigration. They couldn’t tip their hats to Texans Michael and Susan Dell for their astonishing generosity, more than $6 billion to establish investment accounts for young Americans.
What exactly are they for again?
On the substance, the speech was Trump in his element. He offered sweeping descriptions of rapid economic progress that will leave many Americans to conclude: He must be talking about somewhere else.
Even worse, some could deal Trump what he might consider the most grievous insult of all: He sounded like Joe Biden.
Trump took several shots at his predecessor Tuesday night, but whether he intended to or not, he echoed Biden’s cluelessness about how Americans feel about the economy, inflation and the future. To hear Trump tell it, prices are coming down, jobs are coming back, the tariffs worked, health care is more affordable, and cheap housing will soon be available without current homeowners losing any value in their property.
Trump said that he “inherited a nation in crisis with a stagnant economy, inflation at record levels, a wide open border, horrendous recruitment for military and police, rampant crime at home and wars and chaos all over the world.” But after a year, he argued, “we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before and a turnaround for the ages.”
Economic trends are always complicated. In several ways, things have improved in Trump’s year-plus back in the White House. But Americans aren’t feeling it yet.
Trump sounds like Biden when he says economy, prices are fixed
Biden spent years telling Americans that what they were experiencing at the grocery store and the gas pump was getting better and wasn’t that bad to begin with. Trump and Republicans even mocked him for it at the time. Now, they’re mimicking him.
For Republicans to even stanch their losses in coming midterm elections, they need Americans to feel a turnaround. Not everything has to be fixed completely, but if Trump’s approval ratings on the economy don’t improve soon, his party will run out of time before November.
“This is the golden age of America,” Trump said. How many voters see a sheen on these times?
If Trump has any concrete ideas that will change the equation for most struggling Americans, he didn’t share them Tuesday night. He essentially argued that him replacing Biden and reversing the previous administration’s policies were enough.
But in that way, the speech encapsulates something else sad about politics, too — the chief way to campaign and get elected is to point out how the other guy is so much worse.
This story was originally published February 24, 2026 at 10:50 PM.
