President Donald Trump delivered the 101st State of the Union Address on Tuesday night. The speech covered a wide range of policies from immigration, the economy, data centers and DEI, while honoring guests in attendance from veterans, Erika Kirk, USA Men’s Hockey team and survivors of Venezuela's former regime.
The State of the Union Address is a historical speech delivered by the president to the joint members of Congress and honorable members of the United States Bureaucracy. The address has long been that of unification, strength and platform discourse.
However, the president’s speech read more like a campaign rally than a State of the Union Address. Trump delivered on claims of improved economic status, immigration resolutions and cultural issues – claims that deserve to be put under the microscope.
“The roaring economy is roaring like never before …,” Trump said during the address, according to the transcript from The New York Times.
He talked extensively about the economy during his speech and discussed his actions thus far during his time in office. Trump claimed inflation is plummeting, but that’s not necessarily the full truth.
Inflation has gone down from 2.9% when President Trump took office in January 2025 to 2.4% in January 2026. This exaggeration of “roaring like never before” severely overestimates Trump’s effect on the economy since taking office.
The 2.9% of inflation comes from the last year of Biden’s term, which was down from the reported 9% inflation rate from the summer of 2022.
The oversimplification and hyperbole that frames the American economy as excellent misrepresents the true nature of many Americans' economic status.
Lowering prices was one of Trump’s biggest rally points during his 2024 campaign, but prices have merely stayed the same or gotten more expensive. Affordability still runs rampant for many of whom Trump claims to have helped.
“We are not going back. Today, our border is secure,” he said.
Immigration policies of Trump and bureaucratic leaders like Kristi Noem, Secretary of Homeland Security, have come into hot water in the last year. From protests across the U.S. to Congressional hearings, he’s been scrutinized for his use of immigration enforcement.
Trump claimed that nearly “zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States.” Again, the number of immigrants that Immigration and Customs Enforcement has encountered has dropped significantly, but it’s still not zero.
Border Protection came in contact with more than 61,000 immigrants at the southern border in January 2025. In January 2026, the number was down to nearly 10,000 encounters. So while it has lowered, ICE’s toll on people entering the country is not zero.
His harmful rhetoric doesn’t just stop at statistics, but even in the words he says. From considering immigrants to illegal aliens, further pushing the fear-mongering narrative around people moving to this country.
“We ended D.E.I. in America,” Trump said.
From the attacks on Lafayette Square Park near the White House to restricting gender-affirming care, Trump has never been one to back down from a cultural war in America. It was no different for his campaign when he wanted to stray from diversity, equity and inclusion in the U.S. He has claimed that DEI had taken jobs and opportunities from Americans.
Trump has been on the attack during his second term, being sure to censor race and sex based academic discussions, eradicating public DEI policies and using federal power to end equal opportunity initiatives. This narrative that qualified individuals are only given opportunities in America based on race, gender and sexuality further creates a cultural divide.
The Ohio General Assembly was influenced to pass its own legislation discouraging DEI initiatives. Senate Bill 1 was signed into law in June 2025, which effectively forced Ohio public higher education to remove D.E.I programs. Here at Ohio University, the Women’s Center, Multicultural Center, Pride Center and Office of Inclusion were forced to close.
“... the golden age of America is upon us,” Trump said.
A golden age refers to unity, prosperity and stability amongst the broader majority of a nation, but we have yet to be shown that in the year Trump has taken over.
When people are wrongly imprisoned and detained in the name of immigration control, when people’s benefits are being stripped and prices still haven’t gone down and there is an increasing cultural divide in America, we are not in some “golden age.”
This year’s State of the Union continued Trump’s trend of fabricated and dangerous speech, while placing blame on partisan differences. This approach mirrors rallies rather than historical speeches that would be cemented in legacy.
Trump’s policies, as displayed in the address, should be a wake-up call to the millions of Americans who disapprove of the current administration. Mobilizing to interfere with Republican plans will be the only successful way Democrats can block Trump.
The State of the Union is meant to reflect the current condition of the nation. Tuesday night, however, exposed a deeper reflection of America that extends past just policy priority. The current state of the union is one that is in disarray and will need years to rebuild a divided nation.
Chase Borland is a junior studying journalism at Ohio University. The views and opinions of this columnist do not necessarily reflect those of The Post. If you have any thoughts, questions or concerns then you can contact him at cb297222@ohio.edu.
