America Roars Back

President Trump delivered a captivating, growthier, optimistic, epic State of the Union speech last night. It was a real humdinger.

It went a long time, but as I watched it, the length didn’t really bother me. Probably because the messaging was so strong, and clear, and patriotic.

And the whole architecture of that speech, it seemed to me, was that America is back. That this was a comeback for the ages, piloted by Donald J. Trump’s own political comeback.

And that this national comeback was driven by what probably is the greatest political comeback of all time from Mr. Trump. That is at least in American history. We’ve never seen anything like it. 

America today is prosperous. It is safe. It’s the most globally powerful and dominant country in the world. None of this was true a little more than a year ago.

America is not perfect, as Mr. Trump has noted, there is more work to do, but his achievements on the economy, on closing the border, on foreign policy, on peace through strength, have been remarkable.

Interestingly, a snap poll before the speech from CNN of all places, showed 54 percent of the voters like the direction of the country. That by itself is pretty spiffy, but after the speech that number grew to 64 percent.

Anyway, for me, the key point is, Mr. Trump is saving the economy. All of a sudden wages are rising faster than prices.

In fact, because of his policies of tax cuts and deregulation and energy and trade, wages are going up and prices actually coming down in many key household and grocery areas. People said it couldn’t be done, but it is being done.

Of course, the Democrats are in denial about so much of this. With only a few exceptions, they refused to stand up and applaud bravery or patriotism last night. That’s a pity.

As the president was honoring so many of our military heroes and expressing joy in our gold medal hockey teams, Dems still couldn’t find their way to stand up and applaud, with a few minor exceptions.

Anyway, topics today that should be bipartisan never seem to be bipartisan anymore, and that is a pity, but Mr. Trump was gracious.

As I said, he shook the hands of a number of Supreme Court justices when he came in. They have voted against his tariffs. And he almost begged Democrats to join him in applause a number of times, but they wouldn’t do it, no matter what the topic.

His speech last night was so compelling, and yet so gracious. Not only is he convincing the majority of voters of his own good works, I think he’s convincing Republicans to stay the course. Leaders like Mike Johnson and John Thune have told me in just the last 24 hours on this show that they intend to do just that, to stay the course.

In fact, I sat down with Mr. Trump two weeks ago and he told me that he and his team needed to work harder to get the word out. Well, last night he got the word out. Even better, he made the sale. I give it an A++.

The Save America Citizenship ID test on voting; ending sanctuary cities; maybe another reconciliation bill. The GOP is probably more united today than ever before. It’s Mr. Trump’s GOP. It’s his ideas. It’s his execution. It’s his management. It’s his communication. At the end of his brilliant speech last night he talked about faith in God and faith in America. Take a listen to this:

And when God needs a nation to work his miracles, he knows exactly who to ask. There is no challenge Americans cannot overcome, no frontier too vast for us to conquer, no dream too bold for us to chase, no horizon too distant for us to claim. The Golden Age of America is upon us. The revolution that began in 1776 has not ended. It still continues because the flame of liberty and independence still burns in the heart of every American patriot. And our future will be bigger, better, brighter, bolder, and more glorious than ever before.

All right, of course, while he’s celebrating the 250th birthday of America, and as much fun as that is, I just want to note that much of the founding of America was based on the founding of free market capitalism. And Adam Smith and his book, The Wealth of Nations, which was published in 1776.

And on top of that, much of the founding was founded on the brilliant work of Alexander Hamilton, who after the Constitution was put in place, was America’s first and probably greatest Treasury secretary.

And then there’s the whole subject of growth that is so important to this country. No nation over the last several centuries has grown as much as America. And Mr. Trump, with his one big, beautiful growth platform, believes we can grow even faster. And I’ll say nothing solves problems better than economic growth.

Proper growth solves inflation. Proper growth solves debt and deficits. Proper growth makes people happier. Growth makes defenses stronger. Growth solves more problems than you could ever shake a stick at.

And for all of Mr. Trump’s genius and for all of his transformative drain-the-swamp reforms, nothing will ever be as important as the endless goal of rapid American economic growth.

