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President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address of the television age Tuesday, declaring “a turnaround for the ages” as he tried to sell Americans on his economic program ahead of crucial midterm elections later this year.
The speech had all the ceremony, confrontation and chaos that have come to define the event in an era of narrow congressional majorities and partisan polarization. Democratic Representative Al Green was ejected from the chamber for disrupting the speech. Trump invited the gold-medal-winning men’s Olympic hockey team into the gallery amid chants of “USA! USA! USA!” He awarded several medals honoring veterans and active-duty service members.
And in more than 1 hour 47 minutes, the longest State of the Union in history, the president delivered a rally-like speech punctuated less by policy proposals than by political attacks.
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On today's podcast:
1) A powerful winter storm started to taper off across the Northeast Monday evening after smashing records and dropping more than a foot of snow in eight states. The impact is expected to linger for days. More than 11,000 flights have been grounded through Tuesday, and more than 500,000 homes and businesses were without power as of 5:45 p.m. local time. Drivers in some parts of Massachusetts have been ordered to stay off the roads as snowplow crews struggle to catch up after whiteout conditions engulfed the state’s South Coast. Manhattan’s Central Park recorded about 20 inches (50 centimeters) of snow from Sunday through Monday. Islip on Long Island received more than 22 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Providence, Rhode Island, broke its record for a single snow storm with 32.8 inches, the National Weather Service said. The old record was set from Feb. 6-7 during the Blizzard of 1978 when 28.6 inches fell.
2) Affordability and tariffs are expected to be two key domestic themes of President Trump's State of the Union address, posing headline risk for credit-card issuers, homebuilders, single-family REITs and retailers exposed to duties. He will likely address the Supreme Court's tariff ruling, reiterating his pledge to keep them in place, while other proposals requiring congressional approval face long odds in 2026. With President Trump's approval rating at 42% according to RealClearPolitics, consumer affordability of goods and services will be a key focus for the administration ahead of the US midterm elections in November. So far in 2026, Trump has proposed measures such as a 10% cap on credit-card interest, regulatory cuts to lower household energy prices, tax relief and prohibiting corporations from purchasing single-family homes. Yet investors should note that presidential authority to drive affordability goals may be limited, especially if congressional approval is required or if tariff policy risks driving higher inflation.
3) President Trump’s new 10% global tariffs went into effect on Tuesday, kicking off a White House effort to preserve the adminstration’s trade agenda after the Supreme Court struck down his original sweeping duties. The president signed an executive order last Friday authorizing the 10% import tax just hours after the ruling. He subsequently threatened to raise the number to 15%, but Trump did not officially issue a directive to increase the rate by Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. Washington time when the 10% levy went into effect. The White House is working on a formal order that will increase the global tariff rate to 15%, according to an administration official. The timeline for implementing that higher levy has not been finalized, said the official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private matters.
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On today's podcast:
1) A powerful winter storm has isolated New York City and hobbled transport networks, threatening to be among its worst on record, with 41 million people across the US East Coast facing blizzard conditions. The storm shut down the vast majority of flights out of the region’s largest airports on Monday, including in the New York area and in Boston. New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declared a state of emergency and closed streets, highways and bridges to most traffic after 9 p.m. Sunday until noon Monday. Major snowfall of as much as 30 inches is expected across the East Coast in some areas, with the heaviest set through Sunday night and into Monday morning, the National Weather Service said, making travel impossible.
2) Senior US officials said President Trump’s tariff defeat at the Supreme Court won’t unravel deals negotiated with US partners as they sought to defend the administration’s assertive trade policies. Those deals — which the administration made with partners including China, the European Union, Japan and South Korea — remain in place, US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said Sunday on CBS’s Face the Nation. He sought to separate those arrangements from the planned 15% global tariff Trump announced Saturday. Friction over the renewed uncertainty spilled out Sunday as the European Parliament’s trade chief said he’ll propose freezing the EU’s ratification of a trade deal with the US until the Trump administration clarifies its policy. In New Delhi, officials cited similar reasons for India postponing talks in the US this week on finalizing an interim trade deal. The US Supreme Court ruling that struck down Trump’s use of emergency authority to wield tariffs preceded his planned trip next month to China. Greer suggested that alternative US trade tools, including those involving investigations of other countries’ trade practices, would give the US leverage.
