State of the Union Address

Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Well, Mr. President, we are in for a long, tedious, and exhausting night as Donald Trump is set to deliver his fourth State of the Union.

Donald Trump said yesterday he is going to talk for a very long time tonight.

God help us.

I am not sure what he thinks there is to celebrate, because America, in short, is a mess thanks to him. American Presidents often talk about how they inherited a mess and turned things around, but in Donald Trump's case, he created a mess and then set the building on fire. High costs are still kicking Americans in the gut. Donald Trump's tariffs have unleashed chaos and confusion. ICE agents are patrolling our neighborhoods in masks like cartel thugs.

Isn't that right, Senator Lee?

Corruption is up; trust in America is down; and we still have no idea what is in the Epstein files.

If I were a Republican sitting in the House Chamber tonight, I would be squirming in my seat, praying to Heaven that the President wraps up things quickly because the American people are sick of his drivel, and the stench of his unpopularity is spreading across the Republican Party like a toxin.

Look, we know how tonight is going to work. Donald Trump will claim that everything in America is going great, but he is in a huge bubble. America is deeply unhappy with his leadership, and he will blame everyone else for all our country's troubles. He will blame Biden. He will blame the Supreme Court. He will point the finger at everyone but himself.

Tonight, the American people will see a President whose ego does not let him see reality. And what is that reality? I will give you three words: costs, chaos, corruption. That is the reality of Trump 2.0: costs, chaos, corruption. Democrats, of course, offer something different. This year, we are going to give the American people a choice--a choice to lower costs, to end the endless cycle of chaos, and to restore some sanity to our country.

And, as we speak, I am continuing to work with my colleagues to demand Donald Trump and Republicans listen to the American people and stop ICE from terrorizing our communities. The Democrats' position on Donald Trump's brutal ICE tactics haven't changed. Republicans need to work with Democrats to rein in ICE and end the violence. I am disappointed we have not gotten their counter yet, and it is time for them to stop playing games.

Finally, while none of us are excited about tonight's Trumpian endurance test, there are at least two things I look forward to tonight: First, I will be pleased to welcome five great New Yorkers as my guests for tonight's Address--each of them here to put a real face on the consequences of the administration's chaos.

First, we will have Dani Bensky, a survivor of Jeffrey Epstein and now a leading voice demanding transparency, accountability, and justice for survivors who have been failed for far too long.

Second, I will be pleased to welcome Raiza Contreras, a mother whose son Dylan entered the U.S. legally but who was still detained by ICE. Dylan did everything right--followed the rules, showed up to his hearing--and was still arrested by ICE in the middle of a courthouse lobby, if you can believe that; and Raiza is here tonight, fighting to bring her child home. It is amazing that Americans have to come and do this.

Third, we have Gearoid Keogh, a union construction worker on the Gateway Tunnel project who lost his job thanks to President Trump's cruel decision to cut off funding to this project.

Fourth, Aleshandra Fernandes joins us, a Long Island ironworker whose offshore wind job has been thrown into limbo again and again because of Trump's irrational, stupid hatred of offshore wind.

Finally, we have Ben Pearson, a Rochester small business owner who was forced to lay off more than a quarter of his workforce--a quarter of his workforce--hard-working people; he liked to pay them; they did good work--because of Donald Trump's tariffs.

To each of my guests tonight, you make New York proud, and thank you--thank you--for being here. Your presence is the reminder America needs of the real-life harm that Trump's agenda has done to our country.

Finally, there is one more thing I am looking forward to tonight-- listening to my good friend Senator Padilla, who will offer Democrats a Spanish language response. His story of what he went through in the past year, after being assaulted by Federal agents, and his larger story of how his family built something of themselves in this country is inspiring and admirable. I thank Senator Padilla.

I thank Governor Spanberger as well, and I thank all Democrats who will spend time tonight correcting the lies that will waft out of the House Chamber from Donald Trump's mouth tonight. On Ukraine, 4 years ago the tanks, missiles, and infantry rolled in from Russian territory onto Ukrainian soil. Today my colleagues and I pause to honor the memory of the courageous dead in Ukraine. We reaffirm that the Senate and the American people stand with the Ukrainian people, even if our President's courage and resolve might waiver.

Today, I am disgusted that the United States made a mockery of itself for the whole world to see by voting to abstain from a resolution in the United States on a peaceful and just end to this war. Can you believe it? Putin brutally invades Ukraine, the whole world sees it and knows it, and Donald Trump, out of obeisance, sucking up to Putin, abstains from a resolution simply on a peaceful and just end to this war. What, does Donald Trump want the war to continue and more people to die? I guess so.

On this anniversary of the Ukrainian war, it is shameful that this administration has chosen to mark it by turning its back on the Ukrainian people at the UN. Let's be clear: Any peace that Donald Trump gives into, any peace made on Putin's terms, will be no peace at all. It would rather be a reward for Putin for his belligerence, a reward that autocrats around the world--including here at home--will take note of.

When I was majority leader, I led this Chamber to pass historic defense packages to help Ukraine defend themselves, and 4 years later, despite all the loss and bloodshed the people of Ukraine have endured, they have held the line, but the conflict, sadly, is far from an end.

American support remains indispensable and perhaps the most important factor to determine the outcome of this awful conflict.

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