As President Trump prepares for his State of the Union address on Tuesday, he will present his case for a turbulent and unconventional second term to American voters, who will decide in November whether his Republican party maintains control of Congress. The following outlines key policies and actions from Trump's first 13 months in office.
In the economic sphere, Trump is expected to defend his economic management, despite a lack of broad public approval and a recent Supreme Court rejection of his use of emergency powers to impose tariffs on allies and other nations. Tariffs have been central to Trump's second-term agenda, used to penalize countries opposing his policies and address perceived trade imbalances, notably with China. His administration is currently exploring new legal avenues to sustain these tariffs, having already imposed a 15% provisional tariff on all U.S. imports.
Trump is likely to highlight his signature legislative achievement, the "Great Beautiful Act," which reduced certain individual income taxes. It remains unclear how much credit he will attribute to the Government Efficiency Department (DOGE), led by former close ally Elon Musk, which has downsized the federal workforce. Republican strategists will watch to see if Trump moderates the combative tone of recent economic speeches, where he offered little reassurance to Americans struggling with high living costs, instead blaming inflation on his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.
Voter frustration over inflation initially helped propel Trump into office, but persistent high prices have eroded support for his economic approach. In recent months, Trump has repeatedly declared victory over inflation, even as government data shows price pressures remain elevated. While economic growth has continued under Trump, the labor market has slowed and unemployment has risen. He has also launched an unprecedented pressure campaign on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.
On matters of war and peace, Trump's address comes as the U.S. appears on the brink of open conflict with Iran over its nuclear program. Trump has increased the U.S. military presence in the Middle East, warning that "something very bad could happen" if a dispute-resolution agreement is not reached. Wary of prolonged Middle Eastern conflicts, Trump has historically favored short-term engagements. His unconventional use of military force has included bombing Iranian nuclear facilities in June, targeting alleged Caribbean drug smuggling vessels in international waters, arresting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro last month, and threatening to seize Greenland—raising serious questions about the future of the NATO alliance.
Trump portrays himself as a "peace president," citing efforts to broker a fragile ceasefire in the Gaza war and his "Peace Commission" focused on rebuilding devastated Palestinian communities. He has repeatedly claimed to have resolved eight wars in pursuit of a Nobel Peace Prize, though these assertions are widely viewed as exaggerated and inconsistent with realities in some conflict zones. A peace agreement to end the Russia-Ukraine conflict remains elusive, despite months of alternating pressure on Kyiv and threats—rarely acted upon—against the Russian government.
Regarding immigration, with public support for strict enforcement waning, Trump may use the speech to reaffirm his hardline stance. Few issues are more closely associated with Trump than immigration, yet it has become a liability—federal immigration agents have clashed violently with U.S. protesters and activists, resulting in the deaths of two American citizens in Minneapolis. Trump campaigned on launching the largest deportation effort in decades, ordering widespread immigration raids immediately upon returning to office in January 2025. Some deportees have been sent to third countries rather than their nations of origin. His policies have largely succeeded in reducing the flow of migrants across the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Trump administration has pursued its goals unilaterally, dominating executive agencies, withdrawing from international forums, and disregarding established norms. It has targeted civil society groups, activists, local officials, judges, and journalists seen as obstacles. Most of Trump's policy achievements have been realized through executive orders, a method of governance past presidents avoided to circumvent Congress. Trump has also issued hundreds of pardons, including for all individuals charged in connection with the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. This year alone, he has used executive orders and similar memoranda to set tariffs, promote glyphosate herbicide, increase coal production, hinder private equity firms from purchasing single-family homes, and control Venezuela's oil revenues. In total, Trump has signed 240 executive orders, the most by any president in their first 13 months since Franklin D. Roosevelt during World War II.
On climate policy, the administration has moved to repeal Biden-era climate regulations and tax incentives for clean energy and electric vehicles. It is dismantling the legal foundations of these policies, making it harder for any future administration to implement new rules without congressional support. Last year, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Agreement and the foundational UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, placing the country alongside Iran, Libya, and Yemen as outliers. The administration has also actively obstructed wind and solar projects, including those near completion, through stop-work orders and delayed approvals. Concurrently, it has relaxed clean air and water regulations or exempted coal plants and oil and gas infrastructure from compliance.
In healthcare, 16 major global pharmaceutical companies have entered "most favored nation" agreements with the Trump administration, agreeing to lower drug prices for Americans in exchange for exemptions from U.S. tariffs. Under these deals, they will reduce prices for Medicaid and offer discounts to cash-paying consumers via the government-run TrumpRx website. However, millions of Americans face higher healthcare costs in 2026 after Congress failed to agree on how to restore generous COVID-era tax credits. Trump did not support congressional efforts to prevent the expiration of these credits.
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