Wednesday, February 25th, 2026
Editor’s Note — What We Witnessed in Trump’s State of the Union Speech
Author: Stephan A. Schwartz
Source: Schwartzreport
Publication Date: 25 February 2026
Link: Editor’s Note — What We Witnessed in Trump’s State of the Union Speech
Stephan:
Tonight, like many of you, I listened to the longest State of the Union speech any President has ever delivered. Two hours. It made me think about Franklin Roosevelt, who did more than any President to get the United States through a devastating depression, a World War that killed millions, and that created the middle class. This is what I found: Franklin Roosevelt’s State of the Union addresses varied in length, but his wartime in-person speeches, such as the 1941 address, generally ran for approximately 30 to 35 minutes. What I heard tonight was a reality TV production designed to produce applause. Most of it was to get people to applaud others: the American Olympic ice hockey team, the general, and the child who survived. By design, Trump wanted applause because he felt that many Americans would take that as approval of him. I didn’t hear a word about the violence of his ICE, Border Patrol Gestapo. Nothing about the building of a network of concentration camps. I heard nothing but lies about the wellbeing of Americans. Not a word about what happened in Minneapolis. Nothing about the devastation of healthcare, science, and education in America. Nothing about climate change, or the failure to help Americans who have already experienced a climate disaster. Every word of the speech was about how the wellbeing of Americans has never been greater. And yet, we all know reality, because we are living it.
