Donald Trump breaks Bill Clinton’s record to deliver longest-ever SOTU address but China, Russia find little mention

US President Donald Trump stands and gestures toward Chief Warrant Officer Eric Slover, who was wounded in the Nicolas Maduro abduction raid in Venezuela, during the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 24, 2026. (AFP)

• Trump sets record with 1 hour 48 min State of the Union address
• He prioritized domestic issues, vowed to prevent Iran's nuclear arms.
• China and Russia were mentioned only briefly in the speech

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US President Donald Trump set a new record for the longest televised State of the Union address, speaking for one hour and 48 minutes and surpassing all modern predecessors.

In his first State of the Union of a second term, Trump declared that "the golden age of America is upon us," centering his remarks on domestic priorities, defending his administration's large-scale deportation drive and vowing that Iran "will never have a nuclear weapon."

The evening featured several made-for-television moments. The President presented medals to service members in attendance, welcomed the US men's hockey team following its Olympic victory, and facilitated an emotional reunion between a man freed from a Venezuelan prison and his niece.

The address unfolded amid visible partisan tension. Democratic lawmakers interrupted at points with jeers, and Representative Al Green of Texas was escorted out of the chamber.

Trump closed by revisiting themes from his inaugural speech, including frontier expansion, space exploration and what he described as a new American "Golden Age."

Before this address, the longest modern State of the Union had been delivered by Bill Clinton in 2000, lasting nearly 90 minutes, according to The American Presidency Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara. In 2025, Trump had spoken for just under one hour and 40 minutes.

But one of the most crucial aspect of this year's State of Union Address was a somewhat omission of China. At a time when two of world's most powerful economies are at loggerheads over trade, Trump mentioned China just one time in his address. That too, it was not about tariffs or rare earth. He mentioned China while talking about military technology guarding Venezuela's now-deposed President Nicolas Maduro.

Similarly, Russia was also mentioned very sporadically, two times to be precise. Along with China, he mentioned Russia while talking about situation in Venezuela. Russia was also mentioned when he spoke about Ukraine war.

Iran, the hottest topic in the world right now, was mentioned just four times. Trump spoke about situation in Tehran towards the end of his speech. One time when he spoke about the 12-day war back in June last year where he claimed that he ended the Israel-Iran conflict and three times when talking about the nuclear programme and the protests in Iran.