President Donald Trump's post-State of the Union sales job begins now

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has delivered the State of the Union. Now the challenge for him is to make that message stick.

His address Tuesday was a declaration of pride in the achievements of his still-young second term, as he boasted of an economic renaissance at home while he's imposed a new world order abroad. Trump is getting his first opportunity to test drive that midterm year message later this week, when he travels to Texas, where the Latino voters whose shift toward Trump in his successful 2024 reelection campaign highlighted how he had reshaped the Republican coalition.

The White House aims to promote that message to a broader electorate that's largely disenchanted with Trump’s job performance, while a looming conflict in the Middle East threatens to shift focus from his domestic priorities. Trump also has a proclivity to go off-script during political rallies, such as during a speech last week in Rome, Georgia, asserting he’s “solved” affordability when high prices remain a chief concern for voters.

Still, the themes of economic prosperity and a more secure America that Trump emphasized in his 108-minute speech Tuesday will underpin the broader narrative he and his fellow Republicans will seek to sell to voters this November. A slew of Cabinet officials — including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins — blanketed the airwaves Wednesday, promoting the highlights from Trump's address.

“This is going to be setting the tone for the following year,” Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., who has close ties with Trump, told The Associated Press.

Presidents often travel immediately after delivering the State of the Union to amplify their agenda. President Joe Biden, for instance, went to swing states such as Wisconsin and Pennsylvania the day after his speech in the last two years of his term.

Vice President JD Vance will be first to hit the road with a Thursday visit to a Wisconsin factory. Trump won’t leave the Washington area until Friday, when he heads to Texas, to talk about the economy and energy policies just days ahead of the state’s March 3 congressional primaries. On the day after the State of the Union, the president will spend much of his time participating in meetings at the White House, including policy sessions and a sit-down with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

But Trump — who wove a series of made-for-social media surprises into his address — is known for being able to command attention in a fractured news environment, and he's likely to find other ways to break through aside from the usual post-State of the Union blitz.

“Donald Trump is a master at the big moments, so he obviously cares a lot about how the speech goes, but what he cares a lot about are the clips that get replayed over and over again from the State of the Union,” said Austin Cantrell, who served as an assistant White House press secretary in Trump’s first term.

Cantrell, who's now with the Chattanooga, Tennessee-based firm Bridge Public Affairs, said: “I don’t expect this to be some Aaron Sorkin-esque, perfectly choreographed post-State of the Union media fan-out.”

Six years ago, it was Trump’s move to award conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, America's highest civilian honor, that surprised the audience. Tuesday's address — record-breaking in its length — included similar attention-grabbing moments. He said he'd give the same honor to Connor Hellebuyck, goaltender for the U.S. men's hockey team, fresh off winning a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy. Trump called Hellebuyck and his teammates into the House chamber, where they were greeted with applause.

Trump also used his speech to roll out new proposals to address affordability concerns, while castigating Democrats for opposing policies he said have led to a more prosperous, safer America. Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger, in Democrats' response, argued costs remain high for many Americans and families are still struggling under Trump’s policies.

Trump called on both parties to “protect American citizens, not illegal aliens,” and pushed for measures to limit mail-in ballots and tighten voter identification rules, while warning about the dangers of unchecked, illegal migration.

“I do think a lot of the success outlined in the State of the Union will be a part of the Republican message in the fall,” Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., another close Trump ally, told the AP, pointing to the GOP's achievements on tax policy and border security. “As far as the president is concerned, I think he'll be anxious to get on the road and talk about the success.”

Senior White House officials have promised that Trump will travel the country regularly until the midterms. He so far has hit critical battleground states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania and North Carolina on his economy tour, but he also traveled to reliably conservative Iowa and the congressional district of former Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. He has boosted candidates — in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, he bantered with Republican Michael Whatley and promoted his Senate run — while sometimes veering far away from the economic points the trips are meant to emphasize.

Just the optics of leaving Washington can help telegraph to voters that a president cares about connecting with them. Edward Frantz, a historian at the University of Indianapolis, said Herbert Hoover — an engineer, self-made millionaire and technocrat — believed he could solve the nation's ills by working with his team in isolation and rarely leaving Washington. That led to a perception among voters that Hoover simply didn't care, because they didn't see him connecting with Americans.

“If you think about a call and response ... the call is the State of the Union, and if you really do care about being in touch with others, then what's the response?" Frantz said. “The best way to be able to see that is by hitting the road.”

How Americans feel about Trump has remained relatively stable throughout his second term, making it unlikely that one speech will meaningfully shift the way he’s perceived. His approval rating has changed very little during his second term, Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polling has found, falling only slightly from 42% in March 2025 to 36% in early February.

Nevertheless, the annual address offers Trump the chance to reframe his message, just as it has for presidents who came before him.

Presidential historian Timothy Naftali pointed out that in 1996, Bill Clinton used his State of the Union to set the themes of his Democratic reelection campaign. After George W. Bush’s midterm drubbing in November 2006, the Republican struck a noticeably more conciliatory tone toward the new Democratic leadership that had just taken charge on Capitol Hill.

