President Trump took numerous shots at Democrats throughout his record-long State of the Union address, accusing the opposition of obstructing his agenda while touting accomplishments from his first year.
Trump hinted ahead of the event that his speech would be long and he followed through, speaking for nearly one hour and 50 minutes. That broke the record previously held by former President Clinton for the longest State of the Union address in history.
Tensions erupted within seconds of Trump entering the chamber Tuesday night. As Trump stopped to take photos with lawmakers, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) held up a sign behind the president that read "BLACK PEOPLE AREN'T APES," a reference to a video Trump posted of former President Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama that was later deleted.
"The president has depicted Black people, two prominent Black people, the president and the first lady, as apes. That cannot go unnoticed," Green, who was ejected from Trump's address to Congress last year after heckling the president, told The Hill after being escorted out again Tuesday.
Throughout the speech, Trump touted what he considered the high points of his first year back in office while portraying Democrats as constant detractors, challenging members of the party to stand in support of his message and lambasting them when they refused.
The president pointed the finger early over Democrats' opposition to his signature legislative achievement last year, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
"All Democrats — every single one of them — voted against these massive tax cuts. They wanted tax increases," Trump said.
He also blamed Democrats for the current shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The White House and Democrats are engaged in a standoff over restoring funding for DHS but are diametrically opposed on the subject of potential immigration enforcement reforms.
"As we speak, Democrats in this chamber have cut off all funding for the Department of Homeland Security. They have instituted another Democrat shutdown," Trump said.
The president's words became sharper as the speech went on.
At one point, he ad-libbed asking those in attendance to stand if they agree with the "fundamental principle" that the "first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens."
When Democrats didn't stand, Trump told them they should be "ashamed."
He also denounced Democrats as "crazy" as he railed against gender-affirming care and called on Congress to ban it for minors.
"We're lucky we have a country, with people like this. Democrats are destroying our country, but we've stopped it just in the nick of time," Trump said.
Democrats pushed back vocally on several occasions.
When Trump spoke about immigration enforcement and the border, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) yelled out, "You have killed Americans." Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) yelled, "You're killing Americans."
Their calls were seemingly references to Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were killed in Minneapolis at the hands of immigration enforcement agents. Trump referenced Minnesota only to speak against members of the Somali American community whom he said were involved in the ongoing fraud scandal in the state.
A number of Democrats also protested by wearing pins urging the Trump administration to "release the files" on Jeffrey Epstein, a nod to their claims of a lack of transparency about material on the convicted sex offender. Several brought Epstein accusers as their guests to the event.
Trump's speech was also marked by honoring various individuals in attendance. A rare moment of bipartisan extended applause came when he praised the men's Olympic hockey team, who walked out donning their gold medals from Milan. The president hosted the team at the White House earlier in the day.
Trump said he would award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to the team's goaltender, Connor Hellebuyck, who recorded more than 40 saves in the final game. It was one of several awards that Trump handed out during the speech, including two Medals of Honor.
But jousts with Democrats were just as prominent.
Trump jabbed former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) by name while urging Congress to pass a ban on lawmakers trading stocks. His support for the bill prompted members of both parties to stand in applause.
"They stood up for that. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Did Nancy Pelosi stand up — if she's here? Doubt it," he said.
"I thought the speech was lazy," Pelosi told CNN afterward. "You know, it's one thing to acknowledge patriotism and people getting well and everything when you have absolutely nothing to do with their courage or the rest, but you spend an hour and a half doing it — what is the state of the nation?"
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger tore into Trump on issues ranging from affordability to immigration in the Democratic response to the address.
"Small businesses have suffered. Farmers have suffered — some losing entire markets. Everyday Americans are paying the price," she said of Trump's tariff efforts. "And even though the Supreme Court struck these tariffs down four days ago, the damage to us, the American people, has already been done."
▪ The Hill: Five memorable moments from the speech.
▪ The Hill: Clashes with Democrats dominate Trump's State of the Union.
▪ The Hill: Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) says Dems 'brought shame' with heckling.
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