President Donald Trump delivered a sweeping State of the Union address Tuesday night, promoting new policy proposals on retirement savings, energy infrastructure and congressional ethics while touting his administration’s record on border security, the economy and national security. (Kenny Holston /Pool via Reuters)
"The roaring economy is roaring like never before," Trump boasted during the speech. "More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country."
But the president failed to touch on 2025’s lagging job growth: the labor market added 181,000 jobs in all of 2025, much fewer than the 1.46 million jobs that were added in 2024.
Economists note that while headline job totals can mask fluctuations, the sharp deceleration in hiring relative to 2024 highlights a labor market that has softened even as other economic indicators remain positive.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer claimed Trump "mocked" affordability issues and failed to note weak job numbers.
"Trump didn't simply ignore the affordability crisis. He mocked it yet again. The average Americans sitting at their table trying to figure out how they're going to pay that damn bill, was furious that he said, 'it doesn't matter.'"
"He bragged last night about job creation," Schumer said. "Well, job creation is is at its lowest point in over 20 years outside of a recession, its lowest point in 20 years. And he brags about it."
While Trump used his address to declare a "Golden Age" of security, the world’s most significant geopolitical theater — the Indo-Pacific — hardly was mentioned.
Despite a record-breaking $11 billion arms sale to Taiwan just two months ago and a planned high-stakes visit to Beijing in April, the President did not once mention Taiwan, the South China Sea or a broader regional strategy by name.
While Trump mocked "Chinese technology" in the context of the Venezuelan raid, he offered no public reassurance to allies in Tokyo, Canberra, Australia, or Taipei, Taiwan, which are navigating Beijing’s expanding military reach.
The omission follows a pattern established in the 2026 National Defense Strategy (NDS) released in January, which for the first time in a decade scrubbed direct references to Taiwan’s security.
Though the U.S. has long held a policy of strategic ambiguity — refusing to say whether it would come to Taiwan’s defense if China invaded — some analysts have detected a fragile detente between the U.S. and China.
The absence is notable in 2026 as Washington prepares for high-level talks with Beijing and regional allies closely monitor U.S. commitments amid rising cross-Strait tensions and expanding Chinese naval activity.
While Trump mocked "Chinese technology" in the context of the Venezuelan raid, he offered no public reassurance to allies in Tokyo, Canberra, or Taipei who are currently navigating Beijing’s expanding military reach. (Photo by Li Gang/Xinhua via Getty Images)
Trump did touch on the war in Ukraine in his State of the Union, framing an ambition to "end" the conflict as part of his foreign policy narrative. But he offered no detailed outline of how the administration plans to achieve that goal or how U.S. diplomacy, military aid or leverage with European allies will be marshaled to bring it about — leaving a key foreign policy challenge largely undefined for the nation.
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"We’re working very hard to end the ninth war, the killing and slaughter between Russia and Ukraine, where 25,000 soldiers are dying each and every month — think of that, 25,000 soldiers are dying a month."
The speech came on the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The lack of detail stands out in 2026 as the war enters its fifth year and European allies look to Washington for clarity on long-term security guarantees and reconstruction support.
The White House did not immediately respond when reached for comment.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biggest-omissions-trumps-state-union-why-matter-2026