Good morning! Welcome. This is Wednesday, Feb. 25, 2026, the morning after the night before. Kinda. Quite a night last night, but I'll get to that. First, though, what has become a tradition for this column, Today In History:
1804: Thomas Jefferson was nominated for president at the Democratic-Republican caucus.
1836: Samuel Colt patents the first practical revolving-cylinder, multi-shot revolver, allowing it to fire multiple shots without reloading.
1870: Hiram R. Revels is sworn in as the first African American member of Congress as senator from Mississippi. Don't tell anyone that he was a Republican.
1908: First tunnel under the Hudson River (railway tunnel) opens.
1950: Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca premieres on NBC. Writers include Mel Brooks, Neil Simon, and Woody Allen.
1957: Buddy Holly and the Crickets record their smash hit "That'll Be the Day" in Clovis, N.M.
1963: The Beatles release their first U.S. single, "Please Please Me."
1972: Paul McCartney releases the single "Give Ireland Back to the Irish.” Later spoofed on National Lampoon's Radio Dinner.
Birthdays Today include: Enrico Caruso, John Foster Dulles, Zeppo Marx, Jim Backus, Larry Gelbart, Sally Jessy Raphael, Bob Schieffer, The Beatles' George Harrison, and Emmitt Rhodes.
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This will be an odd opening paragraph. If you have ever been to the Shady Maple Smorgasbord in Lancaster County, Pa., which is the largest smorgasbord in Pennsylvania, and likely in the entire Northeast, you will understand the predicament I find myself in this morning. I've been there and can tell you that on entering the place, you go, "Wow!" and then you tend to dive in knowing you'll not have room enough to fit it all in.
So it is with trying to create a column talking about the State of the Union speech last night. It was a feast the scope of which I've never yet seen in my nearly 70 years on this planet. So, knowing I'll not say all that needs said in this one column, or even three, I'll dive in.
Everyone, and I mean everyone, acted exactly as I expected last night. I fully expected President Donald Trump to belt it out of the park, and he did just that for a full hour and forty-seven minutes, treating the Democrats — the ones who bothered to show up — like the errant children they’ve been for a long time. Also, as expected, the Democrats did what they've been doing all along, projecting hate and little else.
But Trump did a great job, even better than I figured. As our Tim O'Brien said last night, as this was going on, "This speech is long, and it has its moments, but there is no fat in it. He's not wasting a second."
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was noteworthy for having gotten himself tossed out, again, as I expected. I mean, he was gone even before Trump started. The man is bound and determined to be nothing but a total embarrassment to the people he supposedly represents. He succeeded in that goal last night, though there seems to be little else on his list of accomplishments. The only thing Democrats can offer is hate, though admittedly, Green is successful at being more demonstrative than most in the offering. His Trump Derangement Syndrome is measured on the Richter scale. But truly, what else has he to offer?
The reason the Democrats who didn’t show up decided on the stunt broadcast is that they knew they were going to be dragged out behind the woodpile. And so they were. I’m not going to give you the whole speech, though I’ll link to it. But here’s a taste.
When I last spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis, with a stagnant economy, inflation at record levels, a wide-open border, horrendous recruitment for military and police, rampant crime at home, and wars and chaos all over the world. But tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before, and a turnaround for the ages. It is indeed a turnaround for the ages. And we will never go back to where we were just a very short time ago. We’re not going back.
(Applause)
Except, of course, the Democrats.
Thank you. Today, our border is secure. Our spirit is restored. Inflation is plummeting. Incomes are rising fast. The roaring economy is roaring like never before. Our enemies are scared. Our military and police are stacked. And America is respected again, perhaps like never before. After four years in which millions and millions of illegal aliens poured across our borders, totally unvetted and unchecked, we now have the strongest and most secure border in American history, by far. In the past nine months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States. But we will always allow people to come in legally—people that will love our country and will work hard to maintain our country. The flow of deadly fentanyl across our border is down by a record 56% in one year. And last year, the murder rate saw its single largest decline in recorded history.
The Democrats, of course, sat on their hands for that as well. Do they really want people to believe that, for example, they WANT fentanyl here? They can't be that stupid, can they, really? I guess I need to stop underestimating their capacity for stupidity.
The Biden Administration and its allies in Congress, gave us the worst inflation in the history of our country. But in 12 months, my Administration has driven core inflation down to the lowest level in more than five years. And in the last three months of 2025, it was down to 1.7%. Gasoline, which reached a peak of over $6 a gallon in some states under my predecessor—it was quite honestly, a disaster—is now below $2.30 a gallon in most states, and in some places $1.99 a gallon. And when I visited the great state of Iowa just a few weeks ago, I even saw $1.85 a gallon for gasoline.
