President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night amid stock market turmoil driven by his stiff new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, and the controversy over Elon Musk’s DOGE campaign to slash federal spending and workforce levels.
The speech comes on the heels of Trump’s stunning verbal clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office Friday, and Trump’s subsequent decision to pause U.S. military assistance to Ukraine for its war against Russia.
Trump was quickly interrupted early in his remarks by Rep. Al Green, a Texas Democrat who was ordered ejected from the House of Representatives chamber after heckling the president and refusing to sit down.
Trump’s speech is structured around the theme of “the renewal of the American dream,” according to early excerpts from the White House.
As he spoke, nearly two dozen House Democrats held black-and-white signs that said, “Save Medicaid,” and “Musk Steals.”
Trump began, saying, “Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the Golden Age of America.”
“From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country,” Trump said. “We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in 4 years or 8 years — and we are just getting started.”
“The American dream is surging bigger and better than before.”
The president also said to say, “Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families,” by working to bring inflation down.
And Trump blamed his immediate predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for letting the price of eggs “get out of control.”
“The American Dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again.”
Trump in his speech highlighted his immigration policies, energy plans and his administration’s efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the government.
He also touted his tariff policy, which on Tuesday imposed tariffs of 25% on imported goods from Canada and Mexico, and 20% on goods from China.
The president’s guests for the annual event include Marc Fogel, a schoolteacher who was released from prison in Russia in February, and the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the attempted assassination of Trump in western Pennsylvania last July.
Musk is attending the speech as a special guest.
Both political parties have traditionally used their guest lists for this annual speech to highlight their policy priorities and draw attention to specific issues.
Democrats’ guests include a number of military veterans and others who were fired in the ongoing reduction of federal jobs that is being overseen by Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
Democrats also have invited people who could be affected by Republican cuts to Medicaid or other government programs.
The last time Trump addressed a joint session of Congress was Feb. 4, 2020, when he delivered the final State of the Union address of his first term in office. The following day, the Senate voted to acquit Trump in his first impeachment trial.
US Vice President Mike Pence claps as Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi appears to rip a copy of US President Donald Trump speech after he delivers the State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2020.
Mandel Ngan | AFP | Getty Images
The 2020 speech is best remembered as the night then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., dramatically ripped up a copy of Trump’s speech as soon as he had finished delivering it. The moment went viral online, a dramatic example of the disdain that many Democrats felt for Trump.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is set to deliver the Democratic response to Trump’s speech Tuesday night.
This is developing news. Check back for updates.
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