作者：霍华德·戈勒
2026年2月21日 美国东部时间上午11:13 更新于46分钟前
美国总统唐纳德·特朗普于2025年3月4日在华盛顿特区美国国会大厦向参众两院发表讲话。 曼德尔·恩甘/路透社图片库/文件照片 购买许可权，在新标签页中打开
- 摘要
- 特朗普总统将于周二向国会发表讲话
- 在关税遭驳斥几天后，他将面临最高法院大法官
- 年度演讲现已成为充满政治紧张的黄金时段活动
- 民主党计划在特朗普演讲期间举行反对其政策的集会
2月21日（路透社）—— 最初只是一份向美国国会提交的简洁总统报告，如今已演变为一个黄金时段的压力场，其形成源于一个激烈极化的时代。国情咨文演讲如今展开为一场精心编排的紧张对峙的漫长之夜——这是总统从动荡中夺取话语权、塑造其执政时代标志性形象的时刻。
唐纳德·特朗普总统将于美国东部时间周二晚9点（格林尼治标准时间周三02:00）向国会发表演讲，这与1790年华盛顿总统的首次演讲截然不同——当时的演讲仅1089字，朗读时间比许多现代总统清嗓子的时间还要短。
路透社《内幕追踪》通讯是您了解全球体育重大赛事的必备指南。点击此处订阅。
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1801年，托马斯·杰斐逊总统采取了不同的方式，他通过书面形式传达信息而非亲自演讲，这一做法持续了一个多世纪。直到1913年，伍德罗·威尔逊总统才恢复了亲自向国会发表演讲的传统。
哈里·杜鲁门总统1947年发表了首次电视直播的国情咨文，标志着总统沟通新时代的开始。林登·约翰逊总统1965年发表了首个黄金时段的国情咨文，以最大化电视观众人数。
从那以后，随着党派分歧加剧，晚间演讲变得越来越喧闹，总统所在政党的议员常常起立鼓掌，而反对党则明显保持沉默。
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今年，一批民主党人将缺席特朗普的演讲，转而参加一场反对其政策的户外集会。演讲结束后，新当选的弗吉尼亚州州长、民主党人阿比盖尔·斯潘伯格将发表传统的电视回应演讲。
四天前，最高法院以6:3的多数裁决（其中包括两名特朗普任命的大法官）认定其标志性关税政策越权，特朗普将在演讲后面临大法官们的直接对峙，这更增添了悬念。
演讲时长再创新高
近年来，总统的演讲时长远超乔治·华盛顿时期。
比尔·克林顿总统2000年创下了国情咨文最长时长纪录，演讲时长为1小时28分49秒。根据美国总统项目（American Presidency Project）的数据，特朗普2025年的演讲更长，达到1小时39分32秒。
特朗普去年的演讲因他重返总统职位时间太短，未被正式视为国情咨文演讲。与其他刚上任的总统一样，他的演讲仅被称为国会联席会议讲话。
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罗纳德·里根总统1982年开创了邀请特别嘉宾的传统，当时他介绍了伦尼·斯库特尼克，一位国会预算办公室员工，他从波托马克河英勇救出一名飞机失事幸存者。
这些荣誉有时颇具争议，例如2020年，前真人秀明星特朗普将美国最高平民荣誉——总统自由勋章——授予了极具争议性的电台主持人拉什·林堡。
重新定义国情咨文的 viral 冲突
近年来，总统向国会发表的演讲中，一些更具里程碑意义的时刻充满对抗性并在社交媒体上走红。
共和党众议员乔·威尔逊在民主党总统奥巴马的医疗改革演讲中大喊”你撒谎！”，尽管这并非国情咨文演讲。威尔逊抗议奥巴马称国会正在考虑的医疗计划不会为非法入境者提供保险。威尔逊后来在两党批评下为这一罕见的国会演讲礼节违反行为道歉。
次年，奥巴马尖锐批评最高法院的”联合公民”裁决，称这将”打开闸门”，允许无限的企业资金（甚至可能包括外国资金）流入美国选举。塞缪尔·阿利托大法官反应是摇头，并似乎口型说出”不真实”，这是大法官们传统上无动于衷的罕见表现。
共和党人特朗普冷落了美国众议院议长、华盛顿最高民主党官员 Nancy Pelosi，在递交给她国情咨文演讲稿时拒绝与她握手。佩洛西也没有像通常那样引用”高度特权和独特荣誉”来介绍总统。在他80分钟的演讲结束时，佩洛西站起身撕碎了他递过来的演讲稿副本，数百万观众在电视上见证了这一幕。她后来告诉记者，”考虑到其他选择，这是礼貌的做法。”
民主党总统拜登在国情咨文演讲中，一些共和党议员打断并嘘声，他与他们发生了激烈争执。当总统说”一些共和党人希望让医保和社会保障日落，而不是让富人支付公平份额”时，众议员玛乔丽·泰勒·格林向拜登大喊”骗子”。田纳西州共和党众议员安迪·奥格尔斯就美国芬太尼危机向拜登大喊”这是你的错”。
拜登与特朗普形成鲜明对比，指责他的共和党对手破坏民主、纵容俄罗斯、阻碍移民改革，而他的演讲主要针对特朗普却未点名。当共和党人对他声称他们想为富人减税的说法表示反对时，拜登进行了嘲讽，即兴说道：”哦，不？你们不想再减税2万亿美元？我还以为那就是你们的计划呢。”
演讲重塑美国政策
国情咨文演讲有时会带来政策里程碑。
1941年，在美国正式参加第二次世界大战前11个月，富兰克林·罗斯福总统发表了”四大自由”演讲，阐述了全世界人民应享有的自由：言论自由、信仰自由、免于匮乏的自由和免于恐惧的自由。1964年，林登·约翰逊总统宣布”向贫困宣战”，发起了雄心勃勃的社会项目，重塑了联邦支出和政府在经济机会中的角色。
1996年，克林顿宣称”大政府时代结束了”，标志着重新调整方向，旨在将共和党人纳入更两党合作的治理方式。2002年，乔治·W·布什总统在2001年9月11日袭击事件后，将伊拉克、伊朗和朝鲜称为”邪恶轴心”，标志着对外政策转向更具侵略性。
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Explainer: How the State of the Union became a stage for political confrontation
By Howard Goller
February 21, 2026 11:13 AM UTC Updated 46 mins ago