3) The US and Iran are set to resume talks Thursday in Geneva, according to Omani mediators. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he expects to meet US special envoy Steve Witkoff for the talks and reiterated that Iran won’t be pressured by a US military buildup in the region. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X that the US-Iran negotiations “are now set for Geneva this Thursday, with a positive push to go the extra mile towards finalizing the deal.” After talks last week, a US official said Iran was expected to return with proposals in two weeks to bridge remaining gaps. The US has orchestrated a massive military buildup in the Middle East including two aircraft carriers as President Trump presses Tehran for a new nuclear deal. Trump said on Friday he’s considering limited strikes on Iran, risking another destabilizing conflict.
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Bloomberg Daybreak Weekend with Host Nathan Hager take a look at some of the stories we'll be tracking in the coming week.
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The US Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs, undercutting his signature economic policy and delivering his biggest legal defeat since he returned to the White House.
Voting 6-3, the court said Trump exceeded his authority by invoking a federal emergency-powers law to impose his “reciprocal” tariffs across the globe as well as targeted import taxes the administration says address fentanyl trafficking.
The justices didn’t address the extent to which importers are entitled to refunds, leaving it to a lower court to sort out those issues. If fully allowed, refunds could total as much as $170 billion - more than half the total revenue Trump’s tariffs have brought in.
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- Henrietta Treyz, Managing Partner and Director of Economic Policy at Veda Partners
- Dave Townsend, Partner with Dorsey & Whitney
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On today's podcast:
1) The US military is stationing a vast array of forces in the Middle East, including two aircraft carriers, fighter jets and refueling tankers, with President Trump saying that Iran had 10 to 15 days at most to strike a deal over its nuclear program. “We’re either going to get a deal, or it’s going to be unfortunate for them,” Trump told reporters Thursday aboard Air Force One. On a deadline, Trump said he thought 10 to 15 days was “pretty much” the “maximum” he would allow for negotiations to continue. The deployment is unlike anything the US has done since 2003, when it amassed forces before the invasion of Iraq. It dwarfs the military buildup that Trump ordered off the coast of Venezuela in the weeks before he ousted President Nicolas Maduro. While the US isn’t likely to deploy ground troops, the buildup suggests Trump is giving himself discretion to launch a sustained campaign lasting many days, in cooperation with Israel.
2) President Trump declared victory in the fight over cost-of-living concerns, signaling a new approach that seeks to deny problems with his economic agenda while touting stock market gains to insist that his tariff plans have been a success. Pocketbook issues have emerged as the central focus of the upcoming November congressional elections with households hit hard by costs for groceries, utilities and housing. Polls show voters have soured on Trump’s economic policies, endangering Republicans’ hold on both chambers of Congress and the future of the president’s legislative agenda. Trump and allies have highlighted slowing inflation and job growth that has come in above expectations, but that has failed to assuage voters, and opened the door for Democrats who have seized on that discontent to boost their midterm prospects.
3) Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the brother of the UK’s King Charles, was released under investigation on Thursday after being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The Thames Valley Police confirmed it had released a Norfolk man in his sixties, without mentioning the former royal by name. Last week, the police force said it was leading the assessment of allegations tied to the US Department of Justice’s publication of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. King Charles III issued a statement outlining his “deepest concern” about the matter and promising Buckingham Palace’s “full and wholehearted support and co-operation” with the investigating authorities. The arrest of Andrew, who turned 66 on Thursday, heaps further embarrassment on Britain’s royal family following years of lurid allegations about ties with Epstein that the former prince has consistently denied. His arrest appears to be the first of a UK royal since King Charles I in the 17th century following his defeat in the English Civil War.
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On today's podcast:
1) While both the US and Iran have sounded cautiously upbeat about the latest round of diplomatic talks between the nations, analysts believe that strikes on Iranian targets remain a likely possibility. The US has amassed military assets in the Middle East and has dispatched a second aircraft carrier to the region. Concerns of a broader conflict held Brent crude above $70 a barrel. The US also announced new visa restrictions, with the State Department saying it is targeting 18 Iranian officials and telecommunications industry leaders and their immediate family members for the crackdown and communications blackout, blaming them for “inhibiting the right of Iranians to free expression and peaceful assembly.”
2) Billionaire retail tycoon Leslie Wexner told a US House panel Wednesday that he visited Jeffrey Epstein’s private Caribbean island but said at the time he wasn’t aware of any sex trafficking operation involving the disgraced financier. Wexner said he went to the island once with his wife and children “for a few hours” while the family was in the area on their boat, according to his opening statement in a deposition to congressional investigators that was provided to Bloomberg News by his attorney. The House Oversight Committee has been investigating what role Epstein’s broad network of connections may have played in facilitating his enterprise or delaying criminal prosecution. Wexner was questioned behind closed doors by congressional investigators for six hours on Wednesday, a spokesman for the panel said.
