You probably know that this State of the Union was the longest. What it also was, according to Karl Rove in the WSJ, was the most extensive, effective use of gallery guests since President Ronald Reagan introduced it in 1982.

The president electrified the House chamber by bringing in the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team and awarding goalie Connor Hellebuyck the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Even Democrats stood and joined in the chants of “USA! USA!”

Here‘s who President Trump introduced:

• 2 Congressional Medals of Honor. One to a helicopter pilot grievously wounded during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The other to a 100-year-old Navy pilot who led his squadron to victory in a 1952 Korean War aerial battle against an overwhelming enemy force that remained secret until 2002.
• The Coast Guard swimmer who jumped time and again from a chopper into the raging waters of the July 2025 Texas flood, saving 165 lives, Congressional Medals of Honor. One went to a helicopter pilot grievously wounded during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro
• The Coast Guard swimmer who jumped time and again from a chopper into the raging waters of the July 2025 Texas flood, saving 165 lives, was also honored.
• A Venezuelan dissident sprung from prison surprised his niece in the gallery, to applause.
• Two National Guardsmen who were ambushed on duty in Washington received Purple Hearts, one posthumously.

Mr. Trump also introduced families who had suffered violence or loss inflicted by illegal aliens as he pressured Democrats to support a sanctuary city ban, tougher immigration laws, and voter ID rules.

Cheering Republicans/Angering Democrats

“Throughout his record number of guest introductions, the president was empathetic and personable,” writes Mr. Rove. “His remarks, delivered as written, were often moving, patriotic, and unifying.”

This was also the most partisan State of the Union in memory. In what may have been a first, Mr. Trump attacked his predecessor by name several times. He repeatedly condemned congressional Democrats, tried to force them to stand and applaud him, and lacerated them when they didn’t. He was spoiling for a fight.

Many presidents have used the occasion to pressure the opposition on key issues. None have done so as directly and brutally as Mr. Trump did Tuesday. He savaged Democrats as “sick people” and “crazy,” claiming they “are destroying our country.”

Karl Rove wished President Trump had focused more on his 2024 voters who since have become disenchanted. While not a large slice of the electorate, they will decide which party controls Congress for Mr Trump;’s final two years in the White House.

Those represented by his approval rating’s almost 8-point slide in the RealClearPolitics average since re-entering office.

Many Americans, especially swing voters, are pessimistic about the economy. At the end of 2025, 12-month inflation was at 2.7%, near its 2.9% level the December before Mr. Trump took office.

The economy started off gangbusters in 2025 with 3.8% growth in the second quarter and 4.4% in the third but slowed to a crawl with 1.4% in the fourth. The congressional Joint Economic Committee says the U.S. lost 108,000 manufacturing jobs last year. And all this took place amid growing public concern over the effect of artificial intelligence on jobs, utility bills, kids and the future.

President Trump claimed, “prices are plummeting downwards.” They generally aren’t, retorts Mr. Rove.

His tariffs, (Trump) opined, will “substantially replace the . . . income tax,” and ending fraud in federal spending will produce “a balanced budget overnight.” They won’t. Here, Mr. Trump sounded as out of touch as Joe Biden did when he kept proclaiming “Bidenomics is working.”

President Trump was on firmer ground when he argued Democrats made a mess that his administration is setting right.

(Trump should) acknowledged it’ll take time to repair the economy. Tone also matters. When he warned that the U.S. shouldn’t go back to failed politicians and policies, he came across as harsh, partisan and mean-spirited.

It too often sounded like a political convention speech rather than a presidential address. Even by the former’s standards, it was angry, pugnacious, and hence less effective.

Mr. Rove feels that Mr. Trump offered elements of a credible, effective case for Republicans in the midterm campaign.

But if they’re to defend their majority successfully, congressional Republicans must offer more substance, be more forward-looking, display more empathy, and focus much more on the economy than what Americans heard Tuesday. They better get cracking. Time’s a-wasting.