What historians are saying about Trump’s SOTU

On Tuesday night, February 24, U.S. President Donald Trump gave the second State of the Union (SOTU) speech of his second presidency. The speech often sounded like a MAGA rally, with Trump attacking Democrats on everything from the economy to immigration policy and bragging that the U.S. is "winning too much" since his return to the White House.

But Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger offered a comprehensive rebuttal after the speech, arguing that he is making inflation worse, not better. And House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York), on MS NOW's "Morning Joe," complained that the speech was "riddled with dirty, rotten lies" and accused Republicans of showing "cult-like behavior" with their glowing responses to Trump's speech.

In an article published by the right-wing Newsmax the next morning, historians weigh in on Trump's 2026 SOTU address.

Historian/author Christopher Whipple believes that Trump's speech could hurt Republicans in the 2026 midterms.

Whipple told Newsmax, "Remarkably, he stayed on script. The trouble was the script, which failed to convincingly address affordability or (Jeffrey) Epstein or any of the pressing issues of the day. Instead, he reveled in dystopian scenes of American carnage and demonizing his opponents. It makes a GOP shellacking in the 2026 midterms all the more likely."

But Justin Coffey, who teaches history as Quincy University in Illinois, had a much more positive reaction.

Coffey told Newsmax, "Donald Trump was aggressive, confident, and defiant. He made a strong case for his record…. When I said 'defiant,' it is mostly in regard to tariffs. He is not backing down. And he was directly speaking to the Supreme Court."

Similarly, Irwin Gellman, known for his work on President Richard Nixon's life, told Newsmax, "Trump could not have done much better than he did."

Luke Nichter, author of the book "1968: The Year That Broke Politics" and a professor at Chapman University in Southern California, noted that Trump "took the usual grab bag approach to listing past achievements and suggesting a few new proposals: ending sanctuary cities, the Save America Act, and a new 'war on fraud' to be led by Vice President Vance."

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