By Trevor Hunnicutt
WASHINGTON, Feb 24 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump will use his State of the Union address on Tuesday to sell his turbulent, norm-breaking second term to American voters who will decide in November whether his Republican Party retains control of Congress.
Here is a list of the major policies and actions Trump has taken during his 13 months in office.
THE ECONOMY
Trump will defend his handling of the economy at a time when most Americans disapprove of his approach and just days after the Supreme Court swatted down his use of emergency powers to levy tariffs on allies and other countries.
Tariffs have been at the center of Trump’s second term. He has used them to punish countries that oppose his policies and address perceived trade imbalances with countries like China. Now, his team is scrambling to find new legal pathways to keep those tariffs on. In the meantime, he’s put a 15% temporary tariff on U.S. imports from all countries.
Trump is likely to tout his major legislative accomplishment: the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which cut some individual income taxes. Less clear is how much credit he will give former close ally Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency for shrinking the size of the federal government workforce.
Republican strategists will look for signs that Trump might shift the combative tone of his recent economic speeches, where he has offered little assurance to Americans squeezed by high living costs and blamed inflation on his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden.
Voter frustration with inflation helped propel Trump into office, but Americans remain unhappy with high prices and increasingly disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy. In recent months Trump has repeatedly declared victory in the fight against inflation, even as government data shows price pressures remain elevated.
While the economy has continued to grow under Trump, the job market has slowed and unemployment has edged up. Trump has launched an unprecedented pressure campaign on the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates.
WAR AND PEACE
As Trump takes the dais for his address, the U.S. appears on the verge of open conflict with Iran over its nuclear program.
Trump has built up the U.S. military presence in the Middle East and warned that
Factbox-A Year of Upheaval Sets the Stage for Trump’s State of the Union Address
