U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with members of Congress as he leaves the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 24, 2026.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds | AFP | Getty Images
President Donald Trump delivered a nearly two-hour State of the Union address Tuesday that focused primarily on the economy, which he declared would be booming.
The president delivered his signature annual address as he sees poll numbers on the economy plummeting ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, which are less than nine months away. These elections threaten to shift control of Congress from Republicans, and with it, control of Washington from President Trump.
Here are five takeaways from President Trump’s State of the Union address.
1. 401(k) is for everyone
President Trump has called for the creation of government-backed 401(k)-like programs for American workers who do not receive retirement benefits from their employers.
President Trump said, “My administration will give America’s often forgotten workers, our great people, the people who built this country, access to the same kind of retirement benefits that are available to all federal employees.” “We will match your donation up to $1,000 each year.”
President Trump said the plan would “ensure that all Americans benefit from the rise in the stock market.”
President Trump and his administration have often come under fire for touting stock market gains as evidence of a booming economy, even though millions of Americans are not investing in the market.
A White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the plan, said it would give eligible workers access to a savings plan similar to the Thrift Savings Plan available to federal employees, which “provides an efficient savings program that includes a government match and offers diversified, index-based investment options and portfolio choices.”
The plan leverages an existing program known as the “Saver’s Match” tax credit, established under the Secure 2.0 Act of 2022, to provide low-income workers with an annual match of up to $1,000 starting in 2027.
2. President Trump renews his call to ban private equity from buying up homes
The President renewed his call on Congress to pass legislation that would prohibit large institutional investors from purchasing single-family homes, and asked Congress to codify the executive order he signed to that effect.
“I’m asking Congress to make that ban permanent, because that’s what we really want: homes for people,” Trump said. “We want homes for people, not businesses. Businesses are doing well.”
President Trump’s call to ban institutional investors from buying up homes echoes populist proposals from the progressive left to pressure him on affordability. Democrats announced another plan early Tuesday, just before the State of the Union, to limit large-scale investors’ ability to buy up homes.
3. President Trump says the economy is doing well.
President Trump said the economy is “stronger than it’s ever been” as polls show voters continue to rate his economic performance poorly and Democrats are pushing the president and Republicans tougher on affordability.
The president also claimed credit for defeating inflation, a problem that plagued his predecessor and political nemesis, former President Joe Biden.
“Inflation is plummeting,” President Trump said. “In 12 months, my administration pushed core inflation to its lowest level in more than five years.”
The consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, rose 2.4% in January from a year earlier, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was lower than expected, down from 2.7% in December. Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy, rose 2.5%, the lowest level since April 2021.
4. Democrats will show some resistance in the chamber, though not explosively.
Although Democrats expressed their dissatisfaction with the president at specific points in the speech, they generally avoided overt interference with the president’s remarks.
President Trump scolded Democrats for not standing after asking members of Congress to “stand up and show your support” if they agree that the U.S. government’s first duty is “to protect Americans, not illegal aliens.”
This led to a brief exchange between President Trump and Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, and Rashida Tlaib, D-Michigan. Omar is from Minnesota, where two Americans were shot and killed by federal immigration agents earlier this year while carrying out a plan to deport the president.
For the second consecutive year, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was ejected from the House floor for holding up a sign that read “Black people are not monkeys” during President Trump’s speech. President Trump’s personal social media accounts recently shared a blatantly racist video depicting the Obamas as monkeys.
5. President Trump continues to make (mostly) national speeches.
Trump focused his speech primarily on domestic policy and political issues, avoiding getting bogged down in overseas efforts.
However, the president spoke briefly about Iran, which has ordered a major military buildup and hinted at the possibility of an attack.
President Trump said of Iran: “We’re negotiating with them. They want a deal, but I haven’t heard the secret words, ‘We’ll never have nuclear weapons.'” “My hope is to resolve this issue through diplomacy. But one thing is for sure: we will never allow the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism to acquire nuclear weapons.”
President Trump’s focus on domestic issues likely reflects political reality. Democrats took an early lead in polls ahead of the midterm elections and largely won the 2025 off-season elections by focusing on affordability and food issues.
Republicans seemed to appreciate the life raft.
“What I expected him to do was to lay down at night and talk to me about the things that mothers and fathers worry about when they can’t sleep, and he did that,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-Labada) said after the speech.
—CNBC’s Justin Papp and Eamon Javers contributed to this report.
