Dana Taylor

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After a tumultuous start to his second term, President Donald Trump is looking to reset the reigning narrative about his leadership with Americans.

In his first State of the Union address of his second term, the president tried to sell the country on his economic agenda, working to counter increasingly dim views of his economic stewardship.

Did he succeed?

Hello and welcome to USA Today's The Excerpt.

I'm Dana Taylor.

Today is Wednesday, February 25th, 2026.

Here to help me break down Trump's message to the American people, I'm now joined by USA Today Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page.

Susan, thank you so much for joining me.

Susan, the bulk of Tuesday night's speech was really all about the economy.

While Trump has been boasting about how he's transformed the economy, Americans really aren't feeling it.

What did the president say to try to shift the narrative here?

The president also brought up tariffs, a sore spot for him, given the high court's rare rebuke of his exercise of power just last week.

Let's give a listen to what he said.

Americans broadly don't like the tariffs, and there's still a lot of uncertainty on whether these will also be struck down, which businesses don't like.

Does this statement about tariffs potentially replacing income tax hold water?