USA Trump invokes his tariff and migration policy
US President Donald Trump, who has recently come under pressure domestically, has defended his rigorous migration policy and the imposition of tariffs on trading partners.
25.02.2026, 06:01
SDA
"The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens" - and not foreigners who are in the US illegally, Trump said in his State of the Union address to both chambers of parliament.
At almost two hours, the 79-year-old delivered the longest such speech by a US president to date in the Capitol in Washington. As usual - especially in an election year - the President was not sparing in his self-praise and praised his government's policies after a year in office. Foreign policy only played a subordinate role. The war in Ukraine, for example, was only mentioned in passing.
Trump also defended his customs policy during the important keynote speech - including a jab at the Supreme Court. In the presence of several judges, the President criticized their decision. On Friday, the Supreme Court had prohibited him from imposing tariffs on the import of goods from many countries, citing an emergency law. Trump had bypassed Congress to put these into force. The aggressive tariff policy is a core element of his second term in office. After the ruling, he announced that he would now use other means to continue enforcing his tariffs.
Trump invokes "golden age" of the USA
Trump emphasized that the USA was flourishing again economically under his administration. "Our nation is back - bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before". He accused the opposition Democrats of being responsible for the high cost of living in the USA. "Their policies have caused the high prices". On the subject of inflation and affordability - once ridiculed by Trump as a "Democrat scam" - the US President is now trying to score points himself.
The important mid-term elections for Congress are coming up in November. Trump's Republicans could lose their wafer-thin majority in the Senate and House of Representatives. Trump's second term began just over a year ago. According to recent polls, however, he has increasingly lost support among the population. In particular, his aggressive deportation policy with brutal raids and the continuing high cost of living have recently attracted a great deal of criticism.
Trump under pressure due to financial shortfall
Trump's appearance in Congress came at a tense time. The Department of Homeland Security has not received any fresh money for almost two weeks. Democrats and Republicans have so far been unable to agree on the budget for the department. The background to this is the controversial operations of the immigration authority ICE, which falls under the Department.
Democrats only want to agree to further funding if stricter rules for raids on migrants are agreed. Trump called for an end to the budget blockade for the Department of Homeland Security. "We have no money because of the Democrats", he criticized.
Trump keeps a low profile on Iran
It had been eagerly awaited whether Trump would also comment on international conflicts - especially Iran, especially as the USA has recently massively increased its military presence in the region. However, Trump hardly said anything new on the matter. With regard to the leadership in Tehran, he reiterated: "I will never allow the world's greatest sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon. I cannot allow that". Regarding the diplomatic efforts in the conflict, he said: "We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal."
However, Trump said that he had not yet received a commitment from the Iranian government to renounce nuclear weapons. Iran has claimed for years that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes only. However, the country does not want to give up the enrichment of uranium, which is why Western countries are skeptical. Highly enriched uranium is needed to build nuclear bombs.
The Gulf state of Oman is mediating between the two parties. According to US government circles, Trump's negotiators want to meet with Iranian envoys again in Geneva on Thursday.
What did not - or hardly - happen
In his annual keynote speech, known in English as the "State of the Union", Trump said nothing really new about the fragile ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and the struggle for a peace solution in the Ukraine war. Trump's recently repeated desire to annex the island of Greenland, which belongs to Nato partner Denmark, was not mentioned.
Trump uses Olympic victory
Trump also paid tribute to the victory of the US men's ice hockey team at the Olympic Games in Italy. The US President praised the team, who were sitting in the stands, during his speech. He described their victory against Canada as proof that "our country is winning again". Those in attendance at the Capitol in Washington chanted "USA" and applauded the athletes as they held up their gold medals.
