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Some of the most notable guests at Trump’s 2026 State of the Union: photos
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Prominent figures from across the media, business and political landscapes showed up as guests to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday evening.
Notable attendees included Erika Kirk, the widowed wife of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, David Ellison, the media mogul and CEO of Paramount, and Kevin O’Leary, the Shark Tank media personality and businessman.
Several of the more notable attendees were highlighted by Trump during his address.
Kirk received a mention from the president as he condemned political violence of all kinds in his address.
«We must all come together to reaffirm that America is one nation under God, and we must totally reject political violence of any kind,» Trump said.
Charlie Kirk, who was just 31-years-old at the time of his death, was killed by a gunman on Sept. 10, 2025, while conducting a political debate event at Utah Valley University.
The U.S. men’s hockey team also made an appearance on Tuesday, receiving praise from Trump fresh off their gold medal victory in the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.
The U.S. team poses for a group photo after defeating Canada in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics. Milan, Italy, on Feb. 22, 2026. (Luca Bruno/AP Photo)
TRUMP SHAMES DEMOCRATS IN VIRAL STATE OF THE UNION CHALLENGE ON MIGRANT CRIME: ‘FIRST DUTY’
«Congratulations to team U.S.A.,» Trump said as the players streamed into the chamber during the address.
Trump also highlighted guests brought by others, like First Lady Melania Trump. She invited 10-year-old Everest Nevraumont, a youth advocate for education through artificial intelligence.
«I challenge keeping America’s next generation positioned to succeed and strongly succeed in the future,» Trump said.
Trump also used guests like Enrique Márquez, a former political prisoner of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, to remind audiences of his international achievements under his second administration.
In early 2026, the U.S. stormed Venezuela’s capitol city and captured Maduro, giving Trump newfound leverage in negotiations over the country’s future.
«We’re working closely with the new president of Venezuela to unleash extraordinary economic gains for both of our countries,» Trump said.
The White House reunited Márquez with his family at the State of the Union.
Trump also awarded the Purple Heart to Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe and deceased Army Specialist Sarah Beckstrom, two National Guard members who were critically injured and fatally shot by a gunman who ambushed them while on duty last year in Washington, D.C.
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 24: West Virginia National Guard Staff Sgt. Andrew Wolfe is recognized as U.S. President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber at the Capitol on February 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Trump delivered his address days after the Supreme Court struck down the administration’s tariff strategy, and amid a U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf threatening Iran. (Kenny Holston-Pool/Getty Images)
RO KHANNA’S STATE OF THE UNION GUEST RECRUITED OVER 20 UNDERAGE GIRLS FOR EPSTEIN: ‘LIKE HEIDI FLEISS’
«I’m going to ask a highly respected General James Seward to present Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe and the great family of Sarah Beckstrom, with the award created by our late, great president, George Washington himself,» Trump, who invited her parents as his State of the Union guests, said. «It’s called the Purple Heart. We love you all.»
As Trump spoke, Major General James «Jim» D. Seward, Adjutant General of the West Virginia National Guard, presented Specialist Beckstrom’s medal to her parents and pinned the Purple Heart on Staff Sergeant Wolfe in the viewing gallery above.
Guests like O’Leary and Ellison did not receive a shoutout from the president, but mingled with multiple lawmakers.
O’Leary, primarily known for his television presence on ABC’s Shark Tank, owns companies like O’Leary Ventures and O’Leary Fine Wines.
In recent years, O’Leary has surfaced as a political commentator, giving his thoughts on the effectiveness of political party messaging, voter sentiments and more.
LIZ PEEK: AMERICA EXPECTED ONE THING FROM TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION. IT GOT ANOTHER
President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Jessica Koscielniak/AP)
Ellison is the current chairman and CEO of Paramount Skydance Corporation keeps a relatively low political profile but, in the past, has made several high-dollar donations to many Democratic candidates despite now calling himself a friend of President Trump.
Trump has boasted publicly about a personal relationship with Ellison.
Most recently, Ellison has made headlines for his attempt to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery — a move that would solidify Ellison and Paramount as titans in the media world.
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He was seen walking into the House of Representatives on Tuesday alongside Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who invited him.
«Honored to have David Ellison as my guest to POTUS’ State of the Union address this evening,» Graham said in a post to X.
