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Trump projects his failings onto others in his State of the Union address

President Trump’s State of the Union address was a long temper tantrum filled with lies, insults and projection, attributing his own failings to others.

Trump falsely accused those he considers his enemies of mistakes, misconduct and malignant behavior. He complained incessantly about former President Joe Biden, congressional Democrats, unauthorized immigrants, the media and others, in the longest State of the Union on record, at one hour and 47 minutes. He showed once again that he is in love with the sound of his own voice and would rather attack Democrats than work with them to benefit the American people.

Trump used his speech to shower himself with praise for what he claimed were his great accomplishments. But most of his boasts were either gross exaggerations or flat-out lies.

News organizations compiling long lists of Trump’s false and misleading statements in his speech include Politifact, The New York Times and CNN. 

Trump claimed that “Democrats are destroying our country.” In fact, his tariffs are making America less affordable for everyone, and hurting farmers and businesses that import and export products. His cuts to government programs are depriving Americans of vital services and pushed dedicated civil servants out of their jobs.

Trump’s destructive crackdown on unauthorized immigration has caused businesses to lose needed worker. It is terrorizing communities and has resulted in the killing, beating and imprisoning of Americans and immigrants who never committed violent crimes. Immigrants who have lived in the U.S. for years and have children who are American citizens have been deported.

The president’s other destructive actions hurting Americans include his executive order declaring DEI programs illegal, even though they make America a more just and equitable nation. In addition, he has slashed federal funding for colleges and universities, destroying their ability to hold down tuition costs and avoid cuts in programs.

Trump falsely claimed that Democrats “want to cheat” in elections because “the only way they can get elected is to cheat.” He said election fraud is “rampant.” In fact, Trump called on Congress to change election laws to make it harder to vote and to help Republicans keep control of both chambers.

In addition, Trump worked to overturn his 2020 reelection defeat with baseless lawsuits and by unsuccessfully calling on Republican state officials to alter the results. In a phone call recorded without his knowledge, Trump asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) to “find 11,780 votes” that didn’t exist to give him a victory in the state. This shows that Trump is the one who wants to cheat in elections and projects his dishonesty onto Democrats.

Trump hypocritically said “we must totally reject political violence of any kind,” even though he summoned his supporters to come to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021 to overturn his reelection defeat and then told them to march on the Capitol, where they staged a deadly riot.

Trump also claimed that Democrats are soft on crime and said “dangerous repeat offenders continue to be released by pro-crime Democrat politicians again and again.” Yet it was Trump — not Democrats — who granted pardons and commuted the sentences of about 1,500 people either charged or already convicted of crimes in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

In addition, in his second term Trump has so far granted pardons to 87 people and one corporation convicted of financial crimes. Many of those pardoned were wealthy and collectively had been ordered to pay over $298 million in fines and restitution.

Trump used his speech to exaggerate his role in settling foreign conflicts, even as he has amassed a massive military force near Iran and is threatening to plunge America into a Middle East war without any authorization by Congress.

Yet in addition to ordering the capture of the president and first lady of Venezuela, Trump the self-described peacemaker has ordered bombings of small boats that have resulted in the deaths of at least 151 alleged drug smugglers near that nation. No evidence has been publicly released indicating the people killed were actually smuggling drugs.

Trump’s projection and lies have become so routine that they are as predictable as day turning into night, reducing their shock value and public outrage.

Yet as an American, I still find it embarrassing to have the 79-year-old leader of my country acting like a spoiled child having an uncontrollable temper tantrum, telling absurd lies he expects us to believe, denying responsibility for his misconduct, and blaming everyone but himself for things that go wrong.

As a Democrat, I never expect to agree with much in a State of the Union address by a Republican president. But I expect every president to be honest and not project his flaws onto others. Trump fails this test spectacularly.

A. Scott Bolden is an attorney, NewsNation contributor, former chair of the Washington, D.C. Democratic Party and a former New York state prosecutor. 

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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