Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Clocking in at a record one hour and 47 minutes, Donald Trump's speech boasted of an economy "roaring like never before" and suggested the US now has "the strongest and most secure border in American history".

Some of Trump's claims, including on election fraud and foreign-conflict resolution, have been fact-checked by our colleagues at BBC Verify.

On the international front, Trump repeated a warning to Iran over nuclear weapons, but our Washington correspondent says the president left lawmakers guessing over what happens if US-Iran talks break down.

Meanwhile, Democrats have said the past year of Trump's presidency has been "a complete disaster", with Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger saying Trump offered "no real solutions to our nation's pressing challenges" in the Democrats' response.

Despite its length, Trump's address also avoided prickly topics including Minnesota protests and the Epstein files - we've a rundown on what was left out in an earlier post.

We're closing our live coverage there, but for more on this story:

• We've got a piece with all the key moments
• Our North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher has this analysis of Trump's patriotic rallying cry
• You can also hear from the BBC's Americasters, as they unpick Trump's big, long, State of the Union speech

A look at the various claims made in Trump's speechpublished at 10:00 GMT

10:00 GMT

BBC Verify has been looking into some of the claims made by Donald Trump during his State of the Union address.

Trump said Biden let in 12,000 murderers: Our analysis found that in July 2024, there were 425,431 non-citizens with criminal convictions in the US who faced deportation, but the figures covered several decades.

Election fraud: President Trump said “cheating is rampant in our elections”. But there is no evidence of that. , external

Trump said foreign countries paid the cost of his tariffs. But several studies show the cost of import taxes has been passed on to US businesses and customers.

Has Trump really ended eight wars? He said he ended the wars between Israel and Iran, Israel and Hamas, and Pakistan and India, among others. It is reasonable for the president to claim credit for helping to broker the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, for instance, but a number of the other conflicts had lasted just days.

Was Trump right about beef prices? He said his policies were ending high prices. We look at what food prices have gone up and down over the year.

Has Trump secured $18tn worth of investments for the US? We found there is no publicly available evidence to support a figure this big.

Earlier we heard from Tom Lubbock, the co-founder of JL Partners polling organisation, about what effect the speech would have on Trump's popularity among voters.

Lubbock told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Trump's address was “delivered with some of his best polish”.

Trump started the State of the Union speech “underwater” in polling on all of his key areas, even on immigration and borders.

“He is definitely on the decline and has a bad year in approval terms," Lubbock said, but added last night's address "really spoke to the issues that brought him back into power in 2024" - the key messages of tax cuts, borders and security.

Lubbock said the Republicans were in a "very difficult position" for November's mid-terms.

Have foreign countries paid the cost of Trump’s tariffs?published at 09:52 GMT

09:52 GMT

By Ben Chu

In his speech Donald Trump claimed: “I believe the tariffs paid for by foreign countries will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern day system of income tax, taking a great financial burden off the people that I love.”

Various studies of the impact of Trump's new tariffs imposed in 2025, including one by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released earlier this month,, external suggest that the cost of the import taxes has been passed on to US businesses and households, not absorbed by foreign countries or overseas firms.

The projected income from Trump’s tariffs has changed over time as he has raised them and then sometimes reduced them on various countries - and now their future is in question as the Supreme Court ruled last week that his “emergency” tariffs were unlawful.

However, the Congressional Budget Office projected last year, external that they would bring in around $250bn a year on average over the next decade if they remain in place.

The US federal government raised $2.66 trillion in income taxes in the 2025 financial year (October 2025 to September 2025), 10 times the projected annual tariff revenue., external

Image source, Reuters

In his speech, Donald Trump suggested this should be his third term in office rather than his second.

While claiming he had slashed the price of prescription drugs to make them the "lowest" in the world, he said the achievement happened "in my first year of the second term, should be my third term, but strange things happen."

Trump's comments will have unsettled some, as the transition of power from Trump to former President Joe Biden wasn't smooth.

