• What Happened: President Trump called out every Democrat at the State of the Union for voting against his tax cut package, saying they wanted large-scale tax increases "to hurt the people," while touting no tax on tips, overtime, or Social Security.
  • Why It Matters: Several Democrats boycotted the speech entirely, including Senators Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego, and Congressman Al Green was ejected for the second straight year after holding up a sign as Trump arrived.
  • Bottom Line: Trump declared America is in a golden age, citing a complete turnaround from the inflation, open borders, and economic stagnation he inherited one year ago.

President Trump walked into the House chamber Tuesday night and wasted no time calling out every Democrat in the room by name, politically speaking.

Addressing Congress at his first official State of the Union of his second term, Trump celebrated the passage of his signature tax legislation before turning directly to the opposition. "All Democrats, every single one of them voted against these really important and very necessary massive tax cuts," he said. "They wanted large-scale tax increases to hurt the people instead. But we held strong."

The results of that fight, Trump reminded the chamber, are now in the pockets of everyday Americans. No tax on tips. No tax on overtime. No tax on Social Security for seniors. Interest on auto loans is now tax deductible for the first time ever, but only if the car is made in America.

Every Democrat voted against that. Every single one.

Several of them could not even be bothered to show up. Senators Adam Schiff and Ruben Gallego skipped the speech entirely, joining a handful of other Democrats who held five separate counter-events Tuesday night rather than sit in the chamber and face the record.

The one Democrat who did show up made himself impossible to ignore. Congressman Al Green was ejected from the speech for the second consecutive year after holding up a sign reading "Black people aren't apes" in all capital letters as Trump entered the room.

Trump opened the night with a sweeping declaration that set the tone for everything that followed. "This is the golden age of America," he told the chamber. "After just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before and a turnaround for the ages."

Republicans gave him standing ovation after standing ovation. Democrats sat, boycotted, or got thrown out.

The contrast could not have been clearer if someone had scripted it.