US President Donald Trump speaks during the Angel Families Remembrance Ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on February 23, 2026. (Photo: AFP)

U.S. President Donald Trump is set to deliver the State of the Union (SOTU) address on Tuesday night, during which he is expected to tout his achievements since taking office for the second time, amid falling approval ratings.

This will be Trump's first SOTU speech since returning to the presidency. Last March, he gave a major speech to a joint session of Congress, but it was not officially designated as a State of the Union address because it occurred shortly after he took office.

The high-profile SOTU address comes as the president's approval ratings have been falling in recent months.

Trump's job approval rating remains mired at 36 percent, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS, marking a steep drop from the 48 percent in a CNN poll when he last addressed Congress a year ago.

The latest poll showed that just 32 percent of Americans now say that Trump has had the right priorities, while 68 percent say he hasn't paid enough attention to the country's most important problems. Asked to choose the issue they'd most like Trump to address in his State of the Union speech, 57 percent pick the economy and cost of living.

Economy and immigration were the top two topics Trump highlighted during his 2024 presidential campaign, and he has credited both issues with helping him win the election. But recent polls show that support for him is declining on both fronts.

Trump's overall approval on the economy dropped by 4 percentage points to 41 percent, from 45 percent in February 2025, according to a Washington Post-ABC News/Ipsos poll.

The same poll showed that Trump's overall approval rating on immigration dropped 10 percentage points to 40 percent. Immigration, once a political strength for Trump, has become a vulnerability.

Trump's tighter immigration stance, especially his promise to deport illegal immigrants, enjoyed broad support, but aggressive enforcement by federal agents has led to the arrests of long-term migrants with no criminal records, sparking backlash among the public. The backlash intensified after federal agents fatally shot two Americans in Minneapolis in January.

The SOTU speech, while originally intended as a constitutional duty to report on the country's condition, has increasingly taken on a partisan tone in recent years.

As Trump delivers the speech, negotiations between Democratic leaders and the White House over federal immigration enforcement have reached a stalemate, which means the outlook for reopening the Department of Homeland Security remains uncertain. Funding for the department expired on Feb. 13.

U.S. media previously reported that many Democratic lawmakers were not planning to attend the president's speech, which is traditionally delivered before a joint session of Congress. Some Democrats are attending counter-events nearby.

Each party has guests to make their respective political statements: Democrats have invited survivors of late financier Jeffrey Epstein and individuals affected by heightened immigration enforcement, while Republican guests include Erika Kirk, widow of conservative political activist Charlie Kirk, as well as conservative YouTubers who reported alleged fraud at Minnesota child care centers