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Floor Speech

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Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, last night was not America's State of the Union. It was Donald Trump's state of delusion. For 2 long hours the President stood in the House Chamber congratulating himself, inflating his own ego, but offering no solutions to our country's many problems.

He is in a bubble. He doesn't even have a clue about what the average American family is going through. Donald Trump patted himself on the back so many times I thought he would fall down. While Donald Trump kept claiming that ``America is back'' and that we are winning so much we don't know what to do about it, that is only half true. We are not winning so much, but he sure has no idea what to do about the problems in America, and he admitted it right there himself.

People back home were asking something different than what the speech addressed. They are asking: What about my electricity bill? How am I going to pay for my groceries? How am I going to afford a doctor? Donald Trump ignored all these things during his speech last night. Frankly, I have never heard a State of the Union speech--and I have heard quite a few--where the President's rhetoric and the country's reality were so far apart. Instead, Donald Trump spent most of his speech focused on the accomplishments, not of his administration, but on the accomplishments of other Americans whose accomplishments he has nothing to do with.

We are all proud of the men and women hockey teams that just won gold in the Olympics. We are all proud of and grateful for our veterans. They deserve honor. But Donald Trump didn't have anything to do with these accomplishments. He had so little to say about what he accomplished that he had to just go on and on about accomplishments of others, and folks back home want to hear about what the President is doing to help with their problems. They don't want to hear a fantasy that everything is going great.

But it got worse. Trump didn't simply ignore the affordability crisis. He mocked it yet again. The average American sitting at their table trying to figure out how they are going to pay that damn bill was furious that he said it doesn't matter. It is truly stunning to watch a billionaire like Donald Trump make fun of people's financial struggles during a State of the Union speech. The guy doesn't have a clue. He is in a bubble so thick, he can't hear what people are going through.

And of course, he lied about the economy. This man is an inveterate liar. Everyone knows that. He said last night that manufacturing jobs have gone way up. That is a lie. Manufacturing is down by 100,000 jobs since he took office. He bragged last night about job creation. Well, job creation is at its lowest point in over 20 years outside of a recession--its lowest point in 20 years, and he brags about it.

Donald Trump claimed that the fight against inflation is over. That is a lot of BS. Just go to the grocery store, and you will see. Donald Trump's speech was filled with fluff and hype. When was the last time Trump bought a cup of coffee? When is the last time Trump walked into a grocery store? His speech shows that he never has.

It was also rich last night to hear Donald Trump announce that he will put JD Vance in charge of investigating corruption. Now, I think putting JD Vance in charge of corruption is actually something that might work out because he is right in the midst of it; he is all around it. And I have some suggestions for where he can begin.

If Vice President Vance wants to investigate corruption, he should look into the billionaires who are donating to Donald Trump's fancy ballroom. He should look into how so many within the administration are making a killing--a personal killing--off crypto deals. He should investigate why Donald Trump pardoned the ex-President of Honduras, who was convicted of drug trafficking. If he wants to look into corruption, let him investigate the luxury jet Donald Trump received as a gift from the Middle East. He has got a lot to do right around him if he wants to investigate corruption because this is the most corrupt administration I think ever--certainly in decades and in maybe over a century. If JD Vance wants to get to the bottom of corruption in government, the good news is that all he has to do is walk down the hall into the Oval Office.

So, in sum, last night, Donald Trump did what he does better than anyone else--one of the few things he does better than anyone else: He boosted his own ego and patted himself on the back. He didn't address the needs of Americans and just broke promise after promise after promise.

If anyone watching last night was hoping to hear about how Donald Trump is going to lower their costs and their economic pain, his speech was an anemic dud. So I suggest Americans who care about the high cost of living, about affordability, which Trump knocks, get a copy of Governor Spanberger's speech. She focused on it like a bull's eye. Her speech was so much more in tune with where the American people are than Donald Trump's. The contrast is glaring.

I also want to salute Senator Padilla. He gave an outstanding speech as well.

Compare Trump's speech to their speeches, and you will know why Trump is in such trouble with the American people; you will know why the Republican Party is panicking about what might happen in November of 2026.

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