5 takeaways from Trump’s State of Union address

President Donald Trump delivered a nearly two-hour State of the Union address on Tuesday, focusing largely on the economy that he declared was set to boom. 

The president delivered the signature annual address as he sees his poll numbers on the economy plummet ahead of the 2026 midterms, which loom less than nine months away. Those elections threaten to shift control of Congress from Republicans and Trump’s control of Washington along with it. 

Here are five takeaways from Trump’s State of the Union: 

Trump called for the creation of a government-backed 401(k)-like plan for U.S. workers who don’t receive a retirement match from their employer. 

“My administration will give these oft-forgotten American workers, great people, the people that built our country, access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker,” Trump said. “We will match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year.”

Trump said the plan would “ensure that all Americans can profit from a rising stock market.”

Trump and his administration have often caught flak for touting stock market gains as evidence of a booming economy, while millions of Americans are not invested in the market.

A White House official granted anonymity to discuss the plan said it would grant eligible workers access to savings vehicles similar to the Thrift Savings Plan available to federal workers, which they said “provides for an efficient savings program that includes a government match and offers diversified, index‑based, investment options and portfolio choices.”  

The plan would tap an existing program known as the “Savers Match” tax credit that was enacted under the 2022 Secure 2.0 law to provide an annual match of up to $1,000 to low-income workers beginning in 2027.

The president reiterated his call on Congress to pass legislation barring large institutional investors from buying up single-family homes, asking Congress to codify an executive order he signed to do so. 

“I’m asking Congress to make that ban permanent, because homes for people, really that’s what we want,” Trump said. “We want homes for people, not corporations; corporations are doing just fine.” 

Trump’s call to bar institutional investors from gobbling up homes echoes populist proposals from the progressive left, who are hammering the president on affordability. Democrats released another plan earlier Tuesday to limit the ability of larger investors to buy up homes, just before the State of the Union. 

Trump said the economy is “roaring like never before,” as polls continue to show voters are souring on his performance on the economy and as Democrats hammer him and Republicans on affordability. 

The president also took credit for what he said was the defeat of inflation, the bane of his predecessor and political nemesis, former President Joe Biden. 

“Inflation is plummeting,” Trump said. “In 12 months, my administration has driven core inflation to the lowest level in more than five years.”

The consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, rose 2.4% in January from a year earlier, according to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was down from 2.7% in December and lower than expected. Excluding food and energy, which are volatile, the core CPI was up 2.5%, the lowest level since April 2021.

Democrats aired their frustrations with the president at certain points in the speech, but largely avoided outright interference with the president’s remarks. 

Trump goaded Democrats for not standing after he asked lawmakers to “stand up and show your support” if they agreed that the first duty of the U.S. government is “to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”

That prompted a brief back-and-forth between Trump and Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. Omar is from Minnesota, where two U.S. citizens were shot dead by federal immigration officers this year while carrying out the president’s deportation agenda. 

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was ejected from the chamber for a second year in a row during a speech by Trump after he held a sign that read “Black People Aren’t Apes.” Trump’s personal social media account recently shared a blatantly racist video that depicted the Obamas as apes. 

Trump mostly focused his speech on domestic policy and political issues and avoided getting bogged down in his efforts abroad. 

The president did, however, speak briefly about Iran, where he has directed a massive military buildup and where he’s been hinting he might want to strike. 

“We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon,'” Trump said of Iran. “My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon.”

Trump’s focus on domestic issues is likely a reflection of the political reality. Democrats have taken an early lead in polling ahead of the midterms and largely swept 2025 off-year elections by focusing on affordability and kitchen-table issues.

Republicans seemed to appreciate the life raft.

“What I was hoping he’d do would be to talk about the things moms and dads worry about when they lie down at night to sleep and can’t. And he did,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La, after the speech.

— CNBC’s Justin Papp and Eamon Javers contributed to this report.