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US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025. MANDEL NGAN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
- President Trump will address Congress on Tuesday
- He will face Supreme Court justices days after tariff rebuke
- Annual speeches now prime-time events with political tension
- Democrats plan rally against Trump’s policies during his speech
Feb 21 (Reuters) – What began as a spare presidential report to the U.S. Congress has hardened into a prime-time pressure chamber shaped by an era of fierce polarization, with the State of the Union speech now unfolding as a long night of choreographed tension and open confrontation – a moment for presidents to wrest narrative from turmoil and craft the defining images of their time in power.
President Donald Trump will deliver his speech to Congress at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday (0200 GMT on Wednesday), a far cry from President George Washington’s first address in 1790 – a brisk 1,089-word report that could be read in less time than many modern presidents take to clear their throats.
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In 1801, President Thomas Jefferson took a different approach by sending a written message rather than speaking in person, a practice that endured for more than a century. Only in 1913 did President Woodrow Wilson resume the tradition of delivering the message in person.
President Harry Truman in 1947 delivered the first televised State of the Union address, marking the beginning of a new era in presidential communication. President Lyndon Johnson in 1965 delivered the first prime-time State of the Union address to maximize television viewership.
Since then, the nighttime speeches have grown more raucous as partisan divisions have sharpened, with the president’s party often rising in applause while the opposition pointedly remains seated.
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This year, a group of Democrats will abandon Trump’s speech for an outdoor rally against his policies. After the speech, newly elected Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, will deliver the traditional televised response.
Heightening the suspense, Trump will come face to face with justices of the Supreme Court four days after a 6–3 majority — including two Trump appointees — struck down his signature tariffs as an overreach of presidential authority.
WHEN THE SPEECHES STRETCHED TO NEW LENGTHS
Recent presidents have gone far longer than George Washington did.