Some Trump supporters dismissed results of the 2020 election, alleging it had been rigged. On 6 January 2021, rioters stormed into Capitol Hill, trespassing government offices, assaulting police officers and some were even photographed roaming the Senate chamber.

An Iranian official has said that claims made by the Trump administration about Iran's nuclear program, ballistic missiles and casualties during January's unrest are "nothing more than a repetition of big lies".

During his speech Donald Trump claimed Iran has killed at least 20,000 protesters in their own country and that they have already developed missiles that can threaten Europe.

He added that Iran was working to build missiles that will be able to reach the US and that the regime was working on "pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions".

Esmaeil Baqaei, a spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, "no one should be fooled by these blatant falsehoods".

"Repeat a lie often enough until it becomes the truth," Baqaei posted on X.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in the crowd watching Donald Trump's State of Union address.

She has consistently called for transparency around the release of the Epstein files, and during Trump's speech she wore a badge saying: "Stand with survivors. Release the files."

It was one of the topics Trump did not mention during his one hour and 47 minute-long speech, and afterwards Pelosi told CNN that Trump "ignored the state of the nation" during his address.

"The fact that he didn't mention it shows his vulnerability," Pelosi told the US news organisation as she tapped the badge on her blazer.

The president has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and has maintained that the pair fell out in the early 2000s.

Image source, EPA/Shutterstock

Ukraine and European nations commemorated the fourth anniversary of the Russian invasion yesterday. But while Trump said his administration was working to end the "killing and slaughter" between Russia and Ukraine, he did not mention the significance of the date in his speech. It was among a list of topics he steered clear of, including:

• Minnesota protests and deaths: A wave of national protests erupted over Trump's migration policy and the tactics ofthe Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICU nurse Alex Pretti, 37, was killed three weeks after Renee Good was also shot dead by an immigration agent in Minnesota

• Epstein files: Millions of files relating to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released by the US Department of Justice at the end of January. Trump had mandated that all Epstein-related documents be shared with the public

• Greenland: Trump repeatedly insisted earlier this year that the US needs Greenland for its national security, frustrating relationships with European allies. He said in January that he would not take the territory by force as Denmark and Nato allies made it clear that they would not give in to his calls to relinquish sovereignty

Did Biden let in nearly 12,000 murderers?published at 08:43 GMT

08:43 GMT

By Lucy Gilder

During the speech, President Trump turned to a topic he often brings up: illegal immigration.

He said that under Biden there had been “open borders for everyone… they poured in by the millions… they were murderers, 11,888 murderers”.

It is true that US authorities recorded millions of migrants crossing the border under the Biden administration but there’s no evidence about this many murderers entering the country during that time.

Trump is likely referring to figures published in a September 2024 letter , externalfrom US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to a Republican congressman.

It showed that, as of July 2024, there were 425,431 non-citizens with criminal convictions on ICE’s "non-detained docket" - a database of people facing deportation proceedings but not held in ICE custody.

Of those, 13,099 had been convicted of homicide.

However, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, said at the time that the figures covered a period of several decades, and included migrants who had entered the US under the first Trump presidency and previous administrations.

No evidence that election fraud is 'rampant' in the USpublished at 08:34 GMT

08:34 GMT

By Jake Horton

President Trump said “cheating is rampant in our elections” as he appealed for lawmakers to pass stricter voter ID requirements to “stop illegal aliens from voting”.

He has made similar claims before and still contests the result of the 2020 election - which he lost to Joe Biden

However, there is no evidence of “rampant” voter fraud in US elections. It does happen but the data suggests it is rare.

A total of 1,620 proven electoral fraud cases across the US have been recorded in a database by the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation. The list runs from 1982.

BBC Verify looked into claims of illegal immigrants voting in the build up to the 2024 US election and, again, studies have suggested cases are rare.

For example, the Brennan Center for Justice, a liberal-leaning think tank, looked at 12 states in the 2016 election.

