Transcript of President Trump hails the golden age of America

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. What if the 2027 SAP deadline wasn't a burden, but an opportunity? I'm Nishita Henry, special host of Resilient Edge, a business vitality podcast paid and presented by Deloitte. Discover how Deloitte, AWS, and SAP are helping enterprises move faster, operate smarter, and unlock AI value they didn't know was possible. Available now wherever you listen to podcasts. We We focus on the part of the Internet that most people don't know about. It's called the Dark Web. Undercover in the furthest corners of the Dark Web. Us Special Agents are on a mission to locate and rescue children from abuse. Moving in now. Police. From the BBC World Service, World of Secrets, the Darkest Web follows their shocking investigations. Listen on BBC. Com or wherever you get your BBC podcasts. This is the Global News podcast from the BBC World Service. I'm Pete Ross, and it's 16h GMT on Wednesday, the 25th of February. These are our main stories. We'll take a closer look at Donald Trump's claim in his State of the Union address that America is in a golden age. In Sudan, four leaders of the paramilitary Sudanese group, the Rapid Support Forces, have had sanctions imposed on them by the United Nations.

Police in Sri Lanka arrested a former intelligence chief in connection with the deadly 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed nearly 280 people. Also in this podcast, Japan says it will deploy missiles on a small but strategic island close to Taiwan amid rising tensions with China. If you're in a tall building looking out, it will help or just somewhere over the sea. All those things really help to find planets when they're low down in the sky. A rare opportunity to see six planets lined up on parade. In our previous podcast, you heard about Donald Trump's historically long State of the Union speech, during which the US President told a sharply divided Congress that his administration had heralded, in his words, the golden age of America. In nearly two hours of remarks, Mr. Trump talked up his successes, railed against Democrats over the economy and immigration, and warned Iran against developing its nuclear program. We'll have an assessment of the key points made by Mr. Trump during his address in a moment. But first, here's a reminder of the highlights of the speech from Helena Humphrey. Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States. A prime time pitch to the nation from a President not known for his brevity.

True to form, Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in history. As his approval ratings slide and concerns about affordability grow, the President insisted Americans have never had it so good. Our nation is back, bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before. His greatest hits were on full display. No tax on tips, doubling down on tariffs, and a promise to stay tough on immigration. The only thing standing between Americans in a wide open border right now is President Donald J. Trump and our great Republican patriots in Congress. Thank you. The speech was often interrupted by cheers and chants of USA. Usa, USA, USA. The Olympic gold medal winners in the US Men's Hockey Team received a standing ovation. But at times, tension spilled into the chamber. You should be ashamed of yourself. That is why I'm also asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and an act serious protest. Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar shouted in protest during the President's remarks on immigration and the Somali community in her home city of Minneapolis. Fellow Democratic lawmaker, Al Green, was escorted from the chamber. He had waved a sign, protesting a video the President had posted depicting the Obamas as apes.

We're lucky we have a country. With people like this, Democrats are destroying our country, but we've- And dozens of other Democrats had refused to show up in the first place. We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we have- But Donald Trump's speech was also aimed at an audience beyond the chamber. With a military strike on the table, the world watched closely for what the President had to say about Iran. My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy. But one thing is certain, I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon. Can't let that happen. What was not said was notable, too, including the Epstein files and growing calls for accountability here in Washington. We did not hear the truth from our President. Delivering the democratic response, Virginia's governor, Abigail Spanberger, accused the President of misleading Americans. Is the President working to make life more affordable for you and your family? We all know the answer is no. The 250th anniversary of our glorious American Independence. In a speech marking nearly 250 years since America's founding, the President made his case that Republicans should shape its future.

As the country heads towards November's midterm elections, it's up to voters to decide. We've seen nothing yet. We're going to do better and better and better. This is golden age of America. Helena Humphrey. What about some of the economic accomplishments asserted by President Trump? I spoke to Ben Chew from BBC Verifying. He told us what stood out for him from the President's speech. I think really the economy and the claims about the cost of living were the standout theme of this State of the Union, obviously, with the midterms coming up and that being the top priority we know for American voters. He really wanted to emphasize that a corner has been turned, that things are getting better and that people will be feeling it. Can we have some specifics on the actual claims that he made? Well, he made a claim that inflation in general is under control, but also actually the prices of things are coming down. I think we're going to hear specific items which he singled out. The price of eggs is down 60%. The cost of chicken, butter, fruit, hotels, automobiles, rent is lower today than when I took office by a lot.

