WASHINGTON (BP) – The contemporary revival of American society includes revivals of faith and traditional morality, President Donald Trump said Feb. 24 in his State of the Union address.
The nearly two-hour speech, the longest State of the Union in 60 years, argued Americans should stick with Republican control of Congress in this year’s midterm elections. In the process, Trump touched on a variety of issues traditionally of interest to Southern Baptists and other evangelicals, including transgender transitions for minors, in vitro fertilization (IVF), immigration and professions of faith sparked by the murder of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“Our nation is back, bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before,” Trump told a joint session of Congress. America is “the most incredible and exceptional nation ever to exist on the face on the earth, and you’ve seen nothing yet.”
Trump sparred with Democrats throughout the speech. They yelled responses at times, and Al Green of Texas was escorted from the House chamber after he held up a sign protesting a social media post by Trump that included a racist image. For his part, Trump chided Democrats for not standing and applauding during his speech, and he blamed them for a variety of American problems.
The president introduced numerous guests during the speech, including military heroes, a recently released Venezuelan political prisoner, and the U.S. men’s hockey team fresh off a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Italy.
Another guest, Sage Blair, highlighted Trump’s opposition to gender transitions for minors. At age 14, “school officials in Virginia sought to socially transition her to a new gender, treating her as a boy and hiding her from her parents,” Trump said. After she ran away from home, a Maryland judge refused to return her to her parents and placed her in a state facility for boys. Today, Blair is embracing her identity as a woman and has a scholarship to attend Liberty University.
“Surely we can all agree no state can be allowed to rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will,” Trump said. “We must ban it, and we must ban it immediately.”
Trump claimed a revival of religion in America, citing Kirk’s assassination in September as a catalyst. Kirk’s widow Erika attended the speech.
“There has been a tremendous renewal in religion, faith, Christianity and belief in God,” he said. “This is especially true among young people, and a big part of that had to do with my great friend Charlie Kirk.” Americans should “reaffirm that America is one nation under God, and we must totally reject political violence of any kind.”
In a moment that may not have resonated as strongly with some evangelicals, Trump touted the decreasing cost of IVF drugs under agreements his administration negotiated with pharmaceutical companies. He recognized, Catherine Rayner, a woman undergoing IVF treatments and said, “We are all praying for you, and you are going to be a great mom.”
The SBC adopted a 2024 resolution on reproductive technologies affirming the value of every human life and calling on Southern Baptists “to only utilize reproductive technologies consistent with that affirmation especially in the number of embryos generated in the IVF process.”
Immigration was a recurring theme in the speech, with Trump stating he has secured the nation’s border. He noted violent crimes committed by undocumented immigrants and called Congress to restore full funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which Democrats are blocking over demands for reforms of immigration enforcement practices.
The president asked Congress to pass stronger anti-corruption measures precluding senators and House members from engaging in insider trading in the stock market. He also referenced alleged fraud in Minnesota, claiming billions of dollars have been stolen through fraudulent use of state-run social service programs. “This is the kind of corruption that shreds the fabric of a nation,” Trump said, announcing that Vice President J.D. Vance will lead the “war on fraud.”
Turning to international affairs, Trump noted ongoing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program and suppression by the nation’s Islamic regime of anti-government protests. The Iranian government has killed more than 32,000 protestors, he said.
“My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy,” Trump said. “But one thing is certain: I will never allow the world’s No. 1 sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump said he has helped halt eight wars in his second term, including the conflict between Israel and Hamas. Citing progress in Latin America, he noted the death this week of Mexican drug cartel leader Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes and the January arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro.
America’s accomplishments for the past 250 years, Trump said, have been guided by God’s providence.
“Our destiny is written by the hand of providence,” he said, “and these first 250 years were just the beginning.”