The speech was a chance for Trump to make his case ahead of the midterms.
President Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union Tuesday night in Washington, as a majority of Americans disapprove of how he is handling inflation, tariffs, relations with other countries, immigration and the economy, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll.
For Trump, the speech was a chance to make the case directly to millions of Americans ahead of November's midterm elections where control of Congress is at stake. Dozens of Democrats, meanwhile, skipped the speech in protest.
Earlier in his speech, Trump paid respect to assassinated conservative host Charlie Kirk, and paid tribute to his widow Erika.
Members applauded her with a chant of "Charlie, Charlie."
"In Charlie's memory we must call come together to reaffirm that America is one nation under God, and we must totally reject political violence," Trump said.
At least a dozen Democrats have exited the chamber by 10:24 p.m., roughly an hour into the speech.
Many of the members have left individually from time to time during the speech.
-ABC News' John Parkinson
TRUMP CLAIM: “The cheating is rampant in our elections. It's rampant.”
FACT CHECK: False
Trump has repeatedly alleged that undocumented immigrants have improperly influenced federal elections, but state voting data suggest that such instances are incredibly rare.
In 2024, voter roll audits in states including Georgia, Ohio, and Iowa, leading up to the 2024 election, uncovered very few instances of noncitizen voting in federal elections. A comprehensive audit of Georgia's voter rolls -- which include 8.2 million registered voters -- uncovered 20 noncitizens who registered to vote, including nine instances when noncitizens actually cast a ballot. A similar audit of Iowa's 2.3 million voters revealed 87 instances where individuals cast ballots and later self-reported as noncitizens.
According to research from the non-partisan nonprofit Center for Election Innovation & Research, allegations of sweeping and coordinated voter fraud generally arise from “misunderstandings, mischaracterizations, or outright fabrications about complex voter data,” and most instances of voting fraud are rare and swiftly prosecuted by authorities.
-ABC News' Peter Charalambous
President Trump pushed for passage of the Save America Act. His comments animated Republicans in the chamber, nearly all of whom stood and vigorously applauded him.
"It's very simple: All voters show voter ID. All voters must show proof of citizenship," Trump said.
Democrats have said the bill is a nonstarter in the Senate, though Trump has repeatedly put pressure on GOP leaders to ensure it becomes law.
