Trump's State Of The Union 'Avoided Issues' Says Tim O'Brien

Addressing one of his biggest audiences at perhaps the lowest moment of his second term, President Donald Trump returned again and again in his State of the Union speech to the same message on the economy: Everything is going great.  A resolute Trump was determined to will Americans into a better economic mood, seeking to paint over the affordability concerns at the center of upcoming midterm elections with statistics and self-congratulation. "Inflation is plummeting. Incomes are rising fast. The roaring economy is roaring like never before," Trump boasted early in the nearly two-hour speech. Bloomberg Opinion Senior Executive Editor Tim O'Brien joins Stephen Carroll and Lizzy Burden on Daybreak Europe Radio with his thoughts. In the first State of the Union address of President Donald Trump’s second term, he reversed his position on a legislator stock trading ban and asked lawmakers to pass voter identification requirements. Here’s a quick refresher (or, if you couldn’t stay up late, the takeaways you need to know.)

Cost of Living: On the 2024 campaign trail, Trump had said he’d cut electricity prices in half within 18 months of taking office. Consumers’ power bills have instead gone up. In his speech, the president talked about pushing companies to be self-sufficient. “They can build their own power plants as part of their factory so that no one’s prices will go up,” Trump said. “And in many cases, prices of electricity will go down for the community and very substantially down.”

Stocks: Trump called on Congress to pass laws banning members and their families from purchasing individual, publicly traded stocks but didn’t explain why he no longer opposed it.

Disruption: Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) held up a sign saying, “BLACK PEOPLE AREN’T APES!” and was escorted out of the chamber.

Accusation: Pointing to the Democratic side of the aisle, the president said the high cost of health care was “caused by you.”

Victory Lap: Trump used the lion’s share of his time to tout the accomplishments of his first year back in office: A tax cut bill with exclusions for tipped income and overtime wages, “Trump” accounts for newborns, a declining inflation rate, and stock market highs.

Tariffs: Trump told lawmakers he won’t ask them for any trade legislation because he’s using other mechanisms to collect import levies. “Congressional action will not be necessary,” he said. “It is already time-tested and approved.” Read More

Supreme Court: Four justices attended. They’re the same ones who watched last year’s speech to a joint session of Congress: Chief Justice John Roberts along with Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Three of the four (all but Kavanaugh) had ruled that Trump’s emergency tariffs were illegal. After calling the justices “fools” and “lapdogs” on social media, Trump softened his criticism in the speech.

Guests: The men’s gold medal-winning US Olympic hockey team was there as Trump’s guests, getting applause from both sides of the aisle. In an emotional highlight of the evening, he awarded the Medal of Honor to Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, the helicopter pilot in the mission to apprehend Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, and to Korean War Navy Pilot Royce Williams.

At more than 107 minutes, it was the longest-ever speech to a joint session of Congress. Purple-State Lessons

If the House side of the Capitol complex feels quiet today, it’s because one party’s on its annual retreat.

Maeve Sheehey reports that House Democrats are headed to Leesburg, Va., where they’ll talk politics, policy, and strategy as the midterm primary season gets underway and a change of the chamber’s control is within reach.

Delivering messages that resonate with crossover voters will be key for both parties this fall. The retreat-goers are scheduled to hear from a fellow Democrat who showed that it can be done: Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, who also gave last night’s rebuttal to Trump’s State of the Union.

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