US President Donald Trump delivered his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday, touting increased economic output and reduced immigration numbers, and praising National Guard deployments and the US men's ice hockey team.

In a record-long speech focused largely on domestic issues, Trump told Congress that "our nation is back" with an economy "roaring like never before."

He claimed that "American oil production is up by more than 600,000 barrels a day" and that "natural gas production is at an all-time high because I kept my promise to drill, baby, drill," applauded at regular intervals by Republican lawmakers.

On immigration, Trump boasted that the United States now has "the strongest and most secure border in American history," claiming that, previously, "millions and millions of illegal aliens" had been entering the country unchecked.

As if to demonstrate the extent to which he believes the country is "winning," Trump welcomed into the chamber the US men's ice hockey team that just won gold at the Winter Olympics in Milan-Cortina in Italy, awarding goaltender Connor Hellebuyck the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

https://www.dw.com/en/us-trump-delivers-state-of-the-union-address/a-76110624

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As the US is sending the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to support potential military strike against Iran, media reports suggested that the extended eight-month deployment and blocked toilets are causing issues to the warship and its sailors, with the vessel making a stop in Greece earlier this week. A Chinese military affairs expert said on Wednesday that it exposes that extended deployments beyond scheduled limits, combined with crew members' failure to use the toilet system in accordance with operating procedures, have seriously undermined combat effectiveness.

The US side's decision to extend for a second time the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford is taking a toll on the ship's sailors and their families, and leading some to consider leaving the Navy when they return to home port, the WSJ reported on Saturday, citing interviews with sailors on board the ship and their family members back home.

A US Navy official said that the Ford's sewage system, which uses vacuum technology to transport waste from roughly 650 toilets on board, has experienced issues during the deployment, averaging about one maintenance call a day, the WSJ reported.

According to the WSJ report, the Ford has been at sea since last June. In October, the Pentagon rerouted the ship from its scheduled Mediterranean mission to the Caribbean to support missions including the operation to forcibly seize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in early January. Then the crew got word that their deployment would be extended again, taking them back across the Atlantic Ocean to the Middle East to support potential American airstrikes on Iran.

Citing a retired rear admiral, the WSJ noted that US carrier deployments during peacetime are typically six months long, with planners allowing for a few months of potential overrun if needed. But the Ford's sailors have been away from home for eight months already, setting up a possible deployment of 11 months. That would break the record for a continuous deployment by a US Navy ship.

An earlier report by NPR on January 17 already exposed the toilet problem. According to the report, the vacuum sewage system of the Ford means that a problem with one head can cause all of the toilets in that part of the ship to lose suction, making it difficult for the maintenance crews to isolate a problem. The crews find everything from T-shirts to a four-foot piece of rope clogging the system. But the most common problem seems to be a part of the back of the toilet that comes loose.

The Ford transited the Strait of Gibraltar on Friday, heading east, the WSJ reported, citing a satellite photo. But then, instead of sailing directly toward waters near Iran, the Ford arrived at Souda Bay on the island of Crete, Greece, according to a report by Reuters.

It might be regarded as a forced stop for recuperation, Wang Yunfei, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Wednesday. On the one hand, the Greek bay provides facilities for repairs; on the other, some temporary toilets can be installed onboard to ease immediate pressure.

This incident can be seen as the result of multiple overlapping factors, the expert said.

According to Wang, prolonged deployment at sea undermines crew morale and mental well-being, thereby weakening combat effectiveness. Moreover, malfunctions in the Ford's toilet system itself further amplified the problem. Crew members throwing objects into the toilets also exposes lax discipline within the ranks. 

Wang explained that vacuum sewage systems are in fact an advanced technology and are widely used on most commercial vessels today. However, they depend on strict compliance with operating regulations by crew members. 

When personnel are subjected to prolonged, high-intensity readiness tasks, their mental state inevitably changes, making it difficult to maintain strict discipline over an extended period, Wang said.

The Ford's forced over-extension beyond its scheduled deployment also exposes the strain on the US's actually deployable aircraft carriers, underscoring the gap between its global hegemonic ambitions and its practical capacity, Wang added.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202602/1355709.shtml

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United States President Donald Trump used his 2026 State of the Union address to portray his tariff agenda as the centerpiece of what he called a historic economic turnaround, dismissing a recent Supreme Court ruling against his approach while lashing out at Democrats for their refusal to applaud his policies.

In a record 108-minute-long speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night that focused heavily on domestic issues, the Republican president declared the start of a "golden age", describing his first year back in office as a sweeping economic and social turnaround.

The address came as the 2026 midterm elections drew closer, offering Trump a prime-time platform to tout his record, lay out his agenda and try to shape voters' views well before they decide in November whether Republicans will keep control of Congress.

Ahead of the speech, a Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos poll found Trump underwater with the public, with 39 percent approving and 60 percent disapproving of his job performance.

He also received more disapproval than approval on the economy (57 percent versus 41 percent), tariffs (64 percent versus 34 percent), and the overall state of the economy since January 2025, with 48 percent believing it has gotten worse, while 29 percent said it has improved, according to the survey results published on Tuesday.

In his address, Trump claimed tariffs had generated hundreds of billions of dollars from countries that he said were "ripping us off for decades".

Speaking before Supreme Court justices in the audience, he called the court ruling "just four days ago" as "very unfortunate" but said the duties would continue under alternative statutes.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Friday that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize the president to impose sweeping tariffs.

Trump also revived a long-running claim that foreign countries pay the tariffs, saying the duties "paid for by foreign countries" could, over time, "substantially replace the modern-day system of income tax", reducing the tax burden on US citizens.

However, economists generally have noted that a tariff is a US import tax collected from US importers, with costs largely borne at home through higher prices and squeezed margins.

An analysis on the 2025 tariffs published by researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Feb 12 showed that most of the tariffs — 94 percent in the first eight months — were initially paid for by the US, and only 6 percent by foreign exporters, contradicting the administration's claim that foreign countries "pay" the tariffs.

A few minutes into the speech, Democratic Representative Al Green of Texas, who was also removed during Trump's address last year, was escorted from the chamber after unfurling a sign of protest that read "Black People Aren't Apes!"

Earlier this month, Trump's social media account shared a video that depicted former president Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as primates in a jungle. That post was later deleted after bipartisan criticism, with some Republicans and Democrats calling the imagery racist and offensive.

The address was frequently punctuated by Trump's sharp rebukes of Democratic lawmakers, most of whom, unlike his Republican allies, remained seated or did not applaud during his remarks.

In one instance, after stating the government's first duty is to protect US citizens rather than illegal aliens, he said to the seated Democrats, "Not standing up, you should be ashamed of yourself."

He later echoed this sentiment when some Democrats remained seated following the story of a young woman killed by a repeat offender, asking the chamber: "How do you not stand? How do you not stand?"

A rare moment of bipartisan unity occurred when Trump vowed to halt insider trading by members of Congress, calling for the passage of the "Stop Insider Trading Act".

He expressed surprise when Democrats joined Republicans in standing up to applaud the proposal, admitting that he "can't believe it" and specifically asking, "Did Nancy Pelosi stand up if she's here?"

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202602/26/WS699f9b74a310d6866eb3a48c.html

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