President Bill Clinton set a record in 2000 with a State of the Union speech lasting 1 hour, 28 minutes and 49 seconds. Trump’s 2025 address ran even longer at 1 hour, 39 minutes and 32 seconds, according to the American Presidency Project.
Trump’s speech last year came too soon after his return to the presidency to be formally considered a State of the Union speech. As with other presidents just assuming office, his was branded merely a joint address to Congress.
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President Ronald Reagan launched the tradition of inviting special guests in 1982 by introducing Lenny Skutnik, a Congressional Budget Office employee who heroically rescued a plane crash survivor from the Potomac River.
Such honors have been contentious at times, such as in 2020 when Trump, a former reality TV star, awarded the highest U.S. civilian honour – the Presidential Medal of Freedom – to polarizing radio show host Rush Limbaugh.
VIRAL CLASHES THAT REDEFINED THE STATE OF THE UNION
In more recent years, some of the more monumental moments during presidential speeches to Congress have been confrontational and gone viral.
- In 2009: ‘YOU LIE,’ OBAMA IS TOLD
Republican Representative Joe Wilson shouted, “You lie!” at Democratic President Barack Obama during a healthcare speech to Congress, though it was not a State of the Union address. Wilson was protesting Obama’s statement that healthcare plans then being considered in Congress would not insure immigrants who entered the country illegally. Wilson later apologized in the face of bipartisan criticism over the rare breach of protocol in a presidential address.
- In 2010: A SUPREME COURT SCOWL HEARD NATIONWIDE
When the following year Obama sharply criticized the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling that he said would “open the floodgates” to unlimited corporate and potentially foreign money in U.S. elections, Justice Samuel Alito reacted by shaking his head and appearing to mouth “not true,” a rare breach of the justices’ traditionally impassive demeanor.
- In 2020: TRUMP-PELOSI FEUD IN PRIME TIME
Trump, a Republican, snubbed U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top Democratic elected official in Washington, declining to shake her hand as he handed her a paper copy of his State of the Union speech. Pelosi avoided citing the customary “high privilege and distinct honor” that usually accompanies the speaker’s introduction of the president to Congress. At the end of his 80-minute speech, Pelosi stood and ripped apart her copy of the remarks he had handed her as millions watched on television. She later told reporters it was “the courteous thing to do, considering the alternative.”
- In 2023: BIDEN’S SPIRITED EXCHANGE WITH REPUBLICANS
Democratic President Joe Biden had a spirited exchange with Republican lawmakers after some of them interrupted and booed during his State of the Union address. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene yelled “liar” at Biden after the president said, “Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset.” Republican Representative Andy Ogles of Tennessee yelled “it’s your fault” at Biden over the U.S. fentanyl crisis.
- In 2024: BIDEN TAKES ON TRUMP AND THE REPUBLICANS
Biden drew sharp contrasts with Trump, accusing his Republican rival of undermining democracy, accommodating Russia and blocking immigration reform, while largely focusing his speech on Trump without naming him. Biden needled Republicans when they booed his claim they wanted to cut taxes for the wealthy, taunting them with an ad-libbed line questioning their objections to another $2 trillion tax cut for the wealthy. “Oh, no? You guys don’t want another $2 trillion tax cut? I kind of thought that’s what your plan was,” Biden said.
WHEN SPEECHES RESET U.S. POLICY
The State of the Union speeches have at times delivered policy landmarks.
In 1941, 11 months before the United States entered World War Two, President Franklin Roosevelt gave his “Four Freedoms” speech laying out freedoms people worldwide should have: freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared an “unconditional War on Poverty,” launching an ambitious sweep of social programs that reshaped federal spending and the government’s role in economic opportunity.
In 1996, Clinton proclaimed that “the era of big government is over,” signaling a recalibration aimed at drawing Republicans into a more bipartisan approach to governing. In 2002, President George W. Bush branded Iraq, Iran and North Korea an “axis of evil” in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks, marking a turn toward a more assertive foreign policy.
Reporting by Howard Goller in Los Angeles; Editing by Will Dunham
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