All of the president's children were in attendance for his big night, and led a standing ovation for first lady Melania Trump
Credit: Win McNamee/Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- President Donald Trump gave the first State of the Union address of his second presidential term on Feb. 24
- Trump’s wife, first lady Melania Trump, and all five of his children were present to support him
- The president’s eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, was one of the first to lead a standing ovation to Melania as she was introduced at the start of his speech
President Donald Trump gave the first State of the Union address of his second presidential term on Tuesday, Feb. 24, and his family was there to support him.
As Trump, 79, prepared to deliver his speech, cameras cut to first lady Melania Trump, 55, who was next to her only child, Barron, 19, in a rare public appearance for the first son. Sitting next to the youngest Trump were his siblings, Ivanka, 44, Eric, 42, Don Jr., 48, and Tiffany, 32.
Trump opened his speech by introducing his wife, and Ivanka led her siblings in standing for a round of applause. Soon, the politicians and guests gathered in the House of Representatives chamber followed suit.
The eldest four Trump siblings were also joined by their significant others, seated directly behind them: Ivanka's husband, Jared Kushner, 45; Eric's wife, Lara Trump, 43; Don Jr.'s fiancée, Bettina Anderson, 39, and Tiffany's husband, Michael Boulos, 28.
Credit: Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty
In his speech, Trump touted that his first year back in office had caused the country to undergo a "turnaround for the ages," and he repeatedly disparaged his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
Several Democratic members of Congress skipped attending Trump's speech, instead presenting a livestreamed "People's State of the Union" at the other end of the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Others brought alleged victims of Jeffrey Epstein as a way to continue protesting the Trump administration's management of the evidence related to the late convicted sex offender.
The release of the full Epstein files was compelled by Congress, which passed the Epstein Files Transparency Act in November 2025. However, files were released in a slow trickle, with some pages heavily redacted of identifying information.
On Feb. 24, a new report from NPR alleged that, despite Attorney General Pam Bondi's claim earlier this month that the Department of Justice had released all of the Epstein files, they may have withheld some documents, including 50 pages of FBI interviews and notes related to allegations of sexual assault against Trump. Responding to NPR's report, the DOJ told PEOPLE in a statement that some details were "temporarily removed for victim redactions" but have since been restored.
A DOJ spokesperson said: "We have not deleted anything, and as we have always said, all documents responsive were produced, those not fall within one of the following categories: duplicates, privileged, part of an ongoing federal investigation."
The White House referred PEOPLE to a DOJ statement posted on X with similar claims.
Trump has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to his well-documented friendship with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Last week, he told reporters he had been "totally exonerated" by the release of the government's thousands of pages of evidence against the late financier.
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