Hours ahead of the State of the Union, Americans are living in a country defined by strain and uncertainty, not the prosperity Trump promised behind lecterns on the campaign trail. Instead, the state of the country looks more like the promises Trump made to wealthy donors at private fundraisers, with the wealthier getting richer at the expense of the working class.
The stagnant job growth, rising prices, and soaring health care costs that Americans face today are the direct result of a government that chose to pull support away from the middle class and gut the social safety net to pay for tax breaks for those at the very top.
Trump insists he is fighting for working people, yet the policies he championed tell a different story. Here’s the truth he won’t mention tonight:
- The MAGA agenda is slashing critical support for health care, food assistance, child care, education (including special education), agricultural programs, and more – all to pay for huge tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans.
- New data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows Trump’s economy created 403,000 fewer jobs in 2025 than initially reported.
- Reports show that hiring is stalling while layoffs remain steady, revealing a labor market that is cooling dangerously and threatening family security across the country. Far from creating opportunity, the Trump economy is leaving workers stuck in stagnant jobs with rising uncertainty.
- New reporting shows the United States trade deficit stayed historically large in 2025 and did not shrink despite Trump’s repeated claims that his tariffs would rescue American manufacturing and protect jobs.
- Donald Trump has failed to deliver on his promise to make housing affordable for the next generation. The numbers reveal that under Trump, construction is slowing, and the homes young people need to start stable lives are not being built.
“The state of working-class Americans is chaos and fear. Trump did not build an economy for families trying to get by; he built one that serves the wealthy first and leaves everyone else fighting over what is left. The MAGA agenda has turned daily life into a grind where stability keeps slipping further out of reach, and families are punished by cutting the resources they need the most,” said American Bridge 21st Century president Pat Dennis. “This is a president who walked away from the people who trusted him, who made their lives harder, not easier, and who now pretends their struggle is not the result of his own choices. The crisis facing working families is not an accident. It is the product of a government that chose the powerful over the people who keep this country running, and they are the ones bearing the cost of that betrayal.”
Published: Feb 24, 2026