Politics and views in the United States

President Donald Trump says America is entering a golden age with his return to office. Former VP Pence says Trump economic policies are no better than a king's and an investigation finds Epstein documents that discuss accusations against the president are missing.

TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to 2026 Talks, where we're following our democracy in historic times.

Members of Congress and my fellow Americans, our nation is back, bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before.

In his State of the Union speech, President Donald Trump declared a golden age for the country, comparing his second term to the American Revolution.

His speech aimed at former President Joe Biden, saying inflation and immigration are no longer problems.

Trump also said that "New Energy Partner Venezuela provided 80,000 barrels of oil to the U.S."

In the House chamber, much of the president's normal rhetoric was greeted with the usual partisan divide.

But polls show the president is currently unpopular.

Only about a third of all voters, a quarter of independents, approve of the job he's doing.

Trump is lagging even on issues he campaigned on, including the cost of living and immigration, and he's now facing questions about a possible conflict with Iran.

Less than a week ago, the Supreme Court struck down his signature tariffs, and the president responded by imposing 15 percent global levies using a different legal path.

It's not clear if Congress will back the new import taxes or if the administration will try to enforce them without that approval.

Former Vice President Mike Pence says Trump's trade policies go against what the framers wrote into the Constitution.

When the founders ultimately crafted the form of government that's endured for 239 years, They said that the Congress in Article 1 controls taxation, including imposts that are, it's what they call tariffs of the day.

While Trump insists his immigration crackdowns have reduced migrant crime, Democrats argue that's come at the cost of protesters shot by ICE officers, citizens being forcibly detained, and migrants deported without due process.

Ryan Schwenk is a former assistant chief counsel for ICE.

He says in the agency's rush to staff up, officer training on the law and the rights of civilians has been gutted.

Classes that teach the Constitution, our legal system, firearms training, the use of force, lawful arrests, proper detention, and the limits of officer's authority.

A new NPR report says the Justice Department may have hidden an estimated 50 pages of FBI files related to Jeffrey Epstein concerning an accusation against Trump.

The Bureau apparently interviewed a woman four times who says at 13, Trump struck her and tried to force her to perform oral sex on him.

Members of House Oversight say not releasing the FBI records may violate the Epstein Files transparency law.

And before the State of the Union, Danny Bensky, an Epstein survivor, says there are other steps the administration must take.

First is the release of all of the files, which we know.

Next is to hold accountable those who continuously exploit.

And the third is to pass Virginia's bill.

We need to pass Virginia's bill because justice should never, ever expire.

Named for Epstein abuse survivor, Virginia Giuffre, the bill aims to prevent traffickers from escaping accountability, in part by ending the statute of limitations in civil sexual abuse cases.

I'm Edwin J. Viera for Pacifica Network and Public News Service.

Find our trust indicators at publicnewsservice.org.