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The Briefing with Jen Psaki

Trump's 2026 State of the Union

25 Feb 2026

Transcription

Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.

Chapter 1: What were the key points of Trump's 2026 State of the Union Address?

0.031 - 11.087 Jen Psaki

The U.S. military deployed on the streets of America. Whole communities targeted for removal. And when accountability finally came knocking, the burn order to cover it all up.

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11.107 - 14.612 Rachel Meadow

Rachel Meadow presents Burn Order. All episodes available now.

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16.255 - 22.123 Unknown

Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States.

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49.93 - 113.687 Donald Trump

Well, thank you very much, everybody. It's really an honor. Speaker Johnson, Vice President Vance, First Lady of the United States. Second Lady of the United States, members of Congress, and my fellow Americans, our nation is back bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before.

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126.678 - 152.917 Donald Trump

Less than five months from now, our country will celebrate an epic milestone in American history, the 250th anniversary of our glorious American independence. This July 4th, we will mark two and a half centuries of liberty and triumph, progress and freedom in the most incredible and exceptional nation ever to exist on the face of the earth. And you've seen nothing yet.

153.097 - 193.925 Donald Trump

We're going to do better and better and better. This is the golden age of America. When I last spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis with a stagnant economy, inflation at record levels, a wide open border, horrendous recruitment for military and police, rampant crime at home, and wars and chaos all over the world.

194.526 - 243.374 Donald Trump

But tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before, and a turnaround for the ages. It is indeed a turnaround for the ages. And we will never go back to where we were just a very short time ago. We're not going back. Today, our border is secure.

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USA! USA! USA!

254.464 - 279.012 Donald Trump

USA! USA! Thank you. Today, our border is secure. Our spirit is restored. Inflation is plummeting. Incomes are rising fast. The roaring economy is roaring like never before, and our enemies are scared, our military and police are stacked, and America is respected again, perhaps like never before.

Chapter 2: How did Trump address economic issues in his speech?

493.325 - 521.809 Donald Trump

One year. And low interest rates will solve the Biden-created housing problem well, at the same time protecting the values of those people who already own a house that really feel rich for the first time in their lives. We want to protect those values. We want to keep those values up. We're going to do both. And we are going to keep it that way.

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522.7 - 550.067 Donald Trump

The stock market is at 53 all-time record highs since the election. Think of that. One year. boosting pensions, 401ks, and retirement accounts for the millions and millions of Americans. They're all gaining. Everybody's up, way up. In four long years, the last administration got less than $1 trillion in new investment in the United States. And when I say less, substantially less.

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550.708 - 588.685 Donald Trump

In 12 months, I secured commitments for more than $18 trillion pouring in from all over the globe. Think of it, much less than $1 trillion for four years versus much more than $18 trillion for one year. What a difference a president makes. A short time ago, we were a dead country. Now we are the hottest country anywhere in the world. The hottest.

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602.485 - 618.123 Donald Trump

As thousands of new businesses are forming and factories, plants, and laboratories are being built, we have added 70,000 new construction jobs in just a very short period of time. It's getting bigger and bigger and stronger. Nobody can believe what they're watching.

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618.864 - 669.146 Donald Trump

American oil production is up by more than 600,000 barrels a day, and we just received from our new friend and partner, Venezuela, more than 80 million barrels of oil. American natural gas production is at an all-time high because I kept my promise to drill, baby, drill. More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country. Think about that.

669.366 - 717.253 Donald Trump

Any time in the history of our country, more working today and 100% of all jobs created under my administration have been in the private sector. We ended DEI in America. We cut a record number of job-killing regulations, and in one year, we have lifted 2.4 million Americans a record off of food stamps.

727.028 - 771.214 Donald Trump

And for all of these reasons, I say tonight, members of Congress, the state of our union is strong. Our country is winning again. In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it. People are asking me, please, please, please, Mr. President, we're winning too much. We can't take it anymore. We're not used to winning in our country.

771.695 - 798.373 Donald Trump

Until you came along, we're just always losing, but now we're winning too much. And I say, no, no, no. You're going to win again. You're going to win big. You're going to win bigger than ever. And to prove that point, To prove that point, here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud. The men's gold medal Olympic hockey team. Come on in.

