PresidentDonald Trump's popularity is sagging as he heads to Capitol Hill to give theState of the Unionaddress on Feb. 24 − a speech past presidents have used to try to reverse the narrative of their administration by spotlighting their achievements.
"It's going to be a long speech, because we have so much to talk about," Trump said a day before the address.
Trump is expected tovigorously defend an economic recordthat administrationofficials tout as a "historic turnaround"after recent reports showed inflationcooling more than expectedin January.
"We're seeing promising signs every day that 2026 is going to be a record successful year for the American people, just as the president promised them," White House press secretaryKaroline Leavittsaid during aFeb. 18 briefing.
Many Americans still say they aren'tseeing or feeling that progress, however, as Democrats believe theirfortunes are changing, as polls show voters leaning their way in the upcoming 2026 congressional elections.
Matthew Dallek, a political professor and presidential historian at George Washington University, said presidents have sometimes seen a temporary bump after the address, but it's typically fleeting and has been more so in recent years.
"It is harder in a time ofTikTokto see how any president wins over a portion of the electorate through a speech," Dallek said. "Most Americans are judging Trump based on the state of the economy, his immigration policies, the cost of living and they don't like what they have experienced over the past year."
Democrats will use the moment to spotlight those unpopular parts of Trump's record.
Senate Minority LeaderChuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is bringing a motherof a high school student in immigration detention as his guest, for example.
Here's what to watch for ahead of the address.
DHS shutdown looms over speech as immigration fight intensifies
Mass protestsin Minneapolis, Minnesota and elsewhere focused national attention in January on the practices of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other agencies executing the administration's enforcement operation.
AReuters/Ipsos pollreleased Feb. 18 found just 38% of U.S. adults agree with how the president is handling immigration compared to the roughly 50% who approved earlier in his term.
Trump's speech will be occurring amid apartial government shutdownof the Department of Homeland Security caused by a dispute between Senate Democrats, who are demanding restraints on immigration enforcement officers after the deadly shootings ofRenee Nicole GoodandAlex Pretti, and Republicans who refuse to agree to those terms.
The administration isdrawing down immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis, but its public posture remained firm when honoring "angel families" − a term the president's team uses when referring to relatives of people killed by an undocumented immigrant − at a White House ceremony on Feb. 23.
Allyson Phillips, the mother of Laken Riley, a 22-year-oldnursing student who was murderedin 2024 by an undocumented immigrant from Venezuela,praised Trump's efforts during the eventwhile standing next to the president.
"There are just not enough words to say because if you lived the nightmare that we have lived you understand the importance of the job that he is doing in securing our nation and fighting for our families," she said.
Selling economic wins or jabbing theSupreme Court?
Republicans would like Trump to focus on the economy, but that might become a thorny subject, too, given theSupreme Courtdelivered Trump's economic agenda a gut punch when by a 6-3 ruling it said he does not have the authority to imposesweeping tariffsat the stroke of a pen.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, who Trump appointed to the high court in 2017, said it might be "tempting to bypass Congress" but that forcing those levies should be done through the legislative process.
"Through that process, the nation can tap the combined wisdom of the people's elected representatives, not just that of one faction or man," Gorsuch said.
Trump isfurious at the high court. He's called the ruling a "disgrace"; the six justices "very unpatriotic and disloyal to the Constitution; and even suggested without evidence that "foreign" influences drove the decision.
Asurveyreleased hours after the Supreme Court's decision found 60% of U.S. adults support the ruling striking down the tariffs.
The Feb. 20 online poll conducted by YouGov shows just 23% disapproving of the 6-3 ruling with a sharp partisan divide with 88% of Democrats and 63% of independents approving versus 47% of Republicans disapproving.
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But Trump might use the national address to call out the Supreme Court indefense of his use of tariffsand aim his ire at the justices in attendance as he continues touring the country with rallies, themost recent in Georgia, arguing the economy is getting better.
