After six incendiary weeks in the White House, President Trump delivered a speech at a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night (4). In nearly 100 minutes – the longest speech of its kind in modern U.S. history – he witnessed a Democratic member of Congress being expelled, several other Democrats walking out, and a proud Republican Party, firmly and enthusiastically supporting their president.
What important things did he say?
Trump boasted about what he has done so far, including his most controversial measures
“America is back,” Trump proclaimed at the beginning of his speech. Ironically, it was a phrase also used by Joe Biden at the start of the Democrat’s term after Trump’s first four years. A sign of how deeply divided the country is over what its values should be, what America is and means, and where it should go from here.
It was a partisan speech, primarily appealing to MAGA supporters.
Trump showed no interest in the portion of voters who did not vote for him. On the contrary, he essentially dismissed the Democrats. He referred to them as “radical left lunatics.”
He said that Democrats would never vote for anything he did, so instead, he focused mainly on what MAGA likes to hear — the anti-trans culture war, the end of pro-diversity programs, and his effort to make English the official language of the country. He spoke even more passionately about cracking down on illegal immigration. And he downplayed the economy, inflation, and the tariffs set by his government that had just gone into effect.
As usual, Trump said many inaccurate and false things
For example, he claimed that the DOGE had found hundreds of billions in fraud but never provided any evidence of this. Additionally, the numbers Trump cited do not match the figures that DOGE itself announces.
He also said that many dead people over 120 years old are receiving Social Security payments. But the head of Trump’s Social Security Administration said this is not true.
He further claimed that the country spent $350 billion on the war in Ukraine. This is something Trump continues to repeat, but he has been informed by numerous sources that the total the country has spent is about $115 billion over the last three years.
“We will take Greenland one way or another”
Apparently, he is fixated on this.
“Tonight I also have a message for the incredible people of Greenland.”
“We strongly support your right to determine your future. And if you choose to do so, we will welcome you to the United States,” Trump said, in a nod to the 56,000 inhabitants of the country. The island, the largest in the world, is an autonomous territory of Denmark.
Thank you to Elon Musk
Trump made a special mention of billionaire Elon Musk, who was watching from the gallery, at the beginning of his speech.
“Thank you, Elon,” the president said. “He is working very hard. He didn’t need to do this.”
And he continued listing some examples of unnecessary spending that he said had been eliminated by Musk’s cost-cutting initiative, provoking laughter from the Republicans.
Trump blamed Biden for egg prices
The rising cost of eggs has been making headlines in recent weeks in the U.S. And Trump — who promised voters he would end inflation — made it clear who he considered responsible.
“As you know, we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare,” Trump said.
“Joe Biden, in particular, has let egg prices get out of control — and we are working hard to bring them down again.”
Egg prices soared under Biden as his administration ordered millions of birds to be culled last year amid an avian flu outbreak. Prices continued to rise at the beginning of Trump’s presidency.
Source: NPR and BBC