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Trump’s fraud czar nominee touts Minnesota blueprint to root out Obamacare fraud, senior scams
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The crackdown on fraud in Minnesota will serve as a blueprint for a new Department of Justice office focused on protecting taxpayer funds from scams, President Donald Trump’s pick to serve as the nation’s «fraud czar» explained in his nomination hearing Wednesday.
«The work in Minnesota has been pivotal. The work of the U.S. Attorney’s office there, and the personnel there, has been pivotal to highlighting the problems of fraud that permeate our taxpayer funded programs,» nominee to serve as assistant attorney general for a new Justice Department division tasked with rooting out fraud, Colin McDonald, said Wednesday.
«That sort of effort … is what the National Fraud Enforcement Division will be looking to do and scale to an extent that we’ve not seen before within the Department of Justice,» he continued.
Trump tapped McDonald as the nominee in January, just days after establishing the Department of Justice’s new division for national fraud enforcement that will «investigate, prosecute, and remedy fraud affecting the Federal government,» according to the White House. The new office follows a sweeping Minnesota fraud scandal, where hundreds of millions of dollars was allegedly swindled from taxpayers through welfare and social services programs.
Colin McDonald appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning, where lawmakers grilled the nominee about the new office, how it will operate and if it will operate independently of the White House. (Graeme Sloan/Getty Images)
«I will be working with the inspectors general community,» McDonald continued. «With our federal agencies and federal partners, with our state and local partners to ensure that we find the fraud where it’s occurring and that we have the resources to prosecute it, to investigate it and prosecute it, and ultimately ensure that the fraud that we’re seeing annually, perpetrated against these programs comes to an end.»
McDonald appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday morning, where lawmakers grilled the nominee about the new office, how it will operate and if it will operate independently of the White House.
Trump delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday evening and announced Vice President JD Vance will lead the administration’s «war on fraud.»
McDonald explained that his office will work to tackle all fraud bleeding taxpayers, citing Government Accountability Office data that estimates between $320 billion to $520 billion in taxpayer funds is lost to fraud on an annual basis.
«My commitment is to work tirelessly to build a division, a national fraud enforcement division, where no fraud is too big for the Department of Justice, and no fraud is too small for the Department of Justice,» he continued.
At the top of lawmakers’ minds were fraud concerns surrounding Obamacare and senior citizens.
Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn cited that the Government Accountability Office could not reconcile over $21 billion in Obamacare marketplace subsidies in tax year 2023 during his questioning of McDonald.
Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican from Iowa and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, left, and Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, during a confirmation hearing. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
HEAVILY-REDACTED AUDIT FINDS MINNESOTA MEDICAID HAD WIDESPREAD VULNERABILITIES
«I commit to working tirelessly to root out the sort of fraud that you’ve identified there, and to make sure that every single dollar that’s supposed to go to these programs actually goes to the programs, to the beneficiaries, the intended beneficiaries of these programs, and not to fraudsters. That is my commitment,» McDonald told Cornyn during the hearing regarding potential fraud surrounding Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Scams targeting the elderly also took the spotlight throughout the hearing. Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, pressed McDonald on his efforts to protect seniors from scams, noting that America’s seniors lose $28 billion annually to financial schemes.
The fraud czar nominee pledged that the DOJ would work to protect seniors from the increasingly high-tech scams, which often include using artificial intelligence to confuse and swindle people, noting that the fraud affects entire families.
Quality Learning Center in Minnesota was found at the center of an alleged childcare fraud scandal in the state. (Madelin Fuerste/Fox News)
«It’s not just the grandmothers and the grandfathers, it’s also their family members who bear the weight of these scams and the fraud that’s perpetrated against them,» he said. «My grandmother, one of them, turns 89 years old in two days. And she has seen these … sorts of efforts toward her. And it’s a major issue that the Department of Justice is focused on, and we will be using all available tools to ensure that we combat that problem.»
The massive Minnesota fraud case has reverberated across the nation, with federal Republican lawmakers reinvigorating calls to tighten and monitor the release of taxpayer funds to various programs, most notably social and welfare offices.
DR OZ DETAILS ‘WEAPONIZATION OF FRAUD’ IN MINNESOTA, ESTIMATES TOTAL MEDICAID FRAUD TO BE $100 BILLION
Trump spotlighted the fraud in his State of the Union address Tuesday, claiming the scams are even worse in states such as California, Massachusetts, Maine.»
«When it comes to the corruption that is plundering — it really, it’s plundering America — there’s been no more stunning example than Minnesota, where members of the Somali community have pillaged an estimated $19 billion from the American taxpayer. Oh, we have all the information,» Trump said Tuesday.
