On Feb. 24, President Trump delivered his second State of the Union address under his current term in front of Congress, US Supreme Court Justices, and special guests that included Erica Kirk, Charlie Kirk’s widow, and the gold-winning US Men’s Hockey Team. However, not all of Congress attended the address. Multiple Democrats of Congress skipped the speech out of protest, and according to an article by Politico, written by Aaron Pellish and Lisa Kashinsky and titled “Abigail Spanberger gave Democrats’ response to Trump. But she didn’t have the stage to herself,” there were two counter-addresses, one at the National Mall and another in Historic Williamsburg, run by various Democrat leaders to respond to Trump’s claims during his address.
As for the State of the Union address, according to AP News’ transcript of the speech, Trump spoke about a variety of subjects, including tariffs, which were just overruled four days prior to the address. Immigration was also another topic, with Trump remarking on the murders of citizens caused by illegal immigrants. In the address, he used illegal immigration to promote the SAVE Act, a bill which would require additional identification to vote in federal elections. Perhaps foreshadowing the Operation Epic Fury in Iran, which began four days after the address, Trump commented on Iran’s possession of nuclear weapons, saying that “it has been a policy…to never allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.”
In addition to the address, Trump awarded two Medals of Honor and two Purple Hearts. According to an article on the official U.S. Army website, written by C. Todd Lopez and Pentagon News titled “Two American heroes awarded Medal of Honor during State of the Union,” one Medal of Honor was given to Eric Slover, a participant in the capture of Venezuelan President, Nicolas Maduro, and the other Medal was given to Royce Williams, a 100-year-old veteran who fought in the Korean War. The two Purple Hearts were awarded to the two National Guardsmen who were shot while patrolling in Washington, D.C. last November. One of the National Guardsmen, Sarah Beckstrom, succumbed to her injuries and was awarded the Purple Heart posthumously, while her fellow National Guardsman, Andrew Wolfe, was there to receive his Purple Heart in person.
Ultimately, the entirety of the State of the Union raised questions about whether the administration’s promises will translate into meaningful outcomes for the country. We at The Salemite encourage you to do your research about the address and how the priorities of the Trump administration will affect you and your community.
