WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump boasted a “turn for the times” in a State of the Union address on Tuesday as he sought to turn around his dismal poll numbers and navigate mounting challenges at home and abroad ahead of crucial midterm elections.
When he arrived to address a joint session of Congress, Trump was greeted with cheers and a standing ovation from Republicans — while many Democrats remained firmly seated.
“My fellow Americans, our nation is back bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before,” Trump said.
In what promised to be a marathon speech to lawmakers, Trump tried to sell voters on the results of a heartbreaking and deeply divisive first year back in office.
But the 79-year-old remains deeply unpopular in opinion polls, and Republicans fear they could lose their slim majority in the House to Democrats – crippling the rest of Trump’s second term and exposing him to a possible third impeachment.
However, Trump struck a defiant tone in the first official State of the Union in his second term.
“Tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before and a turnaround for the ages,” Trump said.
‘Confront Threats to America’
On the international front, the man who complained he didn’t win last year’s Nobel Peace Prize is now considering military strikes against Iran over its nuclear program and crackdown on protesters.
“As president, I will make peace wherever I can — but I will never hesitate to confront threats to America wherever we must,” Trump said, according to the excerpts.
His spokeswoman posted a photo of Trump with his Iran negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner shortly before the speech.
The president himself warned Monday that the first official State of the Union in his second term “will be a long speech because we have so much to talk about.”
Speculation mounted that the speech could last as long as three hours – far exceeding the hour and 40 minutes that Trump delivered in the longest ever speech to lawmakers last year.
But Trump has been dealt a series of blows in the second year of his second term, most recently when the Supreme Court struck down tariffs at the heart of his economic agenda.
Despite labeling the justices “fools and lapdogs” over the tariff ruling, Trump shook hands with them as he entered the House of Representatives.
The billionaire has also been rocked by a backlash over the killing of two US citizens in immigration raids in Minneapolis, the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and another partial government shutdown.
A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll released Sunday put his approval rating at 39 percent. Only 41 percent approved of his handling of the economy in general, and only 32 percent on inflation.
Democrats’ boycott
Democrats mounted responses, including boycotts and silent protests to the address. The New York Times said at least 40 Democrats were set to skip the speech.
The State of the Union address is mandated by the U.S. Constitution, which states that the president “shall from time to time report to Congress concerning the State of the Union.”
Adding to the interest, guests brought by both Republicans and Democrats to watch the speech from the gallery were part of a long tradition.
Trump invited the US men’s ice hockey team after they won Olympic gold. But the women’s team declined Trump’s invitation amid controversy over his public joke to the men’s team about having to bring the women.
The president also invited Erika Kirk, the widow of murdered right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Two Democratic members of the House of Representatives said they brought the family members of a victim of disgraced late financier Jeffrey Epstein as guests.
Trump has denied any connection to sex offender Epstein, but the scandal continues to gnaw at his presidency.