“The State of the Union, they’re less important than they once were because with a president like Trump, he’s always available,” said Naftali, a senior research scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University. “But the State of the Union is an opportunity to reset the president’s agenda or to reaffirm it, and resetting an agenda in the social media era is different from resetting it in previous times.”

Associated Press polling editor Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux contributed to this report.

Vice President JD Vance arrives before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump applauds with Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., as he delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., speaks to members of the media at the Capitol, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., arrives before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)

President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

President Donald Trump exits the House Chamber after delivering the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran pushed back Wednesday against U.S. President Donald Trump's pressure tactics ahead of critical talks in Geneva over Tehran's nuclear program, alternating between calling his remarks “big lies” to saying negotiations may yield an agreement through “honorable diplomacy.”

The remarks by two Iranian officials ahead of Thursday's talks come as America has assembled its biggest deployment of aircraft and warships to the Middle East in decades, part of Trump's efforts to get a deal to constrain Iran's nuclear program while the country struggles at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests last month.

If the negotiations fail, Trump repeatedly has threatened to attack Iran — something Mideast nations fear could spiral into a new regional war as the embers of the yearslong Israel-Hamas war still smolder. Already, Iran has said all U.S. military bases in the Mideast would be considered legitimate targets, putting at risk the tens of thousands of American service members in the region.

Satellite photos shot Tuesday by Planet Labs PBC and analyzed by The Associated Press appeared to show the American vessels that typically are docked in Bahrain, the home of the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, all out at sea. The 5th Fleet referred questions to the U.S. military’s Central Command, which declined to comment. Before Iran’s attack on Qatar in June, the 5th Fleet similarly scattered its ships at sea to protect against a potential attack.

Trump on Tuesday night in the U.S. touched on Iran and the nuclear negotiations in his annual State of the Union speech.

“They’ve already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas, and they’re working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America,” Trump said. “They were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program, and in particular nuclear weapons, yet they continue. They’re starting it all over.”

Satellite photos earlier analyzed by the AP showed Iran beginning to rebuild its missile production sites and doing some work at the three nuclear sites attacked by the U.S. in June. Iran long has maintained its nuclear program is peaceful. The West and the International Atomic Energy Agency say Iran had a nuclear weapons program until 2003. It had been enriching uranium up to 60% purity before the June attack — a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.

Responding to Trump, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei sought to compare him to Joseph Goebbels, Adolf Hitler’s propaganda minister. He accused Trump and his administration of conducting a “disinformation & misinformation campaign” against Iran.

“Whatever they’re alleging in regards to Iran’s nuclear program, Iran’s ballistic missiles, and the number of casualties during January’s unrest is simply the repetition of ‘big lies,'" Baghaei wrote on X.

Trump said in his speech at least 32,000 people were killed in last month's protests, which is at the further end of estimates offered by activists for the death toll. The U.S.-based Human Rights Activist News Agency has so far counted more than 7,000 dead and believes the death toll is far higher. Iran’s government, which long has downplayed death tolls in other unrest, offered its only toll on Jan. 21, saying 3,117 people were killed.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker, separately said the U.S. could either try diplomacy or face Iran's wrath.

“If you choose the table of diplomacy — a diplomacy in which the dignity of the Iranian nation and mutual interests are respected — we will also be at that table," Qalibaf said, according to the semiofficial Student News Network, a media outlet believed to be close to the all-volunteer Basij force of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

“But if you decide to repeat past experiences through deception, lies, flawed analysis and false information, and launch an attack in the midst of negotiations, you will undoubtedly taste the firm blow of the Iranian nation and the country’s defensive forces.”

Iran and the U.S. are due to meet Thursday, their third round of talks under the mediation of Oman, long an interlocutor between Tehran and the West. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and his team left Tehran on Wednesday afternoon for Geneva, where they will meet American officials led by special U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff.

If the talks fail, uncertainty hangs over the timing of any possible attack, as well as its mission and goals.

The U.S. has not made clear the aims of possible military action. If the goal is to pressure Iran to make concessions in nuclear negotiations, it’s not clear whether limited strikes will work. If the goal is to remove Iran’s leaders, that will likely commit the U.S. to a more massive, longer military campaign. There has been no public sign of planning for what would come next, including the potential for chaos in Iran.

The status of Iran’s nuclear program is another mystery. Trump earlier said American strikes “obliterated” it. Now, dismantling whatever remains of the program appears to be back on the administration’s agenda. IAEA inspectors have not been allowed to inspect those sites and verify what remains.

There is also uncertainty about what any military action could mean for the wider region. Tehran could retaliate against the American-allied nations of the Persian Gulf or Israel. Oil prices have risen in recent days in part due to those concerns.

Associated Press writer Amir Vahdat in Tehran, Iran, contributed to this report.

Women walk across an overpass in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Vehicles drive in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People cross a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

People drive their motorbikes in a square in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A woman crosses a square as motorbikes ride past in downtown Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)