February 25, 2026 at 12:00 AM EST
From $18 trillion to murderers: Trump's speech was riddled with falsehoods

President Donald Trump's State of the Union address was full of factual errors, although this is consistent with his lengthy history. Among other things, Trump falsely claimed to have secured $18 trillion in investment commitments since assuming office even though that figure is wildly inflated, reported CNN. The news network also found Trump's claim about gas prices being as low as $1.85 per gallon were untrue; it is nowhere below $2.37 per gallon, even though Trump said he saw a gas station with that price in Iowa. Similarly, Trump lied when he said inflation was at an all-time high when he took office (its Biden-era height of 9.1 percent was far short of the all-time height of 23.7 percent in 1920) and that the economy is "roaring" under his stewardship (it only grew 2.2 percent in 2025, slower than any year of Biden's presidency).

February 24, 2026 at 11:22 PM EST
Five volatile moments from Trump's 2026 State of the Union speech

President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday night descended into chaos and confrontation as Democratic lawmakers repeatedly challenged his rhetoric on immigration, election integrity, and economic policy. The speech was marked by heated exchanges, dramatic walkouts, and direct accusations""beginning before Trump even took the podium and intensifying throughout the evening as tensions between the president and opposition lawmakers reached a boiling point.

February 24, 2026 at 11:11 PM EST
Viewers disturbed by Trump's 'joyous look' describing graphic violence and murder

President Donald Trump used the families of those killed by immigrants in his "State of the Union" address to promote his mass deportation campaign. But one thing stood out to viewers about the stories, the graphic descriptions of murder and violence. More than one person noticed that Trump seemed to "relish" in the descriptions.

February 24, 2026 at 10:52 PM EST
Trump's stare down with Mark Kelly ignites MAGA meltdown

President Donald Trump goaded congressional Democrats during his State of the Union address by asking everyone to stand if they believed the US government should prioritize its own citizens over undocumented immigrants. Refusing to walk into the trap, many Democrats refused to stand, including a man who Trump tried to demote for urging the military to not follow illegal orders -- Senator Mark Kelly of Arizona. In response, Trump and Kelly engaged in a stare down. Not surprisingly, the social media platform X blew up with commentary about the Trump-Kelly stare down. Referring to the 2028 presidential primaries, user Jason Wilcoxson posted shortly after the stare down that "I'd rather vote for Mark Kelly but as far as I've heard he hasn't expressed an interest in running." X user Deanna Lee was more succinct in her admiration for Kelly, simply writing "Mark Kelly not standing. Good. #SOTU2026"

February 24, 2026 at 10:20 PM EST
'You killed Americans!' Dems shout down Trump during State of the Union

President Donald Trump's speech turned into a shooting match with lawmakers during the State of the Union on Tuesday. In a comment about ending "sanctuary cities," Trump attacked those who are protecting migrants.

February 24, 2026 at 6:14 PM EST
'Babbling from the throne': Trump's delusions skewered by conservative

The editor-at-large at a prominent right-leaning magazine is blasting President Donald Trump's "debased state" -- in particular, thinking he can dupe the American people out of their economic woes. "In our debased state of national politics we have become accustomed to presidents making promises they cannot possibly hope to deliver on, particularly just months before they become a lame duck," Reason Magazine's Matt Welch wrote on Tuesday. Pointing out that two-term presidents tend to spend their sixth-year State of the Union message boasting, Welch warned that "as the ghost of Joe Biden can attest, woe unto the POTUS who points to the cloudy economic sky and declares it blue."

February 24, 2026 at 5:24 PM EST
Economists uncover an unexpected explanation for backlash against Trump's plan

President Donald Trump has a "wrongheaded mercantilist view of international trade," a Johns Hopkins economist wrote for Fortune Magazine on Tuesday -- and his upcoming State of the Union address will likely pander to those who share his mistaken belief that "the U.S. is victimized by foreigners, as reflected in the country's negative external trade balance." "On Friday, he raged at the fresh news of his defeat by calling the high court's justices 'disloyal' and immediately erected 10% tariffs on the world, revising those upward to 15% over the weekend, via social media," Fortune's Steve H. Hanke wrote regarding the political fallout from the Supreme Court's 6-3 decision overturning Trump's tariffs. "As this week has progressed, he has vowed 'to do absolutely 'terrible' things to foreign countries.'"

February 24, 2026 at 5:17 PM EST
Trump's new war will face a reckoning -- for his enablers: analysis

President Donald Trump seems intent on declaring war against Iran, a prominent conservative columnist wrote on Tuesday -- and the people allowing him to do so without congressional approval are "enablers." "What he respects are enablers," wrote Jonah Goldberg of the Los Angeles Times. The longtime right-wing writer admitted that he is personally in favor of regime change in Iran, describing the Iranian government as being composed of "Islamic fanatics" who regularly commit human rights violations and have "been an avowed and declared enemy of the United States for decades." Yet Goldberg also expressed doubt that Trump has a "workable plan" for both winning the war and "securing the country afterward," adding that even if he did, any attack on Iran would be "illegal" as a "constitutional matter" because Congress has yet to authorize it.

February 24, 2026 at 4:10 PM EST
'He got stupid': Devastating supercut highlights Trump voters' rage

MS NOW collected a flurry of footage revealing voter disappointment with President Donald Trump in the hours leading up to his State of the Union speech one year into his second term. "He needs to get his act together, and our representatives in Iowa needs to stop following his lead," said Iowa resident Lana Rankin. "I'm never voting Republican ever again."

February 24, 2026 at 3:52 PM EST
Trump enlists GOP to translate his conspiracy theories into new action

President Donald Trump will deliver his "State of the Union" address on Tuesday and is expected to bring up some of his election conspiracies before calling on Republicans to act. Trump's Justice Department obtained a subpoena ordering the seizure of all ballots from Fulton County, Georgia, based on unsubstantiated claims from a 2020 campaign aide. The source of that claim was never disclosed to the judge. That raid could make a huge difference in 2026 and 2028, one Georgia reporter wrote.

February 24, 2026 at 12:03 PM EST
What the missing Epstein files reveal about Trump's justice apparatus: legal expert

In an article published early Tuesday morning, February 24, National Public Radio's (NPR) Stephen Fowler reported that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) "withheld some Epstein files related to allegations" against President Donald Trump. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has released, with redactions, thousands of files related to the late billionaire financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Yet many questions on Epstein remain unanswered.

February 24, 2026 at 11:52 AM EST
'Law-breaking': DOJ slammed for hiding Jeffrey Epstein documents

In a bombshell report on Tuesday, National Public Radio said that there are a number of documents intentionally being withheld by the Justice Department related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. They're being called out for an outright breach of the law. Those documents contain information about President Donald Trump.