President Trump gives his 2026 State of the Union address

President Donald Trump delivered the first State of the Union address of his second term on February 24, 2026, speaking before a joint session of the U.S. Congress. The address gave President Trump the chance to shape the GOP’s message to voters going into the upcoming midterm election.

Wes Gullett, partner at Nexus Strategy Group, and Stacy Pearson, co-founder of Lumen Strategies, joined “Arizona Horizon” to discuss the address.

“He stayed precisely on message,” Gullett said, “…he sent a message to the right, and it was a message to his base. It didn’t broaden that base, but it was to them.”

Gullett discussed that he believes President Trump’s message wasn’t a policy address, but a political address to Congress.

“The Republicans in close races are panicked after watching last night,” Pearson said, “…there is no bigger tent that the President tried to build yesterday…he didn’t do anything to persuade anyone outside of his base to vote for him.”

Gullett explained that he observed data that showed consumer confidence is at one of the lowest points it has ever been.

“With Republicans it’s up,” Gullett discussed, “…with Democrats it’s way down, and independents are tracking down too, and that’s driving it to this low rate of consumer confidence…what we’re seeing is this dichotomy between two worlds.”

Pearson emphasized that Democrats have been very clear that they want to see their party fight back, but Pearson doesn’t find that to be an effective solution.

“I think getting voters registered…states like Arizona, where we’ve got a huge deficit, that’s more helpful,” Pearson said.

Gullett highlighted that Americans need to come together and work together collectively instead of staying divided.

“We’re gonna have an election,” Gullett said, “…but at the end of those elections, we need to come together as Americans. Right now, we’re splitting apart, and that’s not good.”