Even beef, which was very high, is starting to come down significantly. Just hold on a little while. We're getting it down. Look, the price of eggs is a iconic one, isn't it, in terms of the traditional shopping basket? We think his number is a bit exaggerated there. We're not quite sure over what period he's talking about. They are down year-on-year eggs quite significantly. That is true. Beef down very slightly month-on-month. But the point is, these are specific things in a shopping basket. If you look at the overall consumer price index, which is the main measure of inflation in the US, it's running at about 2. 4%. That's down from about 3% at the end of Joe Biden's term. It's true that the overall inflation rate has declined under him, but there's not been a radical shift. Now, the economy was just one area that the President focused on last night. Another area that he claimed success was immigration. Can you tell us a bit more about that? Yeah, he said that basically he had managed to cut off illegal immigration entirely. I think we can hear exactly what he said. After four years in which millions and millions of illegal aliens port across our borders totally unvetted and unchecked, we now have the strong longest and most secure border in American history by far.

In the past nine months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States. This claim needs a bit of context. He's talking about zero admitted, but that's not the same thing as zero illegal migrants crossing the border. He's talking about them being enabled and permitted to stay while their claim is scrutinized by the courts. Actually, there have been about 6,000 a month illegal migrants across that Mexican US border crossing, detected rather than zero. That's the appropriate figure to use. But to be fair to the President and the White House, that is dramatically down on what it was under Joe Biden. Sometimes under Joe Biden, it was more than 200,000 a month. So it is radically down, not quite to zero. Ben Chou. On Iran, Donald Trump said that while his preference would be to settle the issue through diplomacy, he won't allow Tehran to develop a nuclear weapon. Our chief International Correspondent, Lise de Sète, told us more. It's a measure of President Trump's style of leadership. Here it is, as we've been reporting, the longest ever State of the Union address, taking place at the very moment where there's the biggest US military buildup since the Iraq invasion of 2003.

And yet he leaves remarks on Iran to the very end and doesn't say that much. And some of our viewers, our listeners may remember that when George W. Bush was preparing to go into Iraq, he traveled the country to make the case. Okay, much of the case turned out to be incorrect, but he still felt the need to make the case to the people of America. Two points on what he said. He said, We haven't heard from them the words, We do not want nuclear weapons ever. The foreign minister of Iran put up almost exactly those same words into a post he put on X as he was preparing to go to Geneva for another round of talks tomorrow. The question is, will Iran offer the verification for that claim that they do not want ever to develop nuclear weapons? And I understand from diplomats who are being briefed on these negotiations that they are within reach of a narrow nuclear deal, and that is what they're discussing. Then suddenly, President Trump starts talking about ballistic missiles. And I don't think we've heard him Say this before, that Iran is working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.

In other words, not only is it the issue of nuclear weapons, but we in America are affected by that ballistic missile program, which, as far as we know, Iran, in fact, it's made it clear it will not discuss ballistic missiles in detail in this deal. Lees de Sett. For more on this story, you can go on YouTube, search for BBC News, click on the logo, then choose Podcasts and global news podcast. There's a news story available every weekday. The UN Security Council has imposed new sanctions on four leaders of Sudan's paramilitary rapid support forces over atrocities committed in El Fashr in the western Darfur region. Among them is the group's Deputy Commander, Abdul Rahim Hamdan Daghalo. The RSF's capture of the city from the army last October was one of the most brutal chapters in Sudan's nearly three-year civil war. Last week, a UN fact-finding mission concluded that the violent takeover bore the hallmarks of genocide. Our Africa correspondent, Barbara Plet, Usher, told me who'd been sanctioned and what they'd been accused of. Well, all four of them have been accused of engaging in actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, or stability of Darfur, including acts of violence and human rights abuses.