It found that of 23.5 million votes counted, only 30 suspected incidents of non-citizens voting were referred for further investigation.

Image source, Getty

Donald Trump's one hour and 47 minute-long speech was the longest US Congress has seen from a President's State of Union address. But history shows he's had a challenger in former Democratic President Bill Clinton:

1 - Donald Trump, February 2026: 1:47:40

2 - Bill Clinton, January 2000: 1:28:49

3 - Bill Clinton, January 1995: 1:24:58

4 - Donald Trump, February 2019: 1:22:25

5 - Donald Trump, January 2018: 1:20:32

As for the shortest recorded State of the Union, that's a title held by Republican Richard Nixon, who offered Congress some relief by speaking for under half an hour when he finished after just 28 minutes and 55 seconds in January 1972.

Image source, Get

Trump used his State of the Union address to praise "extraordinary American patriots", announcing a number of Medals and Honors.

Here's who was recognised:

• Royce Williams – 100-year-old veteran Navy fighterpilot, who downed four Soviet aircraft in the Korean War, received the Medal of Honor
• Scott Ruskan – Coast Guard rescue swimmer, credited with helping save more than 160 people from floodwaters in Texas last year, received the Legion of Merit award
• Andrew Wolfe –National Guardsman shot in Washington DC in November, received the Purple Heart
• The family of Sarah Beckstrom – who was shot dead while on patrol in Washington DC, also received the Purple Heart
• Eric Slover – Helicopter pilot who was shot four times during the military operation to seize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, received the Medal of Honor
• Connor Hellebuyck – Olympic Gold-winning Hockey Team USA goaltender, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, although this will be presented at a later date

Image source, Bloomberg via Getty Images

Speaker Mike Johnson has described Donald Trump's State of the Union address as a speech "for the ages".

"He had so much good news to report the American people, he probably could have gone longer," he told reporters after the speech lasted a record one hour and 47 minutes.

He criticised the behaviour of Democrat Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American to be elected to Congress, who shouted that Trump was a liar.

"I came about this close from banging the gavel and having them escorted off the floor, but the president handled it very well," he said.

The speaker was also asked about Texas Democrat Al Green, who was removed from the chamber when he held up a sign that read "black people aren't apes". Johnson said he did not know if "censure is going to be appropriate".

Ana Faguy
Reporting from Washington

Image source, Reuters

All eyes on the (half-missing) Supreme Court

It was the first time Trump publicly came into contact with members of the Supreme Court since he lambasted them over their decision to throw out his global tariffs. Only four of the nine justices were present.

When Trump chastised the justices during the address, the cameras turned to Amy Coney Barrett - who had ruled against his tariffs - as she remained emotionless while he called the ruling "disappointing" and "unfortunate".

Democrat ejected from the room - again

Congressman Al Green, of Texas, was escorted out of the chamber - for a second year in a row. As Trump entered the chamber, Green held up a white sign emblazoned with black lettering reading, "black people aren't apes!"

The sign appeared to be referencing a video posted and subsequently deleted by Trump on social media, showing former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as apes.

'U-S-A, U-S-A' - Patriotism on display

In a movie-like entrance, the US men's ice hockey team descended into the House chamber, from an overhang where members of the press were seated above Trump. Those in the audience erupted in applause and chants of U-S-A.

Read more about some of the key moments from Trump's big speech.

The economy: Donald Trump claimed the US economy is "roaring like never before" with inflation at its lowest level in more than five years. BBC Verify has fact-checked this

Tariffs: He called the Supreme Court's ruling against many of his global tariffs imposed last year "disappointing" and "unfortunate". The new 10% levies "will remain in place under fully approved and tested alternative legal statuses", Trump said

Immigration: "We now have the strongest and most secure border in American history," Trump said as he praised work to slash illegal immigration. He did not mention his immigration enforcement crackdown in Minnesota

Venezuela:Trump praised the capturing of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and said the operation by US special forces ended the reign of an "outlaw dictator"

Iran: Trump said he would prefer to resolve the standoff with Iran with diplomacy but made a veiled threat that he would "never" allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, writes our Washington correspondent

Gabriela Pomeroy
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

US President Donald Trump has delivered a record-breaking, one hour and 47 minute, State of the Union address in which he hailed a "golden age of America", claimed the economy was "roaring like never before" and insisted his tariffs would remain in place.