813.946 - 818.995

USA! USA! USA! USA!

Chapter 3: What is Trump's stance on immigration policies?

865.82 - 954.623 Donald Trump

Go ahead. That's the first time I've ever seen them get up. And actually, not all of them did get up. But they beat a fantastic Canadian team in overtime, as everybody saw, as did the American women, who will soon be coming to the White House. They were in the Oval Office before, and I just want to say a second very big congratulations to Team USA.

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954.663 - 970.161 Donald Trump

But I have to say that, and I told them this, and we took a vote of the team. I said, anybody votes no, I'm not doing it. So they stood there, and they weren't about to say no, because I'd never seen a goaltender play as well as goalie Connor Hellebuck.

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1002.136 - 1018.502 Donald Trump

Think of it, 46 shots on goal, and I asked him, the one shot, the one where you put your stick in the back and it hit the neck of your stick and bounced off, do you practice that, or was that a little lucky? He refused to answer that question.

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1018.522 - 1043.942 Donald Trump

But I just want to tell you that the members of this great hockey squad will be very happy to hear, based on their vote and my vote, and in this case, my vote was more important, that I will soon be presenting Conor with our highest civilian honor, which we will be given and which has been given to many athletes over the years. But when I say many, not too many, like 12.

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1044.863 - 1093.757 Donald Trump

It's called the highest civilian honor in our country, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Great athletes have gotten that. Very great, the best. And I thought he deserved it. And I did take a vote. Every single one of them, I said, I'm not giving it if anybody goes no. And every single one of them rapidly put up their hand. So I want to thank you. What a special job you did.

1094.017 - 1155.066 Donald Trump

What special champions you are. Thank you very much. I'm also pleased to say that the next time the Olympic torch is lit, it will be here in America for the 2028 Olympics. And it's the summer version right in Los Angeles. We're going to do a good job in Los Angeles. And Los Angeles is going to be safe, just like Washington, D.C. is now one of the safest cities in the country.

1161.637 - 1188.447 Donald Trump

And this year — and I must say, I got them both — I got them in my first term. And I was disappointed because I didn't think I'd be the president when this happened. But strange things took place. And now I've got them because I got the Olympics. I got the 2026 FIFA World Cup. And I wanted to claim the 250th, but I didn't get away with that one. I couldn't claim that one for myself.

1189.308 - 1224.348 Donald Trump

But we're getting the World Cup. So we have the World Cup and the Olympics coming. And that is exciting news. So this will be a year to celebrate our country and the heroes who have kept it free, men like Buddy Taggart. At age 17, Buddy volunteered to defend America in World War II. serving in the Pacific under the great General Douglas MacArthur.

1224.929 - 1244.582 Donald Trump

He fought bravely in the famous Battle of Manila, worked so hard. He was badly wounded and almost killed by enemy machine guns in Luzon. And 81 years ago this month, he liberated the largest internment camp in the Philippines, one of the largest anywhere in the world.

Chapter 4: How did Trump react to the Supreme Court's tariff ruling?

1307.288 - 1332.959 Donald Trump

It was July 4th of last year when floodwaters tore through a girl's summer camp in Central Texas, one of the worst things I've ever seen. I was there, rising 26 feet in the matter of minutes, tragically claiming many, many lives. You all remember that one. As the waters threatened to sweep her away, 11-year-old Millie Kate McClaymond closed her eyes and prayed to God.

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1333.64 - 1360.564 Donald Trump

She thought she was going to die. Those prayers were answered when Coast Guard rescue swimmer Scott Ruskin descended from a helicopter above. Nobody knew where he came from. It was Scott's first ever rescue mission, a young guy, very brave, very, very top, always top in his class. And he lifted not just Millie Kate, but 164 others to safety.

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1393.163 - 1414.497 Donald Trump

People watched Scott from a distance, and they couldn't believe what they were seeing. The winds were blowing, the rain was pouring, everything was going, and that rapid water, nobody's ever seen anything like it. They said, wow, that's something. Tonight, Scott and Millie Kate are here together, reunited for the very first time. Thank you, Scott, Millie Kate.