Mr. Trump had it all last night. He laid it right out. It was epic. It was captivating. It wasn’t too long at all. It was a very happy couple of hours, if you ask me.

Lawrence Kudlow is a Fox News Media contributor and host of both “Kudlow” on weekdays and the nationally syndicated “Larry Kudlow Show” each Saturday. This column is adapted from his monologues on “Kudlow.”

U.S. Warns On Iran’s Ballistic Missiles Amid Talks

Iran’s unwillingness to discuss its ballistic missile program with Washington is a “big problem” in talks aimed at averting American strikes on the Islamic Republic, Secretary of State Marco Rubio says.

Iran has one of the largest ballistic missile stockpiles in the Middle East, with several missiles capable of reaching all U.S. bases and sites with an American military presence across the region.

The most recent demonstration of Iran’s missile capabilities came during the 12-day war with Israel in June 2025. During the conflict, Tehran launched volleys of ballistic missiles toward Israel, killing dozens of people and damaging residential buildings and apartment blocks in the country’s center and north.

An analysis by the Institute for the Study of War and the AEI Critical Threats Project found that Israel likely destroyed around a third of Iran’s missile launchers during the fighting.

Iranian officials, however, have repeatedly said the country has recovered from the damage sustained in the war and that its missile capabilities are now stronger than before.

France To Issue Revised Nuclear Doctrine

France’s updated nuclear doctrine will aim to reassure European allies concerned about the U.S. commitment to NATO collective security following President Trump’s placatory line on Russia and threats over Greenland.

Since NATO was founded in 1949, European members have relied primarily on the protection of the U.S. nuclear umbrella to deter aggression by potential adversaries, initially the Soviet Union.

Since President Trump took office for his second term, however, his harsh attitude towards allies – including territorial threats towards Denmark over Greenland – while at the same time placating Moscow, has caused consternation in Europe. Many are now questioning whether the U.S. is still a reliable ally in the event of Russian aggression.

While Russia has an arsenal of over 5,500 nuclear warheads, and U.S. nuclear forces – with an estimated 100 bombs stationed in Europe – target adversary nuclear arsenals, France has an estimated 290, designed to act as a deterrent by aiming to inflict unacceptable damage on political, military, and economic centers.

France's nuclear doctrine currently maintains an element of “strategic ambiguity” over when weapons might be used, and unlike some nuclear-armed states, has not declared a “no first strike” policy. France spends around €5.6bn each year to maintain its stockpile, and is unlikely to relinquish this to ensure Paris maintains exclusive national control.

Job Losses Attributed To The Adoption Of AI Are Growing Globally

Concerns that AI will wreak havoc on industry are deepening as the adoption of the untested, futuristic technology continues apace – economists say it was responsible for 7% of U.S. planned layoffs in January.

Concerns about the disruptive impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are growing as the rapid adoption of this largely unproven technology accelerates. Economists at Goldman Sachs estimate that AI accounted for 7% of planned layoffs in the United States in January.

Since October last year, numerous global companies have announced planned job cuts linked directly to the adoption of AI, including Amazon, set to axe 16,000 roles, and Hewlett-Packard, which says it will cut 4,000-6,000 staff positions by fiscal 2028.

1. Why China Is Alerting Citizens To Russia’s Military Residency Rules

2. North Korea Signals Nuclear Resolve With Scaled-Back Military Display

3. Cuba Reports Fatal Clash With Armed Boat From Florida

4. Historic Downfall For UK’s Former Prince Andrew

5. Could Andrew Be Removed From The Line Of Succession?

6. Hamas To Elect New Leader

7. Democratic Turnout Surges In Texas Senate Primary

8. Meta Pushes Ahead With AI Merger Despite China Probe

9. Speculation Around Jane Street Renews Bitcoin ETF Debate

10. SpaceX Dominance Faces Test As Rivals Close In

11. Over 5,000 Pounds Of Meth Seized In Hidden Mexican Drug Lab

12. Pentagon Issues Final Offer To Anthropic In AI Dispute: Report

13. Hillary Clinton Denies Epstein Knowledge In House Testimony

14. Trump Administration Freezes Medicaid Funds To Minnesota Over Fraud Claims