There is one thing that almost no one denies about Trump: the man can give a speech like no one else.
He put this skill to good use on Feb. 24, when he delivered a record-breaking State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress and tens of millions of Americans. That day, Trump gave the longest address in history, lasting nearly two hours. Unsurprisingly, it’s also the address that features the most standing ovations from the audience in history, coming in at 166 ovations total, and 14 ovations within the first nine minutes, with nearly every ovation coming from his side of the aisle.
Trump isn’t ignorant to the symbolic power that these ovations have. That’s why, nearly an hour into the speech, after shifting to the subject of immigration, Trump delivered this booming line: “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
Ouch. The Republican side of the room stood and clapped at full force, the Democrats side stayed seated, and if you listen closely, you can almost hear their winces of pain. If the Democrats stood and clapped for that statement, it wouldn’t have simply been agreeing to what Trump said, it would have been agreeing with Trump on his policy of immigration. That isn’t something that Democrats can afford to do.
But, staying seated certainly isn’t any better of a look either. What kind of elected representative in Congress wants to say they proudly serve the interests of illegal aliens first? The moment quickly became the most dramatic part of the night.
The President later told the story of a young woman named Sage, a guest invited by Trump, who received attention for a lawsuit involving how teachers handled her gender identity. Again, the Republicans gave a roaring applause; the Democrats stayed stoically seated.
Trump barely hesitated: “Nobody stands up. These people are crazy, I’m telling you. They’re crazy.” Again, ouch.
Trump’s approval has been steadily trending downwards since as early as his second month in office, but his approval took a big hit at the start of 2026, dropping around four percent in two months after controversial shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement early in the year, according to opinion polls by Reuters.
Democrats have been trying to play this correctly to earn decisive midterm wins, as Juliana Stratton, the winner of the Democratic Senate primary in Illinois on Mar. 17, ran on being extensively anti-ICE, defeating her more moderate opponents. But Trump’s speech made something clear: he isn’t going down without a fight, and his fight isn’t quite lost yet.
Something that Democrats can’t hide from is Trump’s ability to turn something as ceremonial as the State of the Union into an all-out political theatre, while Democrats can do little more than sit and wait for the clips to go viral.
Whether or not viral quips will be enough to maintain a Congressional majority for Republicans remains to be seen. But, while Trump’s approval rating continues to falter on nearly every issue, perhaps the only tool he has left to save himself, and his base is political theatre.
After this year’s State of the Union address, it’s safe to say that he will have a monopoly on that for a long time.