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1438.338 - 1480.225 Donald Trump

And Petty Officer Ruskin, I'm pleased to inform you that I am now awarding you the Legion of Merit for Extraordinary Heroism, which is what it was, extraordinary heroism. Thank you. And I'd like to have the military aide to please come down and take care of the service. Military aide, thank you very much. Take care of that very important service. Thank you very much.

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1481.673 - 1504.491 Donald Trump

From 1776 to today, every generation of Americans has stepped forward to defend life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And they're really doing it for the next generation. But now it's our turn. Together we're building a nation where every child has the chance to reach higher and go further.

1504.792 - 1525.069 Donald Trump

where government answers to the people, not the powerful, and where the interests of hardworking American citizens are always our first and ultimate concern. That is the debt we owe to the heroes who came before us, and that is the promise we must keep to America for our 250th year.

1526.171 - 1576.48 Donald Trump

Last year, I urged this Congress to begin the mission by passing the largest tax cuts in American history, and our Republican majorities delivered so beautifully. Thank you, Republicans. All Democrats, every single one of them, voted against these really important and very necessary massive tax cuts. They wanted large-scale tax increases to hurt the people instead.

1578.164 - 1633.374 Donald Trump

But we held strong, and with the great, big, beautiful bill, we gave you no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security for our great seniors. And we also made interest on auto loans tax deductible the first time, but only if the car is made in America. Recently in Pennsylvania, I met Megan Hemhauser, a devoted mom whose homeschools her children Beautiful.

1633.615 - 1642.782 Donald Trump

Two children during the day while waiting tables at night as her husband works overtime operating very heavy equipment.

Chapter 5: What did Trump say about the Somali community in Minnesota?

1719.681 - 1760.235 Donald Trump

This is something that's so special and has taken off and gone through the roof. Millions will be pre-funded courtesy of the U.S. Treasury and private individuals like Michael and Susan Dell, who have donated $6,250,000,000 to fund the Trump accounts for 25 million American children. They're great people. When I asked Michael Dell, how do you make all that money?

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1760.275 - 1784.261 Donald Trump

He said, well, I just sat on my dorm in school and I made computers and I'd sell them to people. And I just kept selling and selling and selling. And pretty amazing story. That's called the American dream. He sold a lot of computers, a lot of those laptops. So I congratulate him on that. But I really thank him and Susan, as well as others like Brad Gerstner, a very tremendous guy.

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1784.301 - 1818.636 Donald Trump

He was behind it right from the beginning. Brad Gerstner. Thank you, Brad. So with modest additional contributions, these young people's accounts could grow to over $100,000 or more by the time they turn 18. Think of it. How much money is that for somebody that started with nothing? Over $100,000. It could be much more than that.

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1818.656 - 1837.919 Donald Trump

To make this investment in our children's future, go to TrumpAccounts.gov. TrumpAccounts.gov. And a lot of people are doing it. They're setting every record in the book. It's popular. They knew what it was going to take. I'm so proud of them. I'm so proud of the people that got it started. And now it's just taken off.

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1838.039 - 1867.307 Donald Trump

One of the primary reasons for our country's stunning economic turnaround, the biggest in history, where the Dow Jones broke 50,000 four years ahead of schedule and the S&P hit 7,000, where it wasn't supposed to do it for many years, were tariffs. I used these tariffs, took in hundreds of billions of dollars to make great deals for our country, both economically and on a national security basis.

1868.108 - 1890.894 Donald Trump

Everything was working well. Countries that were ripping us off for decades are now paying us hundreds of billions of dollars. They were ripping us so badly. You all know that. Everybody knows it. Even the Democrats know it. They just don't want to say it. And yet these countries are now happy, and so are we. We made deals. The deals are all done. And they're happy.

1891.394 - 1914.084 Donald Trump

They're not making money like they used to, but we're making a lot of money. There was no inflation, tremendous growth. And the big story was how Donald Trump called the economy correctly. And 22 Nobel Prize winners in economics didn't. They got it totally wrong. They got it really wrong. And then just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court.

