President Donald Trump will address the nation on Tuesday (Feb. 24) in his first official State of the Union since reclaiming the White House. With a declining approval rating, a truckload of lawsuits and an unusual amount of political tension in the air, many critics have little faith that Trump’s speech will do much to move the needle and reassure Americans.
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The Root spoke to Derrick Johnson, the president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), who spelled out his feelings for the administration plainly.
“Unfortunately, I have no expectations from this president and this State of the Union,” Johnson told us. “He has demonstrated in past activity– other State of the Unions, or press conferences or just his late night [social media] posts– that whatever he says in the State of the Union will most likely be untrue.”
We previously told you about the president’s bad habit of misleading statements and deflections concerning the Jeffrey Epstein files and the administration’s deportation data… among other things. Still, millions are expected to tune in tonight to hear what Trump has to say, including the many Black Americans who largely don’t support him.
“In this democracy, our vote is our currency, and we have the most reliable voting block for decency in this country,” Johnson said of the Black community. The president’s rocky relationship with Black Americans has certainly backfired on him. Johnson pointed out that over 90 percent of Black folks voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris over him back in 2024.
“No community is monolithic in how they think, what they do. But in our community we remain aligned,” he added. “Over 90-plus percent of people in our community are aligned with their political view, how they see this current presidency and the lack of support you have from the Black community.”
This, according to Johnson, is why the NAACP and rest of the Black community are holding the president accountable. “We have witnessed in the second term, the damaging policy violence that this administration has pursued,” he explained to The Root. In 2025 alone, the Black unemployment rate rose to a shocking 7.2 percent, according to the Department of Labor. That’s compared to the national average of 4.2 percent.
Black folks have also taken a beating from Trump’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), attempting to erase Black historical figures from federal websites and the October government shutdown, which also cut SNAP benefits for millions. As Johnson explained, Black Americans are feeling the consequences of a president with a self-proclaimed mandate.
“There are no guardrails when you have a trifecta as this administration did,” he continued. “There is nothing to hold them accountable for the lawlessness they have projected.” President Trump will stand in front of a very skeptical America tonight for his State of the Union address starting at 9 p.m.
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