From grief to gold medals, Trump’s SOTU guest list tells a bigger story
President Donald Trump will deliver his fourth State of the Union address of his presidential tenure Tuesday night, which will include guests stretching from conservative speaker Charlie Kirk's widow, Erika, to the parents of the National Guard member fatally shot on the streets of Washington, D.C., in November 2025.
Trump will take the dais at 9 p.m. Eastern Standard Time Tuesday, when he is expected to deliver a data-heavy speech focused on the economy and his administration's wins to lower cost-of-living woes.
He will be joined by special guests who will help illustrate how his policies have delivered real savings to everyday Americans, those who have been the victims of crimes and tragedy and those embodying American triumph.
Among top names invited to the address are Erika Kirk, who is now leading conservative group Turning Point USA after her husband, the group's co-founder and executive director, was assassinated in September 2025 while touring college campuses. Trump's speech will include mentions of the U.S.' "tremendous revival of faith, Christianity, and belief in God in our country" since Kirk's death, The Daily Wire reported.
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The U.S. men's hockey team also is traveling to the speech after winning gold in the Olympics after defeating Canada 2–1. The team traveled on a blue-and-white Air Force jet from Miami to the nation's capital Tuesday.
Everyday Americans also will play a large role in Trump's speech, with the president inviting women such as Catherine Rayner of Norfolk, Virginia. Rayner and her husband have been navigating fertility complications and in vitro fertilization for five years.
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Rayner became the first patient of TrumpRx.gov — a government-run portal designed to steer consumers toward lower-cost prescription drugs offered by manufacturers — earlier in February when it rolled out, and saw pharmaceutical bills drop from about $4,000 to $500, Fox News Digital previously reported.
The president also invited Pennsylvania mom Megan Hemhouser, who homeschools her two children and also works as a waitress in the evenings. Her husband is a heavy machinery operator, with the family showcasing how the president's "no tax on tips" and "no tax on overtime" policies have benefited everyday families. The Hemhousers have benefited from a $5,000 increase in take-home pay under Trump's tax plans included in the one "big beautiful bill."
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Trump also invited the parents of Sarah Beckstrom, the 20-year-old National Guard member who was killed in Washington, D.C., ahead of Thanksgiving 2025.
Dalilah Coleman, 7, will also attend the speech, a White House official confirmed to Fox. Coleman was left seriously injured by a California car crash involving an illegal immigrant truck driver in 2024.
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First lady Melania Trump invited guests who the White House said reflect on her "Be Best, Fostering the Future" push, including Sierra Burns, a participant in her Foster Youth to Independence Program, and Everest Nevraumont, a 10-year-old student at an AI-focused private school, Alpha School, an AI advocate and a TedX speaker.
The pair will join the first lady in her box for the 2026 State of the Union, spotlighting her focus on expanding opportunity through education and technology, according to the White House's website.
Trump additionally invited the U.S. women's hockey team to the speech after their gold win over Canada, but they declined due to the timing of the speech.
Trump's speech is expected to focus on economic wins under his leadership, while celebrating the nation's landmark 250th anniversary of independence.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Digital ahead of the speech, "President Trump's State of the Union Address will celebrate 250 glorious years of our nation's independence and excellence, highlighting incredible stories of American heroes throughout the speech."
Fox News' Pat Ward contributed to this report.