1914.544 - 1930.441 Donald Trump

It just came down, it came down. Very unfortunate ruling. But the good news is that almost all countries and corporations want to keep the deal that they already made. Right, Scott?

1931.181 - 1949.383 Donald Trump

Knowing that the legal power that I, as president, have to make a new deal could be far worse for them, and therefore they will continue to work along the same successful path that we had negotiated before the Supreme Court's unfortunate involvement.

Chapter 6: What was the Democratic response to Trump's address?

2239.397 - 2282.143 Donald Trump

That's why I introduced the great health care plan. I want to stop all payments to big insurance companies and instead give that money directly to the people so they can buy their own health care, which will be better health care at a much lower cost. In addition, my plan requires maximum price transparency. That's a big deal. Sounds so simple, so big.

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2282.163 - 2302.338 Donald Trump

And I did that in my first term, and the Democrats immediately terminated it with full knowledge that they were doing a very bad thing for the people. Costs were going to go way up, and that's what happened. And now I'm bringing them way down on health care and everything else. I'm also ending the wildly inflated cost of prescription drugs like has never happened before.

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2302.378 - 2327.714 Donald Trump

Other presidents tried to do it, but they never could. They tried. Most didn't try, actually. But they tried. They said they tried. They couldn't do it. They didn't even come close. They were all talk and no action. But I got it done.

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2328.454 - 2370.718 Donald Trump

Under my just enacted most favored nation agreements, Americans, who have for decades paid by far the highest prices of any nation anywhere in the world for prescription drugs, will now pay the lowest price anywhere in the world for drugs. Anywhere. The lowest price. So in my first year of the second term, should be my third term, but strange things happen. I took prescription drugs

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2370.85 - 2407.177 Donald Trump

a very big part of healthcare, from the highest price in the entire world to the lowest. That's a big achievement. The result is price differences of 300, 400, 500, 600% and more, all available right now at a new website called TrumpRx.gov. And I didn't name that one either, by the way. And here tonight is the very first customer ever to get that big discount, and it is big, Catherine Rayner.

2407.939 - 2440.429 Donald Trump

For five years, she and her husband have struggled with infertility, and they turned to IVF. One drug has been costing Catherine $4,000 to purchase. But a few weeks ago, she logged onto the TrumpRx website and got that same drug that cost $4,000, got it for under $500, a reduction of much more, actually, than $3,500. Catherine, we are all praying for you, and you're going to be a great mom.

2459.545 - 2487.51 Donald Trump

So now I'm calling on Congress to codify my most favorite nation program into law. Now, the one thing, I'm not sure it matters because it's going to be very hard for somebody that comes along after me to say, let's raise drug prices by 700 or 800%. But John and Mike, if you don't mind, codify it anyway. They may do it. Codify it anyway. Thank you. Many Americans are also concerned that

2487.777 - 2507.098 Donald Trump

Energy demand from AI data centers could unfairly drive up their electric utility bills. Tonight, I'm pleased to announce that I have negotiated the new Ratepayer Protection Pledge. You know what that is. We're telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs.

2507.118 - 2528.882 Donald Trump

They can build their own power plants as part of their factory so that no one's prices will go up. And in many cases, prices of electricity will go down for the community and very substantially down. This is a unique strategy never used in this country before. We have an old grid. It could never handle the kind of numbers, the amount of electricity that's needed.

Chapter 7: How did the guests analyze Trump's speech performance?

2879.716 - 2927.139 Donald Trump

We are not playing games. Delilah. Delilah Coleman was only five years old in June 2024 when a 18-wheel tractor trailer plowed into her stopped car traveling at 60 miles an hour or more. The driver was an illegal alien led in by Joe Biden and given a commercial driver's license by open borders politicians in California. Doctors said Delilah would never be able to walk or talk. have a good life.

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2928.441 - 2975.089 Donald Trump

She wouldn't even be able to eat again. But against all odds, she is now in the first grade learning to walk. And she's here this evening with her dad, Marcus, a fantastic man. Delilah, please, you are a great inspiration. Please stand up. Thank you, Delilah.

