National Urban League: State of the Union Reveals Urgency of Our "D3" Platform
NEW YORK (February 25, 2026) — National Urban League President and CEO issued the following response to the State of the Union Address:
"The longest Presidential address in recent history was also historically dishonest, as the administration scrambles to obscure the failure of its unpopular policies.
"Far from ushering in an “unprecedented” economy, the Trump administration oversaw a slowdown of GDP growth. The rising costs of housing, childcare and healthcare have outpaced wage gains, and inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve’s targeted rate of 2%.
"The nation gained 359,000 jobs over the past year — but the health sector alone gained nearly 437,000. That means, outside of health care and social assistance, the nation lost nearly 80,000 jobs over the past year. These job losses are a direct result of the administration’s policies on tariffs, immigration enforcement, and federal permitting freezes, which imposed higher costs and operational obstacles for industries like manufacturing, construction, logistics, and energy.
"Claims about voting and the administration’s efforts to return to Jim Crow-era voter suppression were even more dishonest. The address falsely framed the SAVE Act as necessary to stop massive, systemic fraud and non-citizen voting. The bill is built on a lie that has been consistently debunked by election administrators and audits. Voting by non-citizens or other ineligible persons is virtually non-existent. States that aggressively searched for noncitizen voters found tiny counts, such as 16 in Michigan out of 5.7 million ballots, and 35 in Iowa out of 1.67 million ballots.
"In reality, the SAVE Act is a voter suppression tool that creates unnecessary barriers to voting, particularly for people of color and women. It requires in-person, documentary proof of citizenship to register, which more than 21 million Americans lack, such as passports or birth certificates.
"An especially brazen lie in the address was to describe the 2.4 million Americans facing the loss of federal nutrition assistance as “lifted off of food stamps.” They’re not being lifted; they’re being pushed off a cliff.
"Sadly, the closest the address came to the truth was the boast that the administration "ended DEI in America." While the administration did restrict diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives within the federal government, research presented at the National Urban League’s Demand Diversity Roundtable last month revealed overwhelming support for equal opportunity principles. More than 70% of voters rate diversity, equity, and inclusion positively, while 89% view equal opportunity favorably.
"As the National Urban League works to advance the D3 Empowerment Agenda – Defend Democracy, Demand Diversity, and Defeat Poverty – tonight’s State of the Union address demonstrates the administration’s active opposition to these goals and the urgency of our mission.”