That's the UN language for why they are sanctioned. The key figure is Abderrahim Daghgala, who's the second in command of the RSF. They essentially say that he was in control of the operation, that there was video of him in the city the day that it fell on a day that there were many reported atrocities and that he was in charge of the operation. Now, the fact that he was there obviously placed him in immediate proximity to those atrocities. And so the conclusion was that he had operational authority. Also, he's been in charge of other RSF operations. Two other senior commanders who were present in Alfašr on the same day, there was video of them there, they were also sanctioned. And then a commander known as Abu Lulu, who earned the nickname Butcher of Alfašr because of horrific videos that that he posted, which showed him killing unarmed civilians, boasting about it, smiling as he did it. That wasn't, of course, the only incidence of atrocities. But I think that the very graphic nature of those videos really highlighted to the international community what was going on in Alfašr. He has also been sanctioned. What are the practical consequences of these sanctions?

What happens next? Well, there's travel bans and asset freezes, and that's the norm. More generally, there's going to be increased scrutiny on financial transactions, long term monitoring, access to services may be difficult internationally, and so on. I think the reputational damage is another factor. This is a very high profile international stigma, and especially, I think for the RSF, which is trying to get legitimacy and recognition as a parallel government in Sudan, which set up last year as a national player with a legitimate seat at the table. So this is not helping that project. And bear in mind that this is the fourth time that Abdurahim Daghgolo has been sanctioned, the leader of the RSF has been sanctioned, It does as the head of the Sudanese army. And these three commanders who were sanctioned have also been designated by the US and the UK. So you're getting a consistent pattern of targeting the same officials. But whether or not that actually makes a difference, as I said, This has happened before in terms of sanctions, and it hasn't had an impact on the ground. Barbara Plet usher. In Spain, dozens of documents relating to a failed coup d'État that took place 45 years ago have been declassified.

In February 1981, about 200 officers in the Civil Guard stormed into Congress during a vote to swear in a new Prime Minister. Then this happened.. Spain at that time was just a young democracy. The military dictator Francisco Franco had died a few years earlier, and the country was now a parliamentary democracy, with King Juan Carlos as its Constitution institutional figurehead. But elements loyal to Franco weren't happy with the way the transition to democracy was going. Many of the facts of this pivotal moment in Spanish history are known, but not all. And earlier today, the government released a bundle of classified documents relating to the failed coup. Elma Sais is a government spokesperson. There are 153 documents that have remained classified for decades under Francoist regulations but can now be consulted by historians researchers, and the general public through official channels. Under Franco's regime in our country, everything was secret by default and forever unless otherwise stated. We are thus putting an end to a situation that is atypical in modern democracies regarding the declassification of state information. Our correspondent, Guy Hetzko in Madrid, has more details. It's regarded as the defining moment in Spain's transition to democracy.

On the 23rd of February 1981, One, a group of civil guards burst into Parliament and took MPs hostage at gunpoint for several hours in an attempt to push the country back to authoritarianism. The uprising was put down after the young King Juan Carlos addressed the nation, voicing his opposition to the rebels, and the declassified documents include police and judicial reports and details of conversations between the king and officials. The socialist-led administration says it's correcting an historical anomaly. It's not clear whether there will be any shocking revelations. Perhaps the most interest will be focused on the former King Juan Carlos, who some observers believe did not play as heroic a role as the history books suggest. Guy Hedgco. Scientists say they fear thousands of Emperor penguins may have died because the platforms of sea ice where they go to regrow their feathers are disappearing due to climate change. Shrinking sea ice means they're reentering the icy waters before their waterproof coats are ready. Dr Peter Fretwell from the British Antarctica Survey is the scientist behind the findings. We know that over the last few years, the sea ice in Antarctica has changed dramatically. And in 2022, '23, '24, we had record low sea ice years.