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2976.231 - 2996.697 Donald Trump

Many, if not most, illegal aliens do not speak English and cannot read even the most basic road signs as to direction, speed, danger, or location. That's why tonight I'm calling on Congress to pass what we will call the Delilah Law, barring any state from granting commercial driver's licenses to illegal aliens.

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3010.531 - 3016.42 Jen Psaki

The U.S. military deployed on the streets of America. Whole communities targeted for removal.

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3016.64 - 3021.808 Rachel Maddow

There was tremendous anxiety as they saw neighbors and friends being taken.

3021.868 - 3027.557 Jen Psaki

And when accountability finally came knocking, the burn order to cover it all up.

3027.998 - 3030.061 Rachel Maddow

I never believed that America would be doing this.

3030.602 - 3039.255 Rachel Meadow

A stain on this country, one that we said we would never repeat. Rachel Meadow presents Burn Order. All episodes available now.

3040.771 - 3067.071 Donald Trump

And yesterday, as you probably saw at the White House, I hosted a ceremony with Americans who lost their treasured loved ones to the scourge of illegal immigration. People came into our country, how we allowed this to happen with our open borders. These are the angel moms and families that for decades our government betrayed and our media totally ignored, totally, it was terrible.

Chapter 8: What are the implications of Trump's policies for the upcoming elections?

3676.994 - 3704.368 Donald Trump

Hard to believe, isn't it? Before long, a confused Sage ran away from home. After she was found in a horrific situation in Maryland, a left-wing judge refused to return Sage to her parents because they did not immediately state that their daughter was their son. Sage was thrown into an all-boys state home and suffered terribly for a long time.

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3705.068 - 3750.544 Donald Trump

But today, all of that is behind them because Sage is a proud and wonderful young woman with a full-ride scholarship to Liberty University. Sage and Michelle, please stand up. And thank you for your great bravery. And who can believe that we're even speaking about things like this? 15 years ago, if somebody was up here and said that, they'd say, what's wrong with him?

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3751.585 - 3786.466 Donald Trump

But now we have to say it because it's going on all over numerous states without even telling the parents. But 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. Who would believe that we're even talking about this? We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately. Look, nobody stands up.

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3786.807 - 3836.515 Donald Trump

These people are crazy, I'm telling you. They're crazy. 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, didn't we? No one cares more about protecting America's youth than our wonderful First Lady. Now a movie star. She's a movie star. Can you believe it? Who would have believed that?

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3837.203 - 3864.497 Donald Trump

Over the past year, she has had an incredible impact championing AI legislation, advancing a landmark executive order on foster care, and helping secure $30 million to launch the Melania Trump Forster Youth to Independence Initiative. It's a tremendous, really a tremendous thing that happened and had a lot of bipartisan support. She gets much better bipartisan support than I do. I get none.

3864.537 - 3894.143 Donald Trump

She gets a lot... Someday you're gonna have to tell me how you did that. And students and educators in every state have joined the First Lady's efforts in the presidential AI challenge, keeping America's next generation positioned to succeed and strongly succeed in the future. Tonight, we welcome two young people whose lives reflect the First Lady's impact, Sierra Burns and Everest Nevermont.

3895.102 - 3941.005 Donald Trump

Thank you both, and Melania, thank you. I know how hard you worked on it. Thank you very much. I'm very proud to say that during my time in office, both the first four years and in particular this last year, there has been a tremendous renewal in religion, faith, Christianity, and belief in God. Tremendous renewal.

3953.168 - 4010.037 Donald Trump

This is especially true among young people, and a big part of that had to do with my great friend, Charlie Kirk, a great guy, great man. So last year, Charlie was violently murdered by an assassin. and martyred, really, martyred for his beliefs. His wonderful wife, Erica, is with us tonight. Erica, please stand. Thank you, Erica. Been through a lot.

4010.959 - 4048.519 Donald Trump

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. We love religion, and we love bringing it back, and it's coming back at levels that nobody actually thought possible. It's really a beautiful thing to see. Above all, unleashing America's promise requires keeping our community safe.

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