The last time a president used their State of the Union platform to publicly chastise the Supreme Court was in 2010, when President Barack Obama criticized the high court's ruling in the Citizens United case. He said it opened the door to a flood of special interest money in politics and Justice SamuelAlito was seen mouthing "not true"during the speech.
Democratic response under a microscope
In the year since Trump returned to power Democrats have regained some ground with wins at the ballot box but they are stillweighing how best to respondto the president.
Newly elected Virginia Gov.Abigail Spanberger, who ran largely on a message of affordability to become thefirst woman elected to the state's highest office, has been selected to give the Democrats' rebuttal.
The party was mostly panned last year when Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, briefly grabbed the spotlight andinterrupted Trump at the start of his speechby waving his cane while others held paddles with short messages.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, of New York, has reportedly instructed his caucus to keep their cool and many are planning to either walk out of the chamber while Trump is speaking or boycott the speech entirely. But caucus members are free to disobey and progressives are itching for more direct confrontation with Trump.
Rep. Ami Bera, D-California, a senior leader in the caucus, described the president as a "troll" and urged his colleagues not to attend.
"I expect him to intentionally make outrageous and inflammatory statements that will make Democrats furious and rise in protest," Bera said in a Feb. 16 op-edposted on Meidas Plus, a left-leaning online media network.
At least a dozen members of Congress plan to attend a"People's State of the Union"rally on the National Mall on Feb. 24 hosted by progressive groups such as MoveOn Civic Action.
Some Republicans call for 'aspirational' Trump over combative tone
More and more Republicans who won't have the cover of Trump on the ballot this year are pleading with the president to take a softer approach when talking about rising costs and affordability concerns.
During hisfirst domestic rallyin Pennsylvania last December, he said critics of his foreign trips amid domestic anxieties about the economy were "stupid people" who don't understand the financial windfalls he's securing for Americans.
Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, who is among the growing list of retiring GOP lawmakers,suggested he should "avoid being acerbic"during the State of the Union and "be aspirational" instead.
Even on immigration Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he is hoping Trump will offer an olive branch to build a consensus as polling shows Americans turning against the enforcement operation while still support securing the border and deporting immigrants with violent offenses.
"He is one person who could put this together and bring people together,"DeWine saidan event hosted by Politico on Feb. 19.
Trump's base love his punchy-style but there are warning signs for Republicans in surveys about how other voters are perceiving the president that could further hurt them in the midterms.
AnEconomist/YouGov poll released Feb. 16, for example, shows 49% would use the term "corrupt"; 46% would use the term "cruel"; and 47% would use the term "racist" to describe the president.
Will Epstein victims crash State of the Union address?
The saga of late convictedsex offender Jeffrey Epsteincontinues to embroil powerful figures − most recently the arrest of former PrinceAndrew Mountbatten-Windsor− and could come to the Capitol during Trump's address.
Several survivors of abuse committed or orchestrated by Epstein are expected to attend at the invitation of lawmakers, saying that it is important they"don't move on"as Democrats and a few Republicans continue banging drums about the so-called "Epstein class."
"We have been invited and will be in attendance. My expectations are really low that (Trump) will even respond to us being in the room," Jess Michaels, an Epstein survivor, said in aFeb. 17 episode of Lincoln Square, a podcast by The Lincoln Project, an anti-Trump group.
See emotional reactions to Epstein files bill clearing Congress in rare moment of unity
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office earlier this month that he believed "it's really time for the country to maybe get onto something else."
But as Americans continue to digest themillions of pages from the Epstein filesreleased by the Justice Department, after a mandate from Congress, there is increasing bipartisan agreement that more powerful individuals named in the documents should be investigated.
Michaels alleged that GOP lawmakers have been pressured to keep quiet and she praised members, such as Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., for standing up for victims and suggested that Epstein's victims could make their presence felt at the address.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:What will Trump's State of the Union talk about? What to watch for.
