(For other uses, see Axis of evil (disambiguation).) The term "axis of evil" was used by American president George W. Bush in his State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002, and often repeated it throughout his presidency, to describe governments that he accused of sponsoring terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction. Iran, Iraq, and North Korea were portrayed by George W. Bush during the State of the Union as building nuclear weapons. The Axis of Evil was used to pinpoint these common enemies of the United States and rally the country in support of the War on Terror.