President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)
I always believed the State of the Union (SOTU) address should be about policy, and I’d bet the majority of the American people agree. It should be about what we’ve done in the past and the hopes and goals for the future. I could cite example after example of issues that should be talked about. Agriculture for example, which wasn’t mentioned once by President Trump, would’ve been worthy of conversation.
Instead, the SOTU has turned into an awards ceremony. Don’t get me wrong, I agree with most of the awards, but there’s a time and place for them. And by doing it during the SOTU, he’s using people as props.
It hasn’t just been Donald Trump. Presidents from both sides of the aisle have been guilty of doing this. The only reason it stood out so much this week was because of how much he did it. And in some cases, how he lied about it.
It was an hour and 47 minutes, and I would guess many Americans gave up on it. The very people he was trying to speak to went to bed or switched the channel.
And if the goal was to truly honor those people, he took that away by taking too long and making it about himself. The best example I saw was Royce Williams. This great Korean War Veteran that couldn’t tell anyone what he did for 50 years, was honored last. We had the honor of visiting with Royce Williams and I think you’ll see what I mean.
The point I’m trying to make is that Royce could have received the Medal of Honor in the Oval Office. It would’ve been just as big of an honor! In fact, having the President place it on him could’ve meant more.
It was just too long.
Good riding with you,
Joel
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