3) OpenAI is close to finalizing the first phase of a new funding round that is likely to bring in more than $100 billion, according to people familiar with the matter, a record-breaking financing deal that would give the startup additional capital to build out its artificial intelligence tools. As the ChatGPT maker prepares to spend trillions in infrastructure investment, the overall valuation of the company, including the eventual funding, could exceed $850 billion, according to some of the people. That’s higher than the $830 billion initially expected. The company’s pre-money value will remain $730 billion, said one person, all of whom asked not to be identified discussing private information.
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On today's podcast:
1) The US and Iran made progress in nuclear talks in Geneva on Tuesday, with Tehran’s negotiators scheduled to return with a new proposal in two weeks, a US official said on Tuesday, a cautiously upbeat assessment that suggests the chances of an imminent military clash are low. The official, who asked not to be named, said Iran would return with detailed proposals to address the remaining gaps between the two sides, but cautioned that there were still a lot of details to discuss. In an earlier statement, Iran said it had reached a “general agreement” with the US on the terms of a potential nuclear deal that would lift sanctions on Tehran and ease the risk of a broader war in the Middle East. But from the outset, there was also confusion between the US and Iranian sides on the scope of the negotiations, with President Trump bringing Tehran to the talks under the threat of US airstrikes.
2) Ukraine and Russia began a second day of US-brokered talks in Geneva after Kyiv’s lead negotiator held separate meetings with American and European allies to coordinate their approach. “Consultations are taking place in groups focusing on specific areas within the political and military blocs,” Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Rustem Umerov said Wednesday on Telegram. Russian media also reported that the negotiations had resumed behind closed doors. Umerov on Tuesday said he’d met with representatives of the US, France, the UK, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. “It’s important to maintain a common vision and coordination of actions between Ukraine, the US and Europe,” he said after the meetings in a post on Telegram. “There is an understanding of shared responsibility for the outcome.”
3) Japan plans to invest up to $36 billion in US oil, gas and critical mineral projects, the first tranche of its $550 billion commitment under the trade agreement it struck with President Trump. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the projects were designed to build resilient supply chains through cooperation in areas crucial for economic security, including critical minerals, energy and artificial intelligence. The most significant investment is a natural gas facility in Ohio that’s expected to generate 9.2 gigawatts of power, according to a statement from US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, a massive project which Trump described as “the largest in History.”
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On today's podcast:
1) The Reverend Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader who marched alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and later ran for president, has died at 84, according to a statement from his family released early Tuesday. Ordained in 1968, he spent decades fighting for voting rights and economic justice. A longtime advocate for racial and economic justice, Jackson was with King in Memphis in 1968 when King was assassinated. He went on to found the Rainbow PUSH Coalition and became one of the most prominent voices in American civil rights and politics.
2) Iran and the US are set to meet for a second round of nuclear talks in Switzerland on Tuesday morning as they seek to avoid renewed conflict in the Middle East following last year’s attacks on the Islamic Republic. Oman will mediate the negotiations in Geneva almost two weeks after the first round was held on February 6th, Iran’s state broadcaster said. Iranian officials have expressed willingness to discuss their nuclear-enrichment activities, but have tied any concessions to the potential easing of American sanctions. Meanwhile, Washington is increasing its military presence in the Middle East, deploying a second aircraft carrier to the region amid warnings of a possible strike on Iran if talks — which could drag on for weeks — fail to produce a compromise. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps held drills around the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Monday that were focused on delivering a “decisive” response to security threats.
3) Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Europe’s fate is intertwined with the US while faulting the continent for what he said was a drift away from their shared Western values. “We want Europe to prosper because we’re interconnected in so many different ways, and because our alliance is so critical,” Rubio told Bloomberg News Editor-in-Chief John Micklethwait on the sidelines of the conference on Saturday. “But it has to be an alliance of allies that are capable and willing to fight for who they are and what’s important.”
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On this special President's Day Holiday edition of Bloomberg Daybreak, host Nathan Hager discusses:
-We get another big earnings report ahead of Nvidia. On Thursday, we hear from Walmart. For more, we hear from Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Analysts Jen Bartashas and Poonam Goyal.
- Nvidia reports its latest quarterly numbers next week. So what should we expect from the chip -behemoth? We speak with Mandeep Singh and Kunjan Soubhani of Bloomberg Intelligence.
-The world’s richest man, Elon Musk, is suing OpenAI, a company he co-founded. That trial is set to take place in April. We get details from Bloomberg Intelligence Litigation Analyst Matthew Schettenhelm
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