From the Democrats, again, silence.
Mortgage rates are the lowest in four years and falling fast. And the annual cost of a typical new mortgage is down almost $5,000 just since I took office. One year. And low interest rates will solve the Biden-created housing problem, while at the same time, protecting the values of those people who already own a house that really feel rich for the first time in their lives. We want to protect those values. We want to keep those values up. We’re going to do both, and we are going to keep it that way. The stock market has set 53 all-time record highs since the election—think of that, one year—boosting pensions, 401(k)s, and retirement accounts for the millions and millions of Americans, they’re all gaining. Everybody’s up—way up. In four long years, the last Administration got less than $1 trillion in new investment in the United States. And when I say less, substantially less. In 12 months, I secured commitments for more than $18 trillion pouring in from all over the globe. Think of it: much less than $1 trillion for four years versus much more than $18 trillion for one year. What a difference a President makes.
Indeed so. The whole night is fodder for midterm election ads. I said last night:
Trump asks people to stand if they agree that the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens and not illegal aliens. Guess what? No Democrats stand.
I'm beginning to recognize that tonight will be on our TV's between now and the midterms, one shot after another of Democrats sitting on their hands, acting up being anti-American
Our own Athena Thorne:
Trump is executing an incredible new power play that he created, calling on Members of Congress to stand for things that should never be an issue, then calling out the Dems for refusing to stand. The worst optics for Dems ever.
A few comments from folks elsewhere that I was keeping an eye on:
The immortal visual of the entire Democrat party—upon explicit repeated invitation—refusing to stand for the core moral principle that US government owes its allegiance to US citizens and not foreign criminal invaders, is the most shocking image in the history of the US Congress.
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) February 25, 2026
I cannot believe Dems fell hook, line, and sinker for Trump's message. Refusing to stand for the statement that we should support citizens over illegal aliens was a giant gift to GOP candidates in the midterms.
— Mark Hemingway (@Heminator) February 25, 2026
Omar and Tlaib angrily yelling back is just the icing on the cake.
And this had to be the photo of the night:
— Drip (@McGeisterman) February 25, 2026
There she is. Her Repugnance. She knows the game is over, and it's showing on her face here. Trump's long list of accomplishments and his plans are one thing and certainly enough to cause her concern. But by now, she's also been informed of the SHARIA-FREE AMERICA caucus, as Mark Tapscott mentioned this morning. Launched by two Texas Republicans, Rep. Keith Self and Rep. Chip Roy, in December, the Sharia-Free America Caucus already has 40 members. And obviously, she isn't one of them.
The line of the night came from our own Charlie Martin: "Purple Heart presentation. Richard Blumenthal looks like he's trying to defecate a porcupine."
And talk about bad form: Democrats bringing illegals to the SOTU speech?
I'm sure there will be more to say on all of this, (And I'm also sure that my stablemates here at PJM will be quite complete in their collective comments as well) but I keep hearing in my head, someone on the local radio station yesterday afternoon unintentionally telling us why last night was a huge win for the GOP and for Trump, even before the event happened.
I don't have the transcript, but the message ran along these lines: There's a reason why our military's seeing enlistment numbers many times higher than they were under JoBiden. It's the same reason Trump's supporters are so very loyal. All you hear from the Democrats, and I mean their total message, is rooted in the idea that America is evil, we need to eliminate masculinity, or surgically remove it, we are racist, sexist, xenophobic, homophobic, colonialists who don't deserve to exist, much less have a country. Indeed, as Vodkapundit himself said:
I don't know what the Spanberger-Closet-Commie official Dem response will be later (and it isn't like anyone will watch it), but the live-in-action-closet-commie unofficial Dem response is: "We hate good things, and we're in your face about it."
Stephen Kruiser adds: "This speech is just one bad look after another for the Democrats that should end up in GOP campaign ads."
Jennifer Rust: "And the Dems cannot agree with a statement about protecting American citizens. Shameful. Pitiful."
The Democrats are their own worst enemy. Is it any wonder that Americans don't find the Dems' hate attractive? The Democrat Party's hatred for America will be the takeaway for millions of Americans. The Democrats have thus sealed their mid-term fate, I think. They may not admit it to themselves, but they've already lost.
Take care of yourselves. I hope to see you tomorrow.
Thought for the day: “Truth hurts. Maybe not as much as jumping on a bicycle with a seat missing, but it hurts.” —Lt. Frank Drebin (Leslie Nielsen), Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear
I have to take a moment to tell you that I'm quite proud to be part of PJ Media. The coverage of last night brought that into focus for me. This is a group of writers that you simply won't find elsewhere, and I saw that quite clearly last night, during the live blog.
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