President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in American history on February 25, 2026, speaking for one hour and forty-seven minutes before a deeply divided Congress. The speech, marking his first address to lawmakers since beginning his second term, covered extensive ground from economic policy to international relations with Iran.
The event was punctuated by significant tension with the Supreme Court, as three justices who had recently struck down Trump’s signature global tariffs policy sat in the front row. The president characterized their ruling as “very unfortunate” while announcing his administration’s plans to develop legal alternatives to maintain the controversial duties.
A rare moment of bipartisan unity emerged when the gold medal-winning U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team entered the chamber, prompting chants of “USA! USA!” from both Republicans and Democrats celebrating America’s first ice hockey gold in 46 years.
However, the atmosphere remained predominantly contentious. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers boycotted the event entirely, while those in attendance largely remained seated throughout the speech. Many wore white in tribute to the suffragette movement or displayed pins demanding accountability regarding the recently released Jeffrey Epstein files.
The tensions escalated dramatically when Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) shouted “You have killed Americans” at the president, referencing recent fatalities involving federal agents in Minneapolis. This outburst occurred after Trump told Democrats they “should be ashamed of yourselves” for refusing to stand during his address. Representative Al Green was subsequently expelled from the chamber for displaying a sign that read “Black people aren’t apes!” in response to a racist video of the Obamas shared by the president.
The address surpassed Bill Clinton’s previous record of one hour and twenty minutes set in 2000, and exceeded Trump’s own prior address to Congress by seven minutes.