PolitiFact is live fact-checking President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress Feb. 24. PolitiFact has fact-checked 1,144 of Trump’s statements since 2011. Tonight, we’ll draw on that deep archive to check his speech’s accuracy.
How to watch Trump’s State of the Union address and follow live fact-checks
Most major network and cable news channels will broadcast Trump’s address. The White House’s YouTube channel will also stream the event starting at 9 p.m. EST.
Follow along with our live fact-checking here on our website and across our social media channels, including on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Bluesky, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter).
To suggest a claim for us to fact-check from the speech, submit a question through this form or email [email protected].
If you would like a morning roundup of the night’s most notable claims, subscribe to our weekly newsletter.
Why does the president give a State of the Union address?
The State of the Union address is an annual speech the president gives to Congress as part of his duties outlined in the U.S. Constitution: “He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” (Technically, the president’s first-year speech to Congress is not considered a State of the Union address.)
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., invited Trump on Jan. 7 to deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress.
A politician from the opposing party traditionally delivers a speech in response to the State of the Union address; Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will give the 2026 Democratic rebuttal.
Some Democratic lawmakers have announced they will boycott Trump’s speech and attend alternative events near the U.S. Capitol.
What has Trump accomplished in the first year of his second term?
Trump will likely use the speech to highlight his administration’s achievements since he took office. We’re currently tracking 75 of his presidential campaign promises for his second term using our MAGA-Meter.
Here’s a breakdown of his promise ratings so far:
READ MORE: Trump says he’s kept all of his campaign promises. Our promise tracker shows something different.
How does PolitiFact fact-check live events?
PolitiFact’s team has already done a lot of work preparing for this address, and we have developed a long list of the things we expect Trump to say.
When we hear an interesting and checkable statement, the first thing we’ll do is check our fact-checking archive to see if we’ve covered it before. If there’s a match, we’ll let you know almost immediately via our live blog and social media.
If it’s something we have not heard before, our reporters get to work running the numbers, speaking with experts and thoughtfully weighing the accuracy of the claim using our Truth-O-Meter rating system.
Live Trump State of the Union fact-checks