And in those years, in the areas that we've been looking at, which is about 30 to 40% of the Emperor Penguin population, the sea ice went out from underneath the malting Emperor penguins, which It's possibly led to many of them going into water and many fatalities. Our climate and science correspondent, Georgina Rannard, told us more. In order to survive the cold, Emperor penguins must remain on platforms of sea ice for long enough every year to replace weather beaten feathers with new waterproof coats. But global warming is rapidly changing Antarctica. Satellite pictures show that after summer, sea ice shrank dramatically in 2022 and '23, there now appeared to be far fewer penguins in West Antarctica. Research is at the British Antartic Survey, fear thousands of the birds may have died in the continent's icy waters, but there is some hope that a few groups managed to adapt and move to safer ice. Georgina Ranard. Still to come in this podcast? We came around the corner and then we were confronted by a convoy of must have been 10 vehicles loaded with cartel members, were really armored with automatics. There were guns mounted on the roofs of the trucks, and they were blocked the road and they stopped us.

Cam is returning to the streets of Mexico after a wave of violence across the country sparked by the army's killing of the country's most to drug lord known as El Mencho. What happens when a mandate becomes a breakthrough? I I'm Nesita Henry, special host of Resilient Edge, a business vitality podcast paid and presented by Deloitte. I sat down with two leaders who are redefining what enterprise transformation looks like. Jerry Hoberman from Deloitte, and Sarah Oligood from AWS, took me behind the scenes on how manufacturing, government, and global enterprises are evolving through major systems change. What excites me is when we have these breakthrough moments that this stuff doesn't happen by accident. The triad of AWS, of Deloitte, of SAP, being able to understand the value proposition that people seek, being able to architect that, and then actually to define a roadmap to progressively achieve the goal, really is what makes these successful. Getting your humans to change the way they're interacting with their technology, the way that they're following the processes, or just that they're reinventing altogether and we're going to completely throw something out is very challenging. Here's what stood out. The 2027 SAP deadline isn't a compliance problem.

It's a strategic reset, a chance to rethink how value is created. If your vision is across a 10-year horizon, your ROI is going to be different than if your vision is across a one or two-year horizon. How do you move decades of systems and data without slowing the business down? And how do you simplify operations while preparing for what comes next? From legacy systems to AI-ready infrastructure, the full conversation reveals how Deloitte, AWS, and SAP help organizations reduce and unlock continuous innovation. All of that and more on this special episode of Resilient Edge. Find us wherever you listen to podcasts. We focus on the part of the Internet that most people don't know about. It's called the Dark Web. Undercover in the furthest corners of the Dark Web, US special agents are on a mission to locate and rescue children from abuse. Moving in now. Police. From the BBC World Service, World of Secrets, the Darkest Web follows their shocking investigations. Listen on bbc. Com or wherever you get your BBC podcasts. America is changing, and so is the world. But what's happening in America isn't just a cause of global upheaval. It's also a symptom of disruption that's happening everywhere.

I'm Asma Khalid in Washington, DC. I'm Tristan Redman in London, and this is the global story. Every weekday, we'll bring you a story from this intersection, where the world and America meet. Listen on BBC. Com or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Global News podcast. Nearly seven years ago, terror attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka saw nearly 280 people killed. Now, the police have arrested the former intelligence chief in connection with the deadly Easter Sunday bombings. Retired Major General Sourish Shalai had previously been accused of involvement in coordinating the attacks, a charge he's denied. Our correspondent in the region, Arundh Mukraji, told me more. Well, this was something that Sri Lanka was really jolted by. The bombings shook the country. It had not seen such levels of violence since the end of the bloody Civil War in 2009, which is why it was extremely shocking, where three very high-profile hotels as well as other installations were attacked, and the blame had on Islamist groups. It was Easter Sunday, so it was a sensitive day as well, which is why it was a targeted attack, is how a lot of people saw it.

It was something that really, really shook the country, which is why even now, so long after the attacks, people have been looking for justice, and this arrest is the most high-profile arrest in the case since the new President, Anurakummar Desanaike, assumed office in 2024. And securing justice for the victims of those bombings was among his key pre-poll which is why this is being seen as a massive major development. A major development, but these bombings happened in 2019. Can you tell us more about why this arrest has happened now? This was something that had happened in 2019. There was a lot of angst among the public and the families of the victims who essentially claimed and made accusations that the government off the day was involved, which is why this became a political issue as well for the new government, which took over in 2024, because there was political pressure to try and get to the bottom of what really happened, which is why this was an important pre-poll promise from Anurakumara Desa Nairke, who is the current President, that when he comes to power, he is going to get to the bottom of what really happened.

