Trump’s Address: Confront the Dead End that Authoritarianism Has Led to

Editorial

14:51 JST, February 27, 2026

Despite an address dominated by self-praise, it is obvious that U.S. President Donald Trump’s management of his administration has reached a dead end.

It is concerning that, far from confronting this reality, Trump is attempting to spread chaos in the United States and the world through further use of authoritarianism.

Trump has delivered his State of the Union address to the U.S. Congress. He said, “We have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before” in his first year since returning to power, asserting accomplishments in both domestic and foreign policy.

Trump cited his high tariff policy as “one of the primary reasons for our country’s stunning economic turnaround.” He also insisted that “I wouldn’t have been able to settle [many of the wars] without [tariffs],” justifying his strategy of using tariffs as a weapon to extract concessions from other nations.

However, before the address, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that his administration’s “reciprocal tariffs” imposed on countries and regions worldwide were “illegal.”

This represents an extremely significant judicial decision that rejects Trump’s approach of issuing executive orders indiscriminately and pushing ahead with policies while ignoring Congress.

Despite this, Trump, in his address, criticized the ruling and indicated he would continue tariff policies under a different legal framework. This is difficult to understand. He also said that “congressional action will not be necessary.” It is problematic that he strengthened his stance of making light of the legislature as well as the judiciary.

High tariff policies are also burdening U.S. consumers. There is a deep-rooted dissatisfaction with prolonged inflation, and Trump’s approval ratings remain low.

Yet, Trump shows no sign of revising his policies. In his address, he blamed the administration of former President Joe Biden, a Democrat, for inflation and other issues.

His bravado likely derives from a sense of urgency. If the Republican Party loses its majority in both houses of Congress in the November midterm elections, his administration’s leadership will inevitably weaken.

Will moves further grow to rein in Trump, or will his style of politics accelerate? This year will test the resilience of U.S. democracy.

As though to distract voters from his noticeably stagnant domestic politics, Trump attacked Iran in June last year and Venezuela in South America early this year. Both actions raised questions about whether he was violating international law; neither act received congressional approval.

In his address, Trump said, “We have the most powerful military on earth.” The U.S. military has assembled aircraft carrier strike groups in the Middle East, but another airstrike on Iran would inevitably cause more chaos.

Rather than puffing himself up, Trump should instead focus all his available power on achieving true peace in the Palestinian territory of Gaza and ending Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 27, 2026)