[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 37 (Wednesday, February 25, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S658-S659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       State of the Union Address

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, last night was not America's State of the 
Union. It was Donald Trump's state of delusion. For 2 long hours the 
President stood in the House Chamber congratulating himself, inflating 
his own ego, but offering no solutions to our country's many problems.
  He is in a bubble. He doesn't even have a clue about what the average 
American family is going through. Donald Trump patted himself on the 
back so many times I thought he would fall down. While Donald Trump 
kept claiming that ``America is back'' and that we are winning so much 
we don't know what to do about it, that is only half true. We are not 
winning so much, but he sure has no idea what to do about the problems 
in America, and he admitted it right there himself.
  People back home were asking something different than what the speech 
addressed. They are asking: What about my electricity bill? How am I 
going to pay for my groceries? How am I going to afford a doctor? 
Donald Trump ignored all these things during his speech last night. 
Frankly, I have never heard a State of the Union speech--and I have 
heard quite a few--where the President's rhetoric and the country's 
reality were so far apart. Instead, Donald Trump spent most of his 
speech focused on the accomplishments, not of his administration, but 
on the accomplishments of other Americans whose accomplishments he has 
nothing to do with.
  We are all proud of the men and women hockey teams that just won gold 
in the Olympics. We are all proud of and grateful for our veterans. 
They deserve honor. But Donald Trump didn't have anything to do with 
these accomplishments. He had so little to say about what he 
accomplished that he had to just go on and on about accomplishments of 
others, and folks back home want to hear about what the President is 
doing to help with their problems. They don't want to hear a fantasy 
that everything is going great.
  But it got worse. Trump didn't simply ignore the affordability 
crisis. He mocked it yet again. The average American sitting at their 
table trying to figure out how they are going to pay that damn bill was 
furious that he said it doesn't matter. It is truly stunning to watch a 
billionaire like Donald Trump make fun of people's financial struggles 
during a State of the Union speech. The guy doesn't have a clue. He is 
in a bubble so thick, he can't hear what people are going through.
  And of course, he lied about the economy. This man is an inveterate 
liar.

[[Page S659]]

Everyone knows that. He said last night that manufacturing jobs have 
gone way up. That is a lie. Manufacturing is down by 100,000 jobs since 
he took office. He bragged last night about job creation. Well, job 
creation is at its lowest point in over 20 years outside of a 
recession--its lowest point in 20 years, and he brags about it.
  Donald Trump claimed that the fight against inflation is over. That 
is a lot of BS. Just go to the grocery store, and you will see. Donald 
Trump's speech was filled with fluff and hype. When was the last time 
Trump bought a cup of coffee? When is the last time Trump walked into a 
grocery store? His speech shows that he never has.
  It was also rich last night to hear Donald Trump announce that he 
will put JD Vance in charge of investigating corruption. Now, I think 
putting JD Vance in charge of corruption is actually something that 
might work out because he is right in the midst of it; he is all around 
it. And I have some suggestions for where he can begin.
  If Vice President Vance wants to investigate corruption, he should 
look into the billionaires who are donating to Donald Trump's fancy 
ballroom. He should look into how so many within the administration are 
making a killing--a personal killing--off crypto deals. He should 
investigate why Donald Trump pardoned the ex-President of Honduras, who 
was convicted of drug trafficking. If he wants to look into corruption, 
let him investigate the luxury jet Donald Trump received as a gift from 
the Middle East. He has got a lot to do right around him if he wants to 
investigate corruption because this is the most corrupt administration 
I think ever--certainly in decades and in maybe over a century. If JD 
Vance wants to get to the bottom of corruption in government, the good 
news is that all he has to do is walk down the hall into the Oval 
Office.
  So, in sum, last night, Donald Trump did what he does better than 
anyone else--one of the few things he does better than anyone else: He 
boosted his own ego and patted himself on the back. He didn't address 
the needs of Americans and just broke promise after promise after 
promise.
  If anyone watching last night was hoping to hear about how Donald 
Trump is going to lower their costs and their economic pain, his speech 
was an anemic dud. So I suggest Americans who care about the high cost 
of living, about affordability, which Trump knocks, get a copy of 
Governor Spanberger's speech. She focused on it like a bull's eye. Her 
speech was so much more in tune with where the American people are than 
Donald Trump's. The contrast is glaring.
  I also want to salute Senator Padilla. He gave an outstanding speech 
as well.
  Compare Trump's speech to their speeches, and you will know why Trump 
is in such trouble with the American people; you will know why the 
Republican Party is panicking about what might happen in November of 
2026.