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By Kate Plummer
Senior US News Reporter
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President Donald Trump gave his State of the Union (SOTU) address to Congress on Tuesday.
In a record-breaking speech that lasted more than an hour and 40 minutes, the President spoke about the economy and tariffs, foreign policy and other themes in American politics to an audience of Democrats and Republicans.
Trump’s guests included members of the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team while Democrats invited victims of Jeffrey Epstein. Several Democrats boycotted the address, and others walked out mid‑speech.
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Below, Newsweek has rounded up the five biggest moments from the speech.
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Trump Blasts Democrats For Not Standing
During a portion of his speech, Trump spoke about transgender children.
“Surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will,” he said. “We must ban it and we must ban it immediately.”
His Republican colleagues stood up and clapped but Democrats remained seated, prompting a response from Trump.
"Nobody stands up," he said. "These people are crazy, I'm telling you. They're crazy." Vice President JD Vance appeared to laugh and other Republicans in Congress stood up and cheered.
"We're lucky we have a country with people like this. Democrats are destroying our country but we've stopped it just in the nick of time," Trump added.
Al Green Ejected
Texas Democrat Al Green was escorted out of the House chamber some 10 minutes into the speech after standing up and holding a sign that read “Black People Aren’t Apes.”
It came after the White House faced criticism over a racist video depicting the Obamas as apes that was posted to the president’s social media account. The administration has said an unnamed staffer was responsible, but that individual has not been dismissed.
Green's removal from the chamber marked the second such removal for the Texas lawmaker in as many years. Last year, he had shaken his cane at the president.
Trump Slams Supreme Court For Striking Down Tariffs
Trump criticized the Supreme Court for ruling against his tariffs policies during his speech.
It came after, in a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court voted Friday to strike down the sweeping tariffs imposed by the president under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) on "Liberation Day" in 2025.
The court had grappled over whether Trump had the authority to impose the tariffs under the IEEPA, a 1977 law that grants commanders-in-chief special powers in emergencies, but ultimately decided tariffs must be approved by Congress.
Trump announced a new 10 percent blanket tariff on all countries—“many of which have been ripping the U.S. off for decades” he said—later raising it to 15 percent on Saturday pending a review of what he described as “new and legally permissible tariffs.”
Trump said that it was "unfortunate" that the Supreme Court got involved in his tariffs. He said tariffs were responsible for "stunning economic turnaround" in the country.
Supreme Court Justices Ketanji Brown Jackson, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Sonia Sotomayor did not attend the address, meaning only four of the nine judges were present.
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Ilhan Omar Clashes With Trump
Democratic Minnesota Representative Ilhan Omar shouted “that’s a lie! You’re a liar!” from the House chamber while Trump talked about immigration alleged fraud in Minnesota's Somali American community.
“You’ve killed Americans!” she shouted at one point.
Meanwhile, earlier in the address, Trump asked members of Congress to stand if they agreed that the government’s first duty is to protect “American citizens, not those in the country illegally."
He told those who did not stand, which included Omar, along with Michigan Democrat Rashida Tlaib and Arizona Democratic Senator Mark Kelly, that they should be “ashamed.”
Trump Recognizes Erika Kirk
Erika Kirk, the wife of deceased conservative activist Charlie Kirk, attended the speech as a guest of the president.
Charlie Kirk, 31, was fatally shot during a campus speaking event at Utah Valley University in Orem, on September 10, 2025, sparking an outpouring of grief from conservatives across the country.
Trump said Americans should "totally reject political violence of any kind" and called Erika a "wonderful wife."
“In Charlie’s memory, we must all come together to reaffirm that America is one nation under God, and we must totally reject political violence of any kind,” the president said.
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