Tariffs, Big Tech and economic ‘golden age’: 10 things Trump said in the State of the Union address
He says his tariff strategy is directly responsible for bringing a new ‘golden age’ to the US
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[SINGAPORE] US President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union address for this year on Wednesday (Feb 25) morning, Asia time, stating that the “state of the union is strong”.
It was the longest such speech that was televised, starting at about 10 am in Singapore and ending just before noon.
The Straits Times Index closed 0.3 per cent down on Wednesday, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index ended 0.7 per cent up, and Malaysia’s KLCI, 0.4 per cent lower.
South Korea’s Kospi was up 1.9 per cent on Wednesday, crossing the 6,000-point mark for the first time on optimism over artificial intelligence, after having surpassed 5,000 points just last month. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 2.2 per cent higher on the day, while the Topix climbed 0.7 per cent.
China’s CSI 300 ended the day up 0.6 per cent.
The Asian markets largely followed Wall Street, which closed higher on Tuesday as tech stocks led the charge.
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Trump’s speech came just days after the US Supreme Court ruled that his previous tariff mechanism, announced on “Liberation Day” last April, was illegal.
In response, he said he would increase global tariffs to 15 per cent, having initially announced the new tariff rate at 10 per cent. However, markets in the Asia-Pacific on Monday largely shrugged off the increase.
Here’s a roundup of what he talked about in the address on Wednesday:
Theme 1: Defending the US economy
- Tariffs as the economic engine: Defending his economic record, Trump asserted that his tariff strategy is directly responsible for bringing a new “golden age” to the US.
- Inflation, markets and jobs: He pushed back on economic criticisms by claiming inflation is falling sharply, and noted that core inflation was at its lowest level in over five years. However, inflation was still at 2.4 per cent last month, compared to 3 per cent when he took office in 2025. He also said the stock market, oil production and foreign direct investment are booming, along with construction and factory jobs.
- Highlighting the “Big Beautiful Bill”: Trump promoted his tax cuts, specifically emphasising the elimination of taxes on overtime and tips, as well as new tax deductions for interest on new US-built vehicles.
- US$18 trillion in global investments: He claimed his administration has secured more than US$18 trillion in investment commitments since returning to office.
Theme 2: Aggressive defence and foreign policy
- US$1.5 trillion defence budget funded by tariffs: Trump pledged to seek a massive 50 per cent increase for national defence next year (totalling US$1.5 trillion) and claimed incoming tariff revenues would cover the cost.
- The Venezuelan oil haul: Following the operation launched in January to capture Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro, Trump said the US has received 80 million barrels of Venezuelan oil.
- The Iran paradox: While Trump stated a preference for using “diplomacy” to solve ongoing issues with Iran, he paired it with a stark warning. He claimed Iran has developed missiles that threaten Europe and overseas US bases, and is actively “working to build missiles that will soon reach the US”.
Theme 3: Taking aim at the courts, tech and Congress
- Blasting the Supreme Court: In a highly unusual move directly tied to the recent tariff ruling, he castigated two Supreme Court justices for striking down his “Liberation Day” tariffs. He stated he was “ashamed of certain members of the court” and called them “an embarrassment to their families, to tell the truth”.
- Making Big Tech pay for the grid: Trump said he told major tech companies such as Microsoft and Google parent Alphabet that they need to cover the power supply and infrastructure costs for their massive data centres – though their promises will not be legally binding.
- Banning congressional insider trading: Trump called for new legislation to formally prevent members of the US Congress from benefiting from insider trading.
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