United States President Donald Trump addressed Congress on Wednesday (Tuesday in the US) for the first time since returning to power for his second term. Trump’s speech was on the heels of his sweeping decisions on tariffs, immigration, Ukraine and the layoff of federal employees.
Trump recently imposed retaliatory tariffs on rival China and neighbouring nations like Canada and Mexico. In another bold move, the US President paused aid to war-ravaged Ukraine, steering away from the predecessor Biden’s policy of backing Kyiv.
The stopping of aid to Ukraine came after an ugly verbal spat between Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the Oval Office.
“America is back” is how Trump began his address to the Congress amid Republicans chanting USA! in the House.
Here are the takeaways from Donald Trump’s speech
‘Dawan of the golden age of America’
Donald Trump opened his address to a joint session of Congress with a bold declaration that “America is back”. Reflecting on his early days in office, Trump said: “Just six weeks ago, I stood beneath this Capitol’s dome and spoke of the ‘dawn of the golden age of America’. Since then, we have taken swift and decisive action to bring about one of the most successful periods in our nation’s history.”
Disruption in the House
Addressing the disruptions, Speaker Mike Johnson urged audience members to uphold decorum. “Consider this your warning”, he stated. “Members are deliberately and repeatedly violating decorum, and if necessary, the chair will instruct the sergeant at arms to restore order to the joint session”.
About 10 Democrats walked out after revealing black T-shirts with messages on them. Representative Jasmine Crockett’s shirt on the back said, “RESIST.” Crockett left along with Representative Maxwell Frost whose shirt said, “NO KINGS LIVE HERE”
Trump’s swipe at Democrats
The US President took a dig at the Democrats saying: “I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realise there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud, nothing I can do.”
“I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations,” Trump said. “These people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. They won’t do it no matter what… It’s very sad. And it just shouldn’t be this way… Democrats sitting before me, for just this one night, why not join us in celebrating, so many incredible wins for America,” Trump said.
‘US no longer woke’
“Our country will be woke no longer”, Trump said, referring to his moves to eliminate diversity measures in the federal government. “We’ve ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government, and indeed, the private sector, and our military,” Trump said. Crockett left along with Representative Maxwell Frost whose shirt said, “NO KINGS LIVE HERE”
‘Ridiculous Green New Scam’
Trump claimed he had done away with the “ridiculous Green New Scam”, referring to the clean energy and environmental policies introduced under former President Joe Biden. However, key provisions of Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act—such as tax credits for electric vehicles, hydrogen, and solar power—are still in place. To fully roll back these measures, Congress would need to amend or repeal the IRA.
Trump calls Biden ‘worst President’
Donald Trump called his predecessor “worst President in the history of American history”, claiming that thousands of illegal crossings happened in America under Biden’s presidency.
“Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency on our southern border. I deployed US military and border patrol to repel the invasion of our country and what a job they have done! As a result, illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded. In comparison, under Joe Biden – the worst President in American history, there were hundreds of thousands of illegal crossings a month,” Trump said.