The longest State of the Union address in US history has become a platform for President Donald Trump's escalation against Iran, as he warned of its ballistic missiles and its pursuit of a nuclear weapon. Internally, Trump's speech included a sharp attack on Democrats in Congress and verbal clashes with Representatives (Democrats) Ilhan Omar and Al Green.

Published on: 02/25/2026 - 02:59 Last updated: 02/25/2026 - 09:52

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In a speech described as the longest in the history of American State of the Union addresses, President Donald Trump launched a double attack, warning externally of Iran’s efforts to develop missiles capable of striking the American interior and his absolute rejection of its possession of a nuclear weapon, while internally he clashed with the Democrats in the hall of Congress amid unprecedented boycotts and protests centered around the issue of immigration and racism.

With his speech, Trump broke the previous record set by former President Bill Clinton for the longest State of the Union address.

Warning to Iran: Diplomacy or decisiveness

The Iranian file topped the foreign agenda of the speech, as Trump accused Tehran of seeking to develop missile technologies that only a few countries possess. He said: "They have already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases abroad, and they are working on building missiles that will soon be able to reach the United States of America."

Despite his indication of preferring the diplomatic path as the date for the resumption of nuclear talks approaches next Thursday, Trump drew a clear red line, saying: “We are in negotiations with them, and they want to conclude an agreement, but we did not hear from them those secret words: We will never possess a nuclear weapon.”

He added in a decisive tone: “I would prefer to solve this problem through diplomacy, but one thing is certain: I will never allow the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world, which they very much are, to possess a nuclear weapon.”

These statements coincide with Washington's mobilization of a huge military force in the Middle East, including two aircraft carriers and more than a dozen warships, to pressure Tehran to accept a new agreement that includes its ballistic program and stop its support for armed groups, which Tehran rejects.

"golden age"

On the domestic front, Trump used the first hour of his speech to try to give his administration an aura of success before the crucial midterm elections next November.

Trump bragged about what he described as the inauguration of a "golden age," saying, amid cheers from Republicans and silence from Democrats: "Our nation is back... bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before." He claimed that his administration had succeeded in curbing inflation, raising the stock market to record levels, and reducing taxes and drug prices.

Congress also called for the need to pass a law requiring “presentation of voter ID” as a condition for voting. In an unexpected move, Trump showed remarkable discipline toward the Supreme Court judges, as he shook hands with the four justices present and described their recent decision to invalidate the tariff system as only “unfortunate,” avoiding the personal insults he directed at them after the ruling was issued.

Trump's economic reassurances contradict the reality that Americans are experiencing, as housing, food, and insurance prices remain high, and recent data showed a slowdown in the economy in the last quarter, and satisfaction with his management of the economy declined to only 36%, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Protests and screams under the dome of Congress

As the discourse moved to the immigration issue, tensions escalated sharply. Trump repeated his campaign rhetoric by linking immigrants to “violent crimes,” and directed his speech to Democrats who refuse to fund his strict measures, saying: “You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

While Trump was praising his immigration enforcement policies - which saw Americans killed by masked federal agents in Minneapolis - the Democratic representative from the same district, Ilhan Omar, interrupted him and shouted at him, saying: “You killed Americans!”

The protests did not stop there, as the hall witnessed the expulsion of Democratic Representative Al Green (79 years old) for the second year in a row, after he raised a banner in Trump’s face that read, “Blacks are not monkeys.” This protest came in response to a video clip that Trump recently posted depicting former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as monkeys, a clip that the White House later deleted, citing an employee error.

France 24/ Agencies

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