No sooner had President Donald Trump completed his State of the Union address Tuesday night than four much-respected historians offered Newsmax some provocative analysis of the 100-minute speech to Congress and the nation.
Some among the group gave the president strong criticism for the tone and content of his remarks.
But Trump also won high marks among some of those who chronicle American history for the first such address of his second term.
"Lasting over 100 minutes, President Trump's State of the Union had elements of the usual annual address to Congress but also some surprises," said Chapman University Professor Luke Nichter, author of the critically acclaimed "1968: The Year That Broke Politics."
Portions of it, Nichter said, "took the usual grab bag approach to listing past achievements and suggesting a few new proposals – ending sanctuary cities, the SAVE America Act, and a new 'war on fraud' to be led by Vice President [JD] Vance. Otherwise, the biggest portion was celebrating the achievements of heroic Americans, whether the men's Olympic Hockey Team, those in military uniform from World War II to the present, or survivors of violent crimes."
Making a point that "all politicians understand political drama, and Trump utilizes it better than most," Nichter noted that "unlike previous State of the Unions, Democrats did not really try to match him – no color-coordinated outfits, no loud chants that had to be calmed by the Speaker, and no synchronized signs."
He added that even Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, "was escorted to the door by the Parliamentarian early in the evening."
"The speech ended on a call to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States in July. In arguably the most poetic passage of any Trump address, it was inspiring, uplifting, and optimistic. While noting 'the golden age is upon us,' he also challenged us to look to the future."
Irwin Gellman, now at work on the fourth volume on the life of Richard Nixon, said: "Trump could not have done much better than he did."
Congressional Democrats, Gellman said, "could not have done more for Trump than they did when, while Republicans clapped, the Democrats just sat there and didn't even applaud. This enhanced what he was doing, which was calling the Democrats nutty."
Gellman also noted that Trump's announcement of two Medals of Honor "was very well done" and that the president was "very effective in making the case for his domestic agenda, notably the case for affordable healthcare and the status of 401(k) accounts."
But Christopher Whipple, author of the much-praised book "The Gatekeepers: How the White House Chiefs of Staff Define Every Presidency," reached another conclusion.
"As [White House chief of staff] Susie Wiles famously said to me about [Attorney General] Pam Bondi, Donald Trump completely whiffed tonight in his State of the Union address," Whipple said. "Remarkably, he stayed on script. The trouble was the script, which failed to convincingly address affordability or [Jeffrey] Epstein or any of the pressing issues of the day. Instead, he reveled in dystopian scenes of American carnage and demonizing his opponents. It makes a GOP shellacking in the 2026 midterms all the more likely."
A completely opposite viewpoint came from Quincy University (Ill.) Professor Justin Coffey, who said, "Donald Trump was aggressive, confident, and defiant. He made a strong case for his record."
Coffey, author of a biography of former Vice President Spiro Agnew, said that "all State of the Union [addresses] are a defense of the president's record. This speech was in that vein. He argued the [One] Big Beautiful Bill has succeeded. He gave facts and figures and emphasized 100% of all job growth in the private sector.
"When I said 'defiant,' it is mostly in regard to tariffs. He is not backing down. And he was directly speaking to the Supreme Court."
Coffey concluded that Trump's address "could be a precedent setter."
"Previously, a few members of the opposition party would boycott this address," he said. "Tonight was different."
An estimated 50 Democrat lawmakers did not attend the address and Coffey said he thought Democrats "are going to continue to do this going forward."
"It will be interesting when the next Democrat gives the State of the Union, how many Republicans will stay away. The State of the Union is supposed to be nonpartisan. After what the Democrats did tonight, any pretense of nonpartisanship is gone."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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