This is being seen as a result of that investigation, which, in a sense, has borne fruit under this new government. This was something that the people at that time had blamed the establishment, which is why Major General Suresh Sally's role becomes all the more significant, because the allegation was that he'd known about this attack that was going to take place, and he'd allowed it to go ahead because the allegation was that he wanted it to influence the upcoming actions in favor of the candidate, then Mr. Gotabe Rajapakse, and he actually went ahead and won the elections. Now, these are investigations that the general has denied completely, but it is an investigation that is currently undergoing, and this is the first significant arrest. Arunday Mukarji. Yonaguni is a small, remote Japanese island that's around 2,000 kilometers southwest of Tokyo. But Japan's westernmost inhabited island is little more than 100 kilometers off the Coast of Taiwan. Now, the Japanese government has, for the first time, given a timeline for the deployment of surface-to-air missiles there. It comes amid growing tension with China, which claims Taiwan as its own and has not ruled out the use of force to reunify it.

Our correspondent in Tokyo, Shama Khalil, says the timing of this announcement was significant. The plans themselves have been in place since 2022. I think this is first time that the government has announced a solid timeline for them, with the defense minister, Shinji Rukoi-zumi, saying that we're likely to see the deployment of these surface-to-air missiles between April 2030 and March 2031. Beijing will be watching this closely. This is the latest development in a simmering regional tension between those two neighbors. I think they'll be watching with alarm, with worry, but without much surprise, because remember that This comes under the heavy cloud of the sharp intentions between Tokyo and Beijing. Because of the remarks by Prime Minister, Sonai Takhaichi in November that Japan would become militarily involved if China were to attack Taiwan. In the same month, Shinji Rukoizumi visited Yonaguni, this beautiful, idyllic, sleepy island. He visited there for the first time to announce that these plans were moving steadily forward. At the time, China Sina, slammed the proposal saying it was extremely dangerous. Within days of that, back in November, Japanese aircraft were scramble near Yonaguni because of suspected Chinese drones. You mentioned there, Shama, that the defense minister had made a visit there recently.

But what about the role of the Prime Minister, Sanai Takahichi? She secured a landslide victory in parliamentary elections recently. Has that had an impact on all of this, do you think? I think what it does is it gives it a big push forward because Sanai Takahichi is a well-known China Hawk. She's very, very strong on defense. This landslide victory in Parliament essentially gives her political space, gives her the impetus to double down on boosting Japan's defense capabilities. Remember that in her announcement, big policy announcement, a couple of weeks after this landslide victory where she won a big two-thirds majority, one of the things that she discussed was to was to revise the Pacifist Constitution, essentially have a national discussion about the situation that Japan is in right now, diplomatically, but also regionally. Her and her party's stance is that Japan should be able to defend itself. The Japanese army should be able to behave like a conventional army, which they don't at the moment. So the planned deployment of medium-range surface-to-air missiles to Yonaguni feels like this opening chapter of a more assertive Tokyo, led by Sanai Takayichi, What you're seeing really is Japan becoming more assertive on defense, come to fruition by bringing these plans forward, starting with Yonaguni, which is closest to Taiwan.

That's what makes it so sensitive. That's why it's likely to anger China for there. Shama Khalil in Tokyo. Schoolchildren return to classes in Mexico on Wednesday, following a wave of violence on Sunday that came in response to the army's killing of the country's most wanted drug lord, known as El Mencho. Some of the worst violence took place in the popular tourist resort of Puerto Vallarta, from where Will Grant reports. After moving to Puerto Vallarta from the UK nine years ago, Alan Percy and his family began adopting dogs. Eventually, they'd adopted so many, they opened a dog sanctuary called the Sula Society. Today, they care for 300 abandoned dogs in the largest animal refuge in Jalisco State. It's all-consuming work. But on Sunday, their task became even harder. Alan was held up at gunpoint by mast cartel members who pulled him from his vehicle and stole his truck. Probably 10 minutes into the journey, five minutes driving from my house, we came around the corner and then we were confronted by a convoy of must have been 10 vehicles loaded with cartel members, heavily armored with automatics. They were guns mounted on the roofs of the trucks and they were blocked the road and they stopped us.

