Trump live updates: President fails to mention Epstein files once during longest State of the Union address in history

During his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, Trump quipped that he should be in the midst of his third term.

“First year of the second term… it should be my third term,” the 79-year-old Republican president told the lawmakers, Cabinet officials and Supreme Court justices gathered in the House chamber.

“But, strange things happen,” he added, eliciting some applause from the audience.

It’s just the latest incidence of Trump insinuating, without evidence, that the 2020 election – which he lost to former President Joe Biden – was “stolen” from him.

Since returning to office last year, the president has also repeatedly toyed with the idea of running for a third term, despite the 22nd Amendment of the Constitution barring presidents from serving more than two terms.

The president played the showman at his State of the Union but gave average Americans little reason to back the GOP brand as some Republicans believe his foreign-heavy focus still leaves “America First” behind, writes John Bowden.

The term designated survivor refers to a person in the presidential line of succession who is chosen to stay away from the State of the Union address or other similar gatherings typically attended by all Cabinet officials.

Unsurprisingly, the president’s prime-time speech on Capitol Hill drew fierce backlash from Democrats, many of whom wore protest pins, shouted him down and accused him of spreading lies and sidestepping the Epstein files. Republicans cheered him on and echoed his laundry list of accomplishments.

A snap survey, conducted by CNN, found that 64 percent of viewers thought Trump’s policies would move the United States forward.

Pre-speech, just 54 percent of respondents said they believed Trump’s policies were moving in the right direction.

But after an hour and 48 minutes, that number rose 10 percentage points.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat who clashed with Trump over his deployment of federal agents in his state, called Trump’s State of the Union address “two hours of baseless claims, shameless propaganda, and the ramblings of a wannabe dictator

“After spending the last year wreaking havoc on American communities, Donald Trump once again spewed lies and attempted to gaslight the American people,” Pritzker said in a statement.

The Democratic governor criticized Trump for boasting about his “illegal” tariffs while providing “no concrete plans” to lower everyday costs for Americans.

“He did, however, find time to promise more tax breaks for the wealthy – another embarrassing display of how deeply out of touch this administration is with the needs of working families,” Pritzker said.

California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla, who was handcuffed last year after approaching Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem with questions, delivered a rebuttal of Trump’s State of the Union speech in Spanish, urging people to register to vote.

“If you are eligible, register to vote. Make sure your family, your friends, your neighbors, and your coworkers do the same,” Padilla said in Spanish.

Padilla said Trump had caused damage to communities, like those in Los Angeles, with his sweeping anti-immigration agenda, but that voting could help prevent him from going further.

The senator referenced Puerto Rican musician Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime performance to emphasize the message.

“As Bad Bunny reminded us a few weeks ago: ‘Together, we are America.’”