President Donald Trump has begun his first State of the Union address of his second term to a joint session of Congress, focusing on the economy, tariffs and foreign policy.
In his remarks, Trump has highlighted what he described as his administration's economic actions and trade strategy, declaring: "Our nation is back — bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before."
He said: "Today our borders are secure, and we will deliver better and better and better results. This is the golden age of America."
Economy, immigration
The US president has pointed to his closure of the US border, the state of the US economy and a drop in crime at the top of his address.
"Today, our border is secure, our spirit is restored. Inflation is plummeting, incomes are rising fast. The roaring economy is roaring like never before, and our enemies are scared. Our military and police are stacked, and America is respected again,” Trump said.
He said he had inherited "a real crisis with a stagnant economy, record inflation and wide-open borders" and added: "We will not return to the situation we were in. Our borders today are secure."
Trump claimed that no undocumented migrant had been allowed into the United States over the past nine months and said the flow of the drug fentanyl across the border has fallen by a record 56 percent in one year.
Trump also spoke about foreign policy, saying: "I inherited wars and chaos around the world," adding: "After one year in office, I can proudly say we have achieved a historic transformation."
He said he had secured commitments worth more than 18 trillion dollars over the past year from investors around the world and claimed that more Americans currently have jobs than at any other point in the country's history.
Trump also called on lawmakers to pass the SAVE Act, legislation that would create new identification requirements for voters.
Rights groups say the proposed documentation requirements could be prohibitive for some communities.
Trump claimed that "cheating is rampant in our elections. It's rampant."
The statement contradicts established findings, including research from the Heritage Foundation, which has documented only a negligible number of fraud cases across decades of US elections.
Voting advocates have raised concerns about the potential impact of the proposal ahead of the midterm elections.
Trump again criticised Somali Americans in Minnesota, framing the remarks as part of what he described as a crackdown on fraud.
He referred to "the Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota," saying that "importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders brings those problems right here to the USA, and it is the American people who pay the price and higher medical bills, car insurance rates, rent, taxes and, perhaps most importantly, crime."
Critics have previously described similar remarks as racist.
The administration has repeatedly tied legal immigration to fraud and pressure on social welfare systems, citing this as justification for suspending immigrant visa processing for 75 countries.
Trade and tariffs
Trump said the US "just received from our new friend and partner, Venezuela, more than 80 million barrels of oil," framing access to energy resources as part of his economic achievements.
On trade, Trump called a recent US Supreme Court decision striking down large swathes of his tariffs "unfortunate", but said he will rely on alternative statutes to keep tariffs in place without consulting Congress.
"Just four days ago, an unfortunate ruling from the United States Supreme Court, it just came down. Very unfortunate ruling," Trump said, noting his tariffs will remain under "fully-approved and tested alternative legal statutes".
"Congressional action will not be necessary," he added, as he depicted tariffs as a long-term effort to correct decades of imbalanced trade relations whilst critics say higher consumer prices have been the result.
Addressing artificial intelligence infrastructure, Trump said major technology companies constructing large data centres would be required to provide their own power.
"We're telling the major tech companies that they have the obligation to provide for their own power needs," he said, describing the move as a "pledge".
A November Morning Consult poll found growing backlash against the surge in data centre construction, with 41 percent of respondents saying they would support banning AI data centres in their area, while 36 percent opposed such a move.
This is a developing story…
