‘A golden age’ in US, while Iran ‘largest sponsor of terrorism’: Takeaways from Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress

US President Donald Trump delivered the longest annual State of the Union address to Congress in American history on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

The speech came at a fraught moment for Trump, with polls showing a majority of Americans have soured on his performance, anxieties rising over Iran and his signature tariff policy foundering after the US Supreme Court struck down most of his import taxes.

Below are the key takeaways from Trump’s address:

• The US president touted his economic achievements and declared the beginning of “America’s golden age.” According to Trump, he has slowed inflation, driven the stock market to record highs, implemented sweeping tax cuts, and lowered drug prices.
• Trump again claimed he “ended” eight wars, an exaggeration, and barely mentioned the Russia-Ukraine war.
• He also briefly laid out his case for a possible attack on Iran, saying he would not allow the “world’s biggest sponsor of terrorism” to have a nuclear weapon.
• On immigration, Trump repeated claims that undocumented migrants were responsible for a wave of violent crime, despite studies showing that is not the case.
• As Trump praised his immigration enforcement, Democrat Ilhan Omar shouted in his direction, “You have killed Americans!”