LIST: Special guests at President Trump's State of the Union address

President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in modern history Tuesday night, using his first formal speech of his second term to tout policy victories and spotlight Americans whose stories brought his message to life. 

>> Trump touts economic turnaround, border security, peace efforts in State of the Union Address << 

The speech, which lasted nearly one hour and 48 minutes, surpassed Trump’s own record set last year and drew frequent applause from Republican lawmakers. 

Among those in attendance were members of the Supreme Court, Cabinet officials, diplomats and invited guests seated in the House gallery.

Here are the special guests Trump highlighted during the speech. 

Erika Kirk 

Erika Kirk, widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, stood in the gallery as the chamber broke into sustained applause. 

Charlie Kirk was best known as the founder of Turning Point USA, the youth-focused conservative organization he launched as a teenager that grew into a nationwide network active on high school and college campuses. Over the years, he became a prominent voice in politics. He mobilized young voters, championed free-market principles, religious liberty and pro-life causes, and built one of the most influential grassroots operations on the right. Kirk was assassinated in 2025 while speaking at an event at Utah Valley University. 

Trump paused his address to honor him and his widow directly.

He told the chamber, “Charlie was violently murdered by an assassin and martyred for his beliefs. His wonderful wife Erika is with us tonight. Erika, please stand. Thank you. You've been through a lot.” 

As she stood to applause and chants of “Charlie,” Trump credited Charlie Kirk with helping renew faith and religion in America while rejecting political violence.

US men’s Olympic hockey team 

Fresh off their gold-medal victory, the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team received one of the loudest ovations of the night.

Holding their medals high as “USA!” chants filled the chamber, the team made what Trump called proof that America is “winning again.”

“Our country is winning again. In fact, we're winning so much that we really don't know what to do about it... You're going to win bigger than ever and to prove that point, here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud: the men's gold-medal Olympic hockey team,” he said.

 Sage Blair

Virginia teen Sage Blair and her mother, Michelle, were featured during Trump’s remarks on parental rights and gender policy.

“Sage was thrown into an all-boys state home and suffered terribly — but today, all of that is behind them, because Sage is a proud and wonderful young WOMAN, with a full-ride scholarship to Liberty University,” he remarked.

He used her case to call for banning secret "gender transitions" of minors without parental consent.

 Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe & Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, Purple Heart recipients

Trump awarded Purple Hearts to Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe, who was injured in a November 2025 Washington, D.C., ambush, and posthumously to Spc. Sarah Beckstrom, who was killed in the attack.

Trump said of Beckstrom: “After a four-month deployment, she voluntarily extended her service, and her rank was going to be lifted. She was doing so well. They were so proud of her.”

Megan Hemhauser

The witness of Pennsylvania waitress and homeschooling mom Megan Hemhauser was highlighted as an example of what Trump described as the success of his tax policies.

“I met Megan Hemhauser, a devoted mom who homeschools her children, waiting tables at night as her husband works overtime operating very heavy equipment,” he said. “Megan is here this evening, and she's happy to tell you that she is so, so much richer because, with no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and our expanded child tax credit... Megan and her husband will take home more than $5,000 extra just for the year, cutting her tax bill in more than half.”

Angel parents 

Several angel parents — families who lost loved ones to crimes committed by illegal immigrants — were present and collectively acknowledged

Among them was Dalilah Coleman, whom Trump said was 5 years old in June 2024 when an 18-wheeler ran into her family’s stopped car. He said the truck driver was “an illegal alien.”

Trump also recognized the family of Lizbeth Medina, a 16-year-old he said was stabbed to death in 2023. He described her alleged attacker as “a previously arrested illegal alien.”

Referencing the recent National Angel Family Day Feb. 23, Trump said: “These are the angel families that we love, that for decades our government betrayed and our media totally ignored.”

Trump also recognized Anna Zarutska, the mother of Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was fatally stabbed on a light-rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, in August 2025. 

Seated in the gallery beside Erika Kirk, Anna Zarutska became emotional as Trump addressed her directly. 

"We are honored to be joined tonight by a woman who's been through hell, Anna Zarutska. In 2022, she and her beautiful daughter — Iryna, so beautiful, what a beautiful young woman — fled war-torn Ukraine... Mrs. Zarutska, tonight I promise you we will ensure justice for your magnificent daughter, Iryna."

The suspect, DeCarlos Brown Jr., has been charged federally in the case. During his remarks, Trump described him as a “deranged monster” and a repeat offender who had been released under no-cash bail policies, and was “set free to kill” after he “came in through open borders.”

Trump’s call for tougher criminal justice policies, including proposals he referred to as “Iryna’s Law,” aimed at addressing repeat offenders and bail practices.