India-Pakistan war, Iran nukes, tariffs: What Trump spoke of in longest State of Union speech

United States President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union (SOTU) address to a joint Congress session at the Capitol on Tuesday (February 24) night. Speaking for one hour and 47 minutes, he began his speech by declaring “our nation is back: bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before!”

From the economy to immigration, Trump touched upon an array of subjects as he addressed the US Congress. His first official State of the Union speech of his second term came in the backdrop of the US Supreme Court striking down his emergency global tariffs and ahead of the crucial November midterm elections.

Here are the key takeaways from Trump’s State of the Union speech 2026.

‘Ended 8 wars’

Delivering the longest SOTU speech, US President Trump reiterated his claims that he has ended eight wars since returning to power in January 2025.

He claims to have ended conflicts between Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Thailand and Cambodia, Serbia and Kosovo, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and India and Pakistan.

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Referring to the clashes between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan last May, Trump said “35 million people would have died, Pakistan PM said, if not for my involvement”.

#WATCH | Addressing the 2026 State of the Union, United States President Donald Trump says, "... In my first 10 months, I ended eight wars... Pakistan and India would have had a nuclear war. 35 million people said the Prime Minister of Pakistan would have died if it were not for… pic.twitter.com/GnrgJKtjID

— ANI (@ANI) February 25, 2026

India has repeatedly maintained that a ceasefire was reached between New Delhi and Islamabad, denying that the US played a role in negotiating the deal.

Trump also pitched the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza as a success.

“And of course, the war in Gaza, which proceeds at a very low level, it’s just about there,” Trump said, adding that all remaining Israeli hostages were released because of the deal.

SC’s tariff ruling ‘unfortunate’

Trump credited his global tariffs for a “stunning economic turnaround”. He called the US Supreme Court’s recent ruling striking down many of those tariffs “disappointing” and “very unfortunate” as four of the nine justices sat in front of him in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC.

Tariffs “will remain in place under fully approved and tested alternative legal statuses”, Trump declared, adding they will “somebody fully replace income taxes”.

“But the good news is that almost all countries and corporations want to keep the deal that they already made,” Trump claimed, “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.”

The US president said he expects that tariffs will “substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax.”

Warning for Iran

As fears of a war between the US and Iran loom large, Trump said he will “never allow” Tehran to develop a nuclear weapon.

Speaking about last year’s Operation Midnight Hammer, in which the US targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, Potus said: “After Midnight Hammer, they were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons programme —yet they continue, and are at this moment again pursuing their sinister nuclear ambitions.”

He said that while Iran wants to make a deal with the US to avoid a conflict, it is yet to commit to never making a nuclear weapon.

“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 said.

Trump touts US economy

As Americans face cost-of-living concerns, Trump highlighted the economic successes of his second term.

He pointed to lower gas prices, “plummeting” inflation rate and signs that affording a home is becoming easier.

“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,” Trump said at the beginning of his address.

Referring to his predecessor Joe Biden, whom he mentioned four times throughout his speech, Trump said he inherited inflation “at record levels” from the former US president.

“The Biden administration and its allies in Congress gave us the worst inflation in the history of our country,” he said. “But in 12 months, my administration has driven core inflation down to the lowest level in more than five years.”

The US president emphasised that reducing interest rates for home buyers will help bring down the cost of housing.

“Low interest rates will solve the Biden-created housing problem while 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,” he said. “We want to protect those values, we want to keep those values up. We’re going to do both.”

Trump also hailed the record highs for the stock market over the past year. “The stock market has set 53 all-time record highs since the election,” Trump said. “Think of that, one year, boosting pensions, 401k(s) and retirement accounts.”

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US’ ‘most secure border’ in history

Looking back at his first year in office, Trump said that “America is respected again perhaps like never before.”

Trump underlined his immigration crackdown, claiming the “most secure border in American history by far.”

Touting the US-Mexico border, the president said the US will “always allow people to come in legally.”

He also vowed to protect “legal” immigration, even though his administration has suspended immigrant visas for 75 countries.

Trump also called on lawmakers to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security. “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support,” he said. “The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”

His remarks come as Democrats have been blocking the funding, demanding more human immigration enforcement policies.

Prodding Democrats on immigration, Trump said voting for them would be akin to voting to reopen America’s borders.

“We can never forget that many in this room not only allowed the border invasion to happen before I got involved, but indeed they would do it all over again if they ever had the chance,” he said.

Trump called on the members to stand up and show support if they agreed with the statement that “the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”

Democrats remained seated.

‘War on fraud’

Announcing that US Vice President JD Vance will lead a “war on fraud”, Trump alleged “members of the Somali community have pillaged” what belongs to US taxpayers in Minnesota.

“The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption and lawlessness are the norm, not the exception,” he said.  “Importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings those problems right here to the USA.”

Critics have earlier called his attacks against the Somali community blatantly racist.

Trump also made claims of similar fraud in other Democratic-led states — California, Massachusetts, and Maine.

His remarks on Minnesota allude to a series of fraud allegations surrounding state-administered social assistance programmes.

The Trump administration has repeatedly linked legal immigration to fraud and pressure on social welfare.

Trump announces data center energy deal

Trump has said that he will tell major tech companies building large and energy-intensive AI data centres to provide the facilities with their own power.

“Many Americans are also concerned that energy demand from AI data centres could unfairly drive up their electric utility bills,” Trump said. “Tonight, I’m pleased to announce that I have negotiated the new ‘rate payer protection pledge.’”

The US president said that “we’re telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs,” so that “no one’s prices will go up.”

On bills

Trump urged the US Congress to pass the Stop Insider Trading Act “without delay” as well as the elections-related bill called the SAVE America Act.

“Let’s also ensure that members of Congress cannot corruptly profit from using insider information,” Trump said of the Stop Insider Trading Act amid bipartisan support in Congress to set more limits on congressional stock trading.

“They stood up, I can’t believe it,” Trump said as he received applause from some Democrats. “Did Nancy Pelosi stand up, if she’s here? Doubt it.”

While Democrats support the insider trading legislation, they are not in favour of the bill concerning elections.

They oppose the SAVE America Act, warning it could disenfranchise millions of eligible voters.

The bill requires Americans to show proof of citizenship in person to register to vote in federal elections, and fulfil photo ID requirements for voting.

“I’m asking you to approve the SAVE America Act,” Trump said amid cheer from Republicans.

He claimed “cheating is rampant in our elections,” adding that the bill is “very simple”.

Trump also mentioned the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the signature legislation of his second-term agenda.

While the US president praised congressional Republicans, who he said “delivered so beautifully” on the legislation, he chided Democrats for voting against the bill. He said, “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. 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,” he added.

With inputs from agencies