The president used his marathon speech to single out special guests in the audience for praise, including the Olympic champion US gold medal men’s ice hockey team, Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk, and Andrew Wolfe, one of the two National Guard members shot and injured in Washington last year.

He also praised the helicopter pilot who was injured in the operation to capture seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in early January.

On immigration, he insisted the country's southern border was secure, but he avoided talking about the killing of American citizens protesting against immigration raids. And as America heaps pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme, Trump said he would prefer to use diplomacy but that he won't allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

The chamber erupted into boisterous chants of "USA, USA" on several occasions throughout his speech.

There were moments of disruption. Texas Democrat Al Green was removed from the chamber when he held up a sign that read "black people aren't apes". As Trump disparaged the Somali community in Minnesota, Democrat Ilhan Omar, the first Somali-American to be elected to Congress, shouted that Trump was a liar.

We'll continue to break down the speech and key reactions.

Sarah Smith
North America editor

Trump used this speech to tell Americans that in the 13 months since he returned to office, he has transformed the US from a nation in crisis into the "hottest" country on Earth.

As he claimed the economy is "roaring" and the border is now secure, he deliberately steered away from recent controversies such as the killing of American citizens protesting against immigration raids and the Epstein files.

Instead, he focused on the more popular policy of removing illegal immigrants who are also convicted criminals.

And he said that thanks to him, America is winning again.

On Iran, where Trump has been threatening to take military action if the ruling regime doesn’t give up its nuclear programme, he said his preference is to use diplomacy but that he will not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.

Responding to the speech for the Democrats the newly elected governor of Virginia, Abigail Spanberger, said Trump lied, scapegoated and distracted and he offered no real solutions to "our nation's pressing challenges".

Trump issues patriotic rallying cry with eye on crucial electionspublished at 06:19 GMT

06:19 GMT

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent, on Capitol Hill

Donald Trump delivered a combative State of the Union address that hailed what he said was an American "turnaround for the ages".

At a time when polls suggest many in the US are dissatisfied with the current state of the nation – and with Trump's leadership of it – the president offered little hint of a change of course.

Instead, with an eye on crucial midterm elections later this year, he delivered a sales pitch to the nation, a patriotic rallying cry to his loyal supporters and taunts for his political opponents.

It was a speech filled with theatrical flourishes – the kind of made-for-the-cameras moments the man who once hosted a reality television show seems to enjoy.

Early on, he welcomed the US Olympic men's hockey team to the gallery. They held up their gold medals as Republicans chanted "USA!" and even Democrats stood and applauded.

Later, Trump would call out military heroes, a 100-year-old World War II veteran and a Coast Guard swimmer who rescued 165 people trapped in last year's Texas flooding. The latter received a Congressional Medal of Honor and the former a Legion of Merit award for Extraordinary Heroism.

Although his speech set a record for length, these moments quickened the pace of the evening and fit with the president's larger theme of American patriotism and accomplishment.

• Read more of my analysis here

Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries has reacted to Trump's State of the Union speech, calling the past year of his presidency "a complete disaster".

"For nearly two hours tonight, Donald Trump spewed lies, propaganda and hatred," he says in a statement. "After failing to deliver on his promise to lower costs on day one, Donald Trump has made life more expensive than ever, ripped healthcare away from the American people and unleashed state-sponsored violence on our communities."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer agreed, saying that "Americans have never seen a State of the Union so disconnected from reality."

"President Trump rattled off lie after lie in a nearly two hour long speech that tried to paper over his equally long list of failures and broken promises," Schumer says. "Americans aren't fooled by the rhetoric."