Lawmakers divide along party lines after Trump’s State of the Union

Описание: (25 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Washington, DC – 24 February 2026
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Mike Johnson, Speaker of the House:
“It was a great speech tonight. I think it was one of the best State of the Unions in history. It was officially the longest one because he had a lot of wins to tell. There were a lot of great messages to present to the American people.”
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Don Bacon, (R ) Nebraska:
“Well he spent a great amount of time on the economy. How the wages are climbing faster than inflation, energy prices and gasoline. There’s a lot of good stuff there. I think he should do that more often.”
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Adelita Grijalva, (D) Arizona:
“There were so many moments there where he was talking about the price of everything being down. I’m like, I have just had several roundtables with businesses and community members saying the complete exact opposite, with data.”
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Nancy Mace, (R ) South Carolina:
“I mean particularly when Trump asked the crowd, asked Congress if they would put American citizens first. That was a defining moment, I think, in the speech between where we are as a nation divided. A nation without laws, a nation without borders, a nation without citizens isn’t a nation at all.”
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Adelita Grijalva, (D) Arizona:
“What you’re looking at is a lot of people who were going through the legal process in order to have, get legal status or become a citizen. And those are the people who are in detention.”
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Adriano Espaillat, (D) New York:
“And so when, when I visit these detention centers and I see these moms that were on their way to work, or dads that were coming out of work now facing deportation, the hurt they're feeling.”
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Steve Scalise, (R ) House Majority Leader:
“There will not be a nuclear-armed Iran, and President Trump made that crystal clear.”
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Don Bacon, (R ) Nebraska:
“One thing I’m a little vague about. Are we going to attack Iran for nuclear weapons, or are we going to try a regime change. I get mixed signals.”
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Sen. Chris Coons, (D) Delaware:
“And I was very disappointed that President Trump did not take this opportunity to recognize that Russia is the aggressor in Ukraine.”
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Rep. Don Bacon, (R ) Nebraska:
“I think it was a little bit divisive at times. I mean, the other side doesn’t like to stand up at all, so the bottom line is, I wish it was more unifying.”
STORYLINE:
President Donald Trump's State of the Union address got largely positive reviews from Republicans and was largely panned by Democrats who spoke to The Associated Press after the marathon speech.

Speaker of the House Rep. Mike Johnson defined the tow-hour speech as
"one of the best State of the Unions in history" and officially the longest one "because he had a lot of wins to tell. There were a lot of great messages to present to the American people.”

Rep. Don Bacon, (R ) Nebraska praised Trump's record on the economy, including "how the wages are climbing faster than inflation, energy prices and gasoline. There’s a lot of good stuff there. "I think he should do that more often,” he added.

But Rep. Adelita Grijalva, (D) Arizona sees a much darker picture about the current economy. “There were so many moments there where he was talking about the price of everything being down. I’m like, I have just had several roundtables with businesses and community members saying the complete exact opposite, with data," she said.







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