U.S. President Donald J. Trump delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. Seated behind him are Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA). (Kenny Holston /Pool via Reuters)
«And in actuality, the number is much higher than that, and California, Massachusetts, Maine and many other states are even worse. This is the kind of corruption that shreds the fabric of a nation, and we are working on it like you wouldn’t believe,» he continued, before naming Vance as the administration leader taking on fraud.
The White House referred Fox Digital to Trump’s State of the Union comments and McDonald’s testimony when approached for additional comment on the federal fraud crackdown efforts.
FEDERAL WELFARE SPENDING IS A FRAUD MAGNET — AND TAXPAYERS ARE PAYING THE PRICE
Vance joined Fox News’ «America’s Newsroom» Wednesday, and said his efforts will include a «full, whole government approach» to investigating fraud concerns, and enlisting the Justice and Treasury Departments to lead probe on fiscal records.
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«There’s a whole host of tools that we have that have never been used, and the president and I talked about this a couple of months ago and said, ‘What if we just did everything that we could to stop the fraud that’s being committed against the American taxpayer?’ The president said, ‘Great idea, let’s do it,’ and we’re going to work on that very aggressively over the next year,» Vance said.
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The Chagos Islands deal fell into disarray Wednesday amid conflicting U.K. government messages about whether ratification was paused for talks with the United States over the strategic Indian Ocean military base Diego Garcia.
Foreign Office Minister Hamish Falconer had told members of Parliament that ratification of the deal to cede the islands to Mauritius had been paused while discussions with Washington continued.
A U.K. government spokesperson later denied there was any formal suspension of the process, insisting no deadline had ever been set and reiterating that Britain would not move forward without American backing.
«We are continuing discussions with the U.S., and we have been clear we will not proceed without their support,» the spokesperson said, Reuters reported.
Diego Garcia in the Chagos Islands is a strategic Indian Ocean military base hosting 2,500 U.S. personnel. (Reuters)
The confusion saw critics claim the deal reveals weaknesses that could affect Western security amid heightened tensions.
«The U.S. saw this first-hand when the U.K. alerted Mauritius to an impending operation against Iran — an alert Mauritius then protested,» Robert Midgley, spokesperson for Friends of the British Overseas Territories, told Fox News Digital.
«This is what prompted President [Donald] Trump’s statement,» Midgley said, after Trump publicly criticized the deal despite having initially supported it.
Trump had reignited the controversy Feb. 18 in a post on Truth Social, urging Prime Minister Keir Starmer to abandon the agreement.
«DO NOT GIVE AWAY DIEGO GARCIA!» Trump wrote, calling the deal a «big mistake» and placing additional strain on transatlantic negotiations.
STARMER SENDS UK STRIKE GROUP TO ARCTIC, CITES RISING RUSSIA THREAT AS TRUMP PUSHES GREENLAND DEAL
The agreement would see Britain cede sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius while securing a 99-year lease over Diego Garcia, the strategically vital island that hosts a major joint U.S.-U.K. military base. (Planet Labs PBC)
Midgley argued the deal should be «withdrawn» in line with Trump’s wishes.
«The U.K. government should now go one step further and withdraw the bill from Parliament and find an alternative solution,» he said.
«Ministers have inadvertently exposed that the deal has no legal basis and risks creating a more insecure world in the face of states like China and Iran,» he added.
The agreement, struck last year, would see Britain cede sovereignty of the Indian Ocean archipelago to Mauritius while securing a 99-year lease over Diego Garcia, the strategically vital island that hosts a major joint U.S.-U.K. military base.
The base plays a central role in operations across the Middle East, Africa and the Indo-Pacific, meaning the proposal has faced mounting political pressure on both sides of the Atlantic.
TRUMP SIGNALS WILLINGNESS TO DEFEND DIEGO GARCIA MILITARY BASE IF FUTURE DEAL THREATENS US ACCESS
President Trump has urged the United Kingdom to not give away Diego Garcia. (Reuters Photos)
The legislation is currently before the House of Lords, where objections have been raised. No date has yet been set for a debate or vote, further adding to the uncertainty.
Midgley urged Washington to continue to resist the agreement and back Britain in retaining control of the territory.
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«The U.S. should stand firm, continue to reject the deal, and support the U.K. in asserting sovereignty to help preserve the future of Western security,» he warned.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the UK government for comment.
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