Trump's 2026 State of the Union: Tariffs, 'Trump Accounts' and a Disputed Minnesota Fraud Claim

Donald Trump delivered his 2026 State of the Union address on the night of February 24, beginning at 9:12 p.m. [1]. At about an hour and 47 minutes, it was the longest State of the Union on record, beating his own 2025 address to Congress [10]. It came at an unusual moment. The Department of Homeland Security had been unfunded for 10 days, four days earlier the Supreme Court had struck down his signature tariffs, and four days later the United States and Israel would launch strikes on Iran. Trump used the speech to claim a turnaround on the economy and the border, to announce new savings programs, and to accuse “members of the Somali community” in Minnesota of a fraud figure that fact-checkers found no evidence for. Quotes are from the official transcript [1].

Key Moments

”The state of our Union is strong”

Trump described the country he inherited as “a nation in crisis, with a stagnant economy, inflation at record levels, a wide-open border,” and the country now as one where “our border is secure, our spirit is restored, inflation is plummeting, incomes are rising fast.” He said the stock market had “set 53 alltime record highs since the election” and that “the typical 401(k) balance is up by at least $30,000.” His verdict: “Members of Congress, the state of our Union is strong.” He also looked ahead to July 4 and “the 250th anniversary of our glorious American independence.”

Tariffs after “an unfortunate ruling”

On February 20, the Supreme Court had ruled 6–3 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act did not let him impose his sweeping tariffs [5]. Trump called it “an unfortunate ruling” and said most countries wanted to keep their trade deals anyway. He went further than before on what tariffs could do: “I believe the tariffs, paid for by foreign countries will, like in the past, substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax.”

Trump Accounts and a retirement match

He promoted the “Trump Accounts” created by his 2025 tax law, tax-free investment accounts for children, crediting Michael and Susan Dell with a $6.25 billion donation to fund accounts for 25 million children. He announced that “next year, my administration will give these often-forgotten American workers … access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every Federal worker,” with a government match of “up to $1,000 each year."

"Did Nancy Pelosi stand up?”

Calling for a ban on stock trading by members of Congress, Trump urged lawmakers to “pass the Stop Insider Trading Act without delay.” When much of the chamber rose, he asked: “Did Nancy Pelosi stand up, if she’s here?”

Minnesota and “the war on fraud”

Trump then turned to Minnesota, “where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer,” adding, “in actuality, the number is much higher than that.” He announced “the war on fraud to be led by our great Vice President, J.D. Vance,” and said that recovering enough fraud would produce “a balanced budget overnight.” He went on: “The Somali pirates who ransacked Minnesota remind us that there are large parts of the world where bribery, corruption, and lawlessness are the norm,” and blamed “importing these cultures through unrestricted immigration and open borders.”

Homeland security funding and “eight wars”

With DHS in its 11th day without funding, Trump demanded “the full and immediate restoration of all funding for the border security, homeland security of the United States.” He also listed the conflicts he said he had settled, including “Israel and Iran,” and said he was working to end “the ninth war,” between Russia and Ukraine.

Fact Check

“Members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion.” No evidence supports the figure. It appears to trace to a December 2025 news conference at which a federal prosecutor, Joseph Thompson, suggested that “half or more” of the $18 billion billed since 2018 by 14 Minnesota Medicaid programs flagged as high risk might be fraudulent, an estimate of about $9 billion that he did not attribute to Somali residents alone and that Gov. Tim Walz’s administration disputed [2][3]. The amounts in actual charging documents are far smaller: closer to $300 million in the Feeding Our Future child nutrition case and tens of millions in the Medicaid programs [3]. Most of the dozens of people prosecuted in those cases are Somali American, though the convicted ringleader of Feeding Our Future, Aimee Bock, is not; Minnesota has more than 80,000 Somali Americans, the vast majority of whom have no connection to the cases [3].
“Inflation at record levels” when he took office. False. Inflation was about 3% in January 2025, down from a peak of 9.1% in June 2022 [4].
“Inflation is plummeting.” Misleading. Annual inflation slowed to 2.4% in January 2026, but prices were still rising [4].
Tariffs “paid for by foreign countries.” Misleading. A New York Federal Reserve analysis found nearly 90% of the tariff burden fell on U.S. companies and consumers [4].
Ending “eight wars.” Inflated. Experts credited Trump with a substantial role in ending four of the seven conflicts he cited at the time; some items on his list were not wars [4].

What Happened Next

Minnesota: The next day, Vance and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz announced that the administration was withholding $259.5 million in federal Medicaid funding from Minnesota until the state adopted a corrective plan [6].
Tariffs: Trump moved to replace the struck-down tariffs with a global tariff under a different law, which he said he would raise to 15% [7].
Iran: Four days after a speech that counted “Israel and Iran” among the wars he had settled, U.S. and Israeli forces launched strikes on Iran on February 28, beginning a war that Congress never authorized [8]. See our explainer on war powers and the Iran war.
Homeland security: The DHS funding lapse he demanded Congress end lasted 76 days, until April 30 [9].