I know no Spanish that when they were saying, solo coche, solo coche, that they just wanted a car. Alan must now rely on a loaned car to bring in food and supplies. The rescued animals unwittingly affected by the violence which swept across Mexico following the death of the cartel boss, El Menchón. The cartel show of force shook Puerto Vallarta, with videos of the violence still circulating on social media, including one in Puerto Vallarta, where numerous cars in the parking lot of the Costco store were attacked. I'm walking through the wreckage of a dozen cars around me which have been completely ruined, completely gutted. It is an apocalyptic scene. What was otherwise a quiet Sunday suddenly exploded into an extraordinary outpouring of cartel violence right before the eyes of the disbelieving residents and tourists. But now the cleanup is well underway. Puerto Vallata's mayor, Luis Mujer, insists the town is getting back on its feet. If we focus on tackling people's needs, strengthening institutions, and showing our best face to the world, then we'll bring back trust to this town and be on the right path as a local government, he told me. Are you worried that taking out El Menchó could then divide the cartel?

They start attacking each other, and what happens here turns into a battle in the streets. We have to make sure we don't make problems worse in a complex, intense moment, he said. We must look out for our people, for the tourists who visit us. That's what we need to do. The fallout from El Menchó's death has knocked this tourist hotspot. Now, its leaders, residents, and its visitors just hope the calm in this otherwise peaceful town isn't shattered again by armed men trying to so fear. We'll grant in Puerta Vallarta. Now, depending on where you are, if you look up into the sky at night this week, you might be lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an unusual phenomenon. Astronomers say that six of our Solar System's planets will line up as if on parade later this week, although the first signs can seen tonight. Mercury, Venus, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus, and Jupiter will form a rare alignment, and if the sky is clear, they can be watched early in the evening in the Western sky. While they're visible globally, the best views will be in the northern hemisphere. Professor Robert Massey is Deputy Executive Director of the Royal Astronomical Society.

You're going to need to look for this almost immediately after sunset, but I should stress not before sunset because I don't want people damaging their eyes. It's going to really help if you have a pair of binoculars as well. Venus This is very, very low down at that point, but also very bright. So that might be a bit of a signpost. Higher up from that is Mercury, quite a lot fainter, but you can pick it out that way. Further up, Saturn. Again, tricky. Probably be able to see it with your eye. Near there is Neptune. Definitely need a small telescope or binoculus for that. And then, as you mentioned, higher up, Uranus. Get an app of some kind to find it. It'll be quite hard to find otherwise. And then further around Jupiter, which is really standout and actually really great throughout the evening right now. Also, the moon is near Jupiter, too. So that's another another thing to add to the spectacle. To be honest with you, Venus is going to get a lot better over the next few months or even the next few weeks. Mercury is going to disappear. It's going to be, think from memory, going in front of the sun right now.

Not exactly in front, but more or less in that direction. Mars isn't around at all. But this is a nice chance just to see planets, and certainly, Venus, very low down, should be a standout thing. If you sit there just at sunset. I should also stress you need, obviously, not just clear skies, but a really good horizon as well. If due west over the sea would be my recommendation, I think. Get the best horizon you can. Maybe if you're in a tall building looking out, it will help, or just somewhere over the sea. All those things really help to find planets when they're low down in the sky. Professor Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society. And that's all from us for now. If you want to get in touch, you can email us at globalpodcast@bbc. Co. Uk. You can also find us on X at BBC World Service. Use the hashtag globalnewspod. And don't forget our sister podcast, The Global Story, which goes in-depth and beyond the headlines on One Big Story, available wherever you get your podcasts. This edition of the Global News podcast was mixed by Sarah Kimberly, and the producers were Arjan Coci and Carla Conti.

The editor is Karen Martin. I'm Pete Ross of ours. Until next time. Goodbye. We focus on the part of the internet that most people don't know about. It's called the Dark Web. Undercover in the furthest corners of the Dark Web, US Special Agents are on a mission to locate and rescue children from abuse. Moving in now. Police. From the BBC World Service, World of Secrets, the Darkest Web follows their shocking investigations. Listen on bbc. Com or wherever you get your BBC podcasts.