Trump’s State of the Union was well-delivered and had its moments, but was essentially an exercise in deflection
Trump knew he was in trouble with voters at the outset of his State of the Union speech last night when he started up with a torrent of stretched claims — “a cascade of falsehoods” is how CNN put it — about what a great economy we’re enjoying now, a year into his term.
All the polls are uniformly showing that his approval ratings are in the high 30% range, with most of softness focused on our country’s economic performance. Trump knew that audience attention would be focused on his claims about the economy, so he took great pains to make it sound like we’ve never had it so good. Saying we’re in a “golden age,” Trump touted the economic turnaround that he thinks has occurred since he took office and said that “the best is yet to come.”
Then he went on and on with some specific claims about the economy that fact checkers are already beginning to take apart.
For example, Trump’s “golden age” couldn't even keep up with the economy he inherited. GDP growth in 2024 was 2.8%. In 2025, it was just 2.4%, based on an advance estimate from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Other economic claims he made during the speech, particularly on tariffs, haven’t survived analysis, so it came as no surprise that he spent most of the speech on subjects that took attention away from the economic issues that have been dogging him.
Trump’s immigration and deportation policies filled up a good amount of space in the SOTU. Bringing in victims of crimes committed by undocumented aliens is a sure way to get some support for Trump’s immigration policies.
And while doing so, Trump turned everyone’s attention away from the economy.
His recognition of some war heroes was a nice salute to our men and women in uniform. As an old Marine who did a tour in Vietnam, I was impressed and appreciative. For me they were the best moments of the talk.
And, yes, they certainly turned everyone’s attention away from the economy.
Bringing on the gold-winning U.S. hockey team did a lot to focus on our country’s pride in our athletes, bringing an uplifting moment to the proceedings.
And, yet again, it certainly turned everyone’s attention away from the economy.
Spending a few pro forma minutes on the economy, most of them compressed into the first parts of the speech, seemed to be the game plan for Trump’s State of the Union. The talk seemed calculated to take focus away from the uppermost issue facing the country, which – as a political sage once put it – is the economy, stupid.
John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam. Republish with permission.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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