Introducing an electricity ratepayer protection pledge

The headline promise from Trump’s State of the Union was his announcement of what he described as a “ratepayer protection pledge.”

“We’re telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs,” he said. “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.” 

Trump may have dismissed affordability concerns as a “dirty, rotten lie” earlier in his address, but his proposal proactively rebutted Gov. Abigail Spanberger’s (D-VA) Democratic response to his speech.

Spanberger won her gubernatorial campaign last November in part because of cost-of-living complaints in her commonwealth, with Northern Virginia being home to the world’s highest concentration of data centers, which has, in turn, put pressure on electricity prices.

Expanding a federal government-paid retirement savings matching proposal

Trump similarly promised to provide federal worker-type retirement saving plans to nonfederal employees whose employers do not match their account contributions.

“Half of all of working Americans still do not have access to a retirement plan with matching contributions from an employer,” he said. “We will match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year.”

Trump’s proposal expands a program introduced by former President Joe Biden in 2022 through the Securing a Strong Retirement Act, or Secure Act 2.0, which itself builds on a Trump policy from his first term.

In a separate statement, the White House explained that Trump’s new scheme could be compared to the Thrift Savings Plan, which creates low-fee funds for federal workers to invest in stocks and bonds.

Pursuing his aggressive tariff policy, despite the Supreme Court

Days after the Supreme Court decided that the tariffs he imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act were unconstitutional, Trump promised to press on with his duties through “fully approved and tested alternative legal statutes.”

“They’re a little more complex, but they’re actually probably better, leading to a solution that will be even stronger than before,” the president said. “Congressional action will not be necessary.”

He added, “As time goes by, I believe the tariffs paid for by foreign countries will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax, taking a great financial burden off the people that I love.”

Trump has indicated he would use the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, section 232, the Trade Act of 1974, sections 122, 201, and 301, and the Tariff Act of 1930, section 338, to reimpose the tariffs.

Stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons

As the U.S. mounts the largest military buildup since before the start of the most recent Iraq War to pressure Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei to enter into a new nuclear nonproliferation agreement, Trump promised never to permit Tehran to develop 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,” he said.

U.S. special envoy for peace missions Steve Witkoff and the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, will lead Trump’s delegation at the next round of nuclear talks in Geneva, Switzerland on Thursday.

“We are in negotiations with them,” Trump said on Tuesday. “They want to make a deal, but we haven’t heard those secret words: ‘We will never have a nuclear weapon.’”

Presenting hockey player Connor Hellebuyck with a Presidential Medal of Freedom

In a unifying, memorable moment, Trump welcomed the U.S. men’s hockey team into the House of Representatives chamber toward the start of his State of the Union after the team’s 2-1 gold medal win last weekend against Canada, a 3-on-3 overtime victory.

“Our country is winning again,” he said. “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 until you came along with just always losing, but now we’re winning too much.’”

Trump then announced that he would present goaltender Connor Hellebuyck with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

“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 Connor with our highest civilian honor,” he said.

Calling on Congress to take action, from tax cuts to a stock trading ban

Trump, apparently more aware of the bounds of his presidential power after last week’s Supreme Court decision, took advantage of the bully pulpit provided to him through the State of the Union to put pressure on Congress to pass more tax cuts, a lawmaker stock trading ban, legislation codifying his “most favored nation” drug pricing policy, legislation requiring national voter ID and proof of citizenship to register to vote, and a prohibition on state from issuing commercial driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

Of the stock trading prohibition, Trump joked about Democrats: “They stood up for that. I can’t believe, I can’t believe it. Did [former House Speaker] Nancy Pelosi stand up, if she is here? Pass the Stop Insider Trading Act without delay.”

TRUMP OFFERS UNCOMPROMISING POPULIST VISION OF AMERICA’S FUTURE DURING STATE OF THE UNION

In addition, Trump called on Congress to make permanent his executive order banning large institutional investors from buying single-family homes and for Democratic leaders to end their sanctuary city and state regulations.

“I’m asking this Congress to pass tough legislation to ensure that violent and dangerous repeat offenders are put behind bars, and importantly, that they stay there,” he went on.