President Donald Trump’s 2026 State of Union was one for the history books, but not simply because it was the longest annual speech a joint Congress has heard in decades. It could turn out to be one of the most identifiable forms of momentum Republicans can harness to perform well at the polls come November.
Corporate media, armed with “tough” poll numbers they manufactured, wondered ahead of Tuesday night if Trump would pull off the pep rally Republicans need to stay in power after the midterm election. They kept up this schtick the morning after the State of the Union with coverage arguing that Trump did little to assist or invigorate the people up for re-election.
“If you’re a House or Senate Republican facing the stiff political winds heading into a difficult midterm election, perhaps you wanted some details on what President Donald Trump intends to do for the next eight months. Your political survival depends on it. That didn’t happen,” Punchbowl’s Jake Sherman confidently declared.
On the contrary, Trump spent two hours rallying the political troops for the battle for the nation’s future and soul. But the president and his executive power alone can’t secure Republicans’ re-election. Here are seven ways the GOP can capitalize on the State of the Union to do its part and fight for the chance at midterm victory.
Harp on Democrats’ Hatred for Americans
Perhaps the biggest gift Trump gave GOP legislators on Tuesday was publicly humiliating Democrats for their ongoing disdain for Americans.
“The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens,” Trump declared.
When blue party members rejected the president’s call to “stand up and show your support” if they agreed with the statement, he made sure to emphasize their lack of participation. For nearly two minutes, Trump gestured at the seated Democrats as the Republican side of the chamber loudly clapped and yelled their agreement.
This moment will no doubt make great fodder for ads and campaign rallies designed to expose Democrats as radicals, but it wasn’t the only one Republicans should use to their advantage.
There were plenty of other universal causes that Democrats refused to cheer, such as Trump’s belief that states should not “rip children from their parents’ arms and transition them to a new gender against the parents’ will,” cheap gas, less crime, less border-smuggled fentanyl, historically low murders, and slowed inflation.
Democrats even appeared to sit during the U.S. Men’s hockey team’s brief appearance following their gold medal Olympics win.
Protect Elections
It’s no secret that the Republican-controlled Congress is stalling passage of the popular SAVE America Act, despite possessing a procedural option that would force Democrats to publicly explain their opposition to voter ID. Enshrining election integrity in law, or at least putting up a good fight in an attempt to, would prove to Americans that Republicans make good on their promises to elevate conservative priorities and have earned re-election.
Pass Other Key Legislation
Speaking of enshrining things in law, there’s no better way to recreate moments like Trump’s “stand if you agree” ultimatum than by forcing Democrats to vote on popular legislation that addresses voters’ top concerns.
As Trump outlined on Tuesday, Congress has the opportunity to act on bills that would ban federal legislators from insider trading, “make sure violent and dangerous repeat offenders are put behind bars and, importantly, that they stay there,” and ban states from handing illegal aliens commercial drivers’ licenses. As my colleague Shawn Fleetwood noted Tuesday night, Trump’s pro-America vision will only succeed if Republicans implement it.
If the GOP won’t pass anything, they could at least repeal Obamacare, the healthcare policy that’s caused Americans insurance headaches for 16 years.
Confirm Trump’s Nominees Faster
It’s been more than 400 days since Trump took office, but the Senate has yet to confirm more than 50 of the president’s picks. The opportunity to install allies in the bureaucracy should spur Republicans to work overtime. Instead, the Senate, led by John Thune, seems content to sit back and wait for Trump’s time in office to expire.
Impeach Activist Judges
Another way Congress can prove its worth ahead of the November elections is by impeaching activist judges such as Chief Judge James E. Boasberg of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, and Judge Deborah L. Boardman of the U.S. District Court of Maryland. As Sen. Ted Cruz outlined in his January letter to Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, both Boasberg and Boardman are evidence of “a judiciary that has explicitly ignored its constitutional duties.”
Go on Offense Against Media — Or Don’t Talk to Them at All
The media have proven over and over and over again that they are public enemy number one, and it’s time for Republicans to treat them that way. Instead of giving corporate media exclusive statements or benefitting them with leaks, the GOP should focus on skillfully treating and exposing the press as the hoaxers that they are on every single issue.
Better yet, Republicans can refuse to engage on the media’s deceptive terms altogether. As I’ve previously noted, punishing propagandists starts with starving them of GOP guests.
Celebrate America
This should be fairly easy, given all of the 250th birthday festivities gracing the calendar this year. But celebrating the country and Constitution they swore to uphold isn’t as intuitive for the GOP as you would think. After all, think of how many Republicans have done the bidding of their America-hating congressional colleagues, caved to anti-American causes, fawned over foreign countries above their own, and kowtowed to the erasure of American culture.
Capitalizing on the momentum Trump created on Tuesday night requires Republicans to abandon the urge to crumble at every corporate media and Democrat pressure campaign designed to throw the country into chaos and embrace the founding principles that make this nation great.
