The 1975 State of the Union Addresses was given by Gerald R. Ford. The speech was the first State of the Union address of President Ford's tenure as president. The president discussed the national debt, taxes, the federal budget, and the energy crisis. Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He previously served as the leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives, and as the 40th vice president of the United States from 1973 to 1974. When President Richard Nixon resigned in 1974, Ford succeeded to the presidency but was defeated for election to a full term in 1976.