President Donald Trump praised the impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that Congress enacted last year and the tariffs that the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional during his State of the Union address, while promoting the new Trump Accounts and proposing a new government-matched investment account for Americans who haven’t been saving for retirement.
Processing Content
“Last year, I urged this Congress to begin the mission by passing the largest tax cuts in American history, and our Republican majorities delivered so beautifully,” said Trump during Tuesday night’s one-hour and 47-minute speech, the longest on record for a State of the Union address, according to a transcript. “Thank you, Republicans! All Democrats, every single one of them, voted against these really important and very necessary massive tax cuts. They wanted large-scale tax increases to hurt the people instead.”
“But we held strong, and with the great Big Beautiful Bill, we gave you no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security for our great seniors,” Trump added. “And we also made interest on auto loans tax-deductible — the first time — but only if the car is made in America.”
He cited the example of a couple in Pennsylvania whose tax bill will be cut in half thanks to the tax breaks on tips, overtime and the expanded child tax credit. He also praised the new Trump Accounts for children born between 2025 and 2028, seeded with $1,000 from the federal government and $250 from the founder of Dell Technologies, claiming he didn’t choose the name for the new investment accounts.
“I did not name that,” said Trump. “Nobody believes me, but I did not name it. It was named by a very tall man sitting right there in the third row. Nice man, a good man. Tax-free investment accounts for every American child. This is something that’s so special. It has taken off and gone through the roof. Millions will be prefunded courtesy of the U.S. Treasury, and private individuals like Michael and Susan Dell, who have donated $6,250,000,000 to fund the Trump accounts for 25 million American children. They’re great people.”
Trump also acknowledged Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital and founder of Invest America, who advocated for the inclusion of the Trump Accounts in the OBBBA last year. “With modest, additional contributions, these young people’s accounts could grow to over $100,000 or more by the time they turn 18,” said Trump. “Think of it. How much money is that for somebody that started with nothing? Over $100,000, could be much more than that. To make this investment in our children’s future, go to trumpaccounts.gov.”
Trump credited his tariffs for driving stock market gains. “One of the primary reasons for our country’s stunning economic turnaround — the biggest in history, where the Dow Jones broke 50,000, four years ahead of schedule, and the S&P hit 7,000, where it wasn’t supposed to do it for many years — were tariffs,” he said. “I use these tariffs. [We] took in hundreds of billions of dollars to make great deals for our country, both economically and on a national security basis.”
He criticized last week’s Supreme Court ruling as several of the justices looked on from the front row. “And then just four days ago an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court just came down,” he said. “Very unfortunate ruling. But the good news is that almost all countries and corporations want to keep the deal that they already made … knowing that the legal power that I as president have to make a new deal could be far worse for them. And therefore they will continue to work along the same successful path that we had negotiated before the Supreme Court’s unfortunate involvement.”
Trump proposed to create new retirement accounts similar to a 401(k), but with a government match of up to $1,000 per year.
“Since I took office, the typical 401(k) balance is up by at least $30,000,” said Trump. “That’s a lot of money. We have millions and millions of people, because the stock market has done so well, setting all those records — your 401(k)s are way up. Yet half of all of working Americans still do not have access to a retirement plan with matching contributions from an employer. To remedy this gross disparity, I’m announcing that next year, my administration will give these often forgotten American workers — great people, the people that built our country — access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker. We will match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year, as we ensure that all Americans can profit from a rising stock market.”
Throughout his speech, Trump heavily criticized Democrats, but many of them skipped the State of the Union address or attended an alternative event dubbed the “People’s State of the Union.” In the official Democratic response, newly elected Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger contradicted Trump’s assertions during a speech from the historic Virginia House of Burgesses chambers in Colonial Williamsburg.
“Since this President took office last year, his reckless trade policies have forced American families to pay more than $1,700 each in tariff costs,” she said, according to a transcript. “Small businesses have suffered. Farmers have suffered — some losing entire markets. Everyday Americans are paying the price. And even though the Supreme Court struck these tariffs down four days ago, the damage to us, the American people, has already been done. Meanwhile, the President is planning for new tariffs. Another massive tax hike on you and your family. Republicans in Congress? They remain unwilling to assert their constitutional authority to stop him.”
