PresidentDonald Trumpis set to deliver his first State of the Union address after a turbulent first year in power during which he took a host of decisions like tariffs, federal funding cuts, tightening the noose around immigration, hoping that they would deliver to hisMake America Great Again (MAGA) campaign. Though policies of Trump in his first year of second tenure have largely centered on the economy, immigration, crime, energy, and national security, more than delivery, the US President spent the last year touting his accomplishments while mocking the record of his predecessor, former President Joe Biden.
Waking up every day with a new headline for the world like announcing new tariffs, warnings to nations, claims of stopping wars, or concluding key trade deals, much of this bluster by Trump was based on false and misleading claims, many of which are likely to be a part of the president's address to the nation.
How has been Donald Trump's economic policies
Trump often says the US is now “the hottest country anywhere in the world" after years as a “dead country.” The U.S. economy was hardly “dead’’ when Trump returned to office last year. But in his second term, it’s generally performed strongly — after getting off to a bumpy start.
In 2024, the last year of Biden's presidency, U.S. gross domestic product grew 2.8%, adjusted for inflation, faster than any wealthy country in the world except Spain. It also expanded at a healthy rate from 2021 through 2023.
GDP shrank for the first time in three years during the first quarter of 2025. Growth rebounded in the second half of the year, but slowed again in the fourth quarter. Annual GDP growth in 2025 was 2.2%.
A key measure of inflation fell to nearly a five-year low in January. However, according to the Federal Reserve's preferred measure, it remains elevated as the cost of goods such as furniture, clothes and groceries increase.
Companies have also sharply reduced hiring. Employers added just 181,000 jobs in 2025, the fewest — outside a recession — since 2002. Economists blame a range of factors: Uncertainty created by tariffs and artificial intelligence likely caused many firms to hold back on adding workers. And many companies hired like gangbusters in the aftermath of the pandemic and have since decided to forgo creating any new positions.
The U.S. stock market did well last year and yet it underperformed many foreign stock markets. The benchmark S&P 500 index climbed 17% — a nice gain but short of a 71% surge in South Korea, 29% in Hong Kong, 26% in Japan, 22% in Germany and 21% in the United Kingdom.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event in White House
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