March 4 (UPI) -- President Donald Trump addressed a raucous joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, the first significant speech of his second term. Speaking six weeks into his presidency, Trump laid out his domestic and foreign policy agendas before a divided House and Senate.
Trump opened his 1-hour, 40-minute speech, by calling it a "great honor" as he declared "America is back," to loud cheers and boos.
"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 most successful era in the history of our country," Trump started his speech, flanked by Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who sat behind him.
"We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years and we are just getting started," Trump said as half of the chamber stood and cheered.
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"I return to this chamber tonight to report that America's momentum is back. Our spirit is back. Our pride is back. Our confidence is back. And the American Dream is surging -- bigger and better than ever before," Trump proclaimed. "The American dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback."
"Now, for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction," Trump added, before touting he won the popular vote, which drew loud boos from Democrats and chants of "USA" from Republicans.
Johnson, R-Ky., immediately gaveled a warning to "restore order," as Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was escorted out of the chamber. Trump chided Democrats for not supporting his policies, which he said are "so good for the country."
The president's address, which is not a State of the Union speech as it comes less than two months after assuming office, was delivered Tuesday night to members of Congress, U.S. Supreme Court justices, members of Trump's Cabinet -- many of them already confirmed -- and invited guests inside the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
Trump entered the House chamber at 9:14 p.m. ET, wearing a blue suit and purple tie, to loud cheers and a standing ovation as he pumped his fist, while the other half of the chamber remained seated with many booing his arrival. Others started chanting "USA, USA" as Trump neared the podium to shake hands with Vance and Johnson.
First lady Melania Trump, who was wearing a gray suit, also received a standing ovation from half of the chamber as she entered and waved to those in attendance. Members of the Democratic Women's Caucus wore the color pink to honor of the rights of women and to protest Trump's speech. "Pink is the color of power and protest," according to Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M.
Trump's speech, titled "The Renewal of the American Dream," was his first significant speech of his second non-consecutive term. Trump is the second president in U.S. history, after Grover Cleveland, to win non-consecutive terms in the White House.
During his speech, Trump discussed government spending, tariffs, the border, crime, defense, Russia's war in Ukraine, Israel's war in Gaza, U.S. health, education, inflation and the economy.
"Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families," Trump said Tuesday. "As you know, we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare. Their policies drove up energy prices, pushed up the cost of groceries and drove the necessities of life out of reach for millions of Americans."
"We suffered the worst inflation in 48 years, but perhaps even in the history of our country. As president, I am fighting every day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again," Trump said to another standing ovation from Republicans as Democrats held signs that said "save Medicaid" and "Musk steals."
Trump addressed the high price of eggs, saying "Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control and we are working hard to get it back down."
The president discussed his plan to fight inflation by reducing the cost of energy and "drill baby, drill," in addition to cutting government waste through the Department of Government Efficiency as he introduced Elon Musk to loud cheers and boos.
Trump then began listing specific government programs that he called "waste."
"Scholarships in Burma," and "$8 million for making mice transgender. This is real," he said as he continued, "$20 million for an Arab Sesame Street program" and "$59 million for luxury hotels for migrants in New York City."
"All of these scams have been found out and exposed and terminated by mostly young people headed up by Elon Musk, and we appreciate it," Trump said as half of the chamber stood up and cheered.
"We have taken back the money to reduce the debt and fight inflation," Trump added, as he began listing the millions of people on the Social Security payroll who are over the age of 150 years old.
"We are a much healthier nation than we thought, right Bobby?" Trump quipped, as he pointed to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.
The president's joint address to Congress drew strong reactions from both sides of the aisle as it fell on the same day the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico.
"We pay subsidies to Canada and Mexico of hundreds of millions of dollars, and the United States will not be doing that any longer," Trump said, as he touted new investments in the United States by SoftBank, Apple and other large companies. And Trump announced he would implement reciprocal tariffs to begin on April 2, because it is "only fair."
Trump's speech also comes amid stalled efforts to broker an end to Russia's war in Ukraine following a contentious White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and subsequent "pause" on military aid to Ukraine.
"I am also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict, with no end in sight," Trump said.
"The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine's defense. Meanwhile, Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine -- by far! And Biden has authorized more money in this fight than Europe has spent," Trump claimed.
"Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelensky of Ukraine. The letter reads 'Ukraine is ready to come back to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer,'" Trump announced to cheers. "It's time to stop this madness. It's time to stop the killing. It's time to end this war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides."
Recently freed Russian prisoner Marc Fogle, an American history teacher from Pennsylvania, applauded Trump's announcement from the chamber with his 95-year-old mother, Malphine Fogel, who had asked Trump to help free her son before his Butler campaign rally last July.
The family of Corey Comperatore, the firefighter killed by a gunman who tried to assassinate Trump during that Pennsylvania campaign rally, was also in the House chamber.
"My life was saved by a fraction of an inch, but some were not so lucky," Trump said. "Corey was a firefighter, a veteran, a Christian, a husband, a devoted father, and above all a protector," as he threw himself over his wife and daughters to shield them from the gunfire. Trump also honored those injured in the attack.
More than a dozen guests were invited to sit with the first lady to highlight Trump's policies.
The mother and sister of Laken Riley, the Athens, Ga., college student named for the Laken Riley Act and killed last year by a Venezuelan migrant, were also in attendance.
"Laken was stolen from us by a savage illegal alien gang member who was arrested while trespassing across Biden's open southern border and then set loose into the United States under the heartless policies of that failed administration," Trump said as he introduced Laken's family and vowed to "insure their daughter would not have died in vain."
"It's called the Laken Riley Act, so America will never forget," Trump said as half of the chamber gave a standing ovation.
"Since taking office, my administration has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history and we quickly achieved the lowest border crossings ever recorded," Trump announced to cheers, again from half of the chamber.
"Democrats kept saying we need new legislation, we must have legislation to secure the border. But it turns out that all we really needed was a new president," Trump said to loud cheers.
"Joe Biden didn't just open our borders, he flew illegal aliens over them to overwhelm our schools, hospitals and communities throughout the country," Trump added. "Now we are achieving the great liberation of America. But there is still work to be done."
Alexis Nungaray, the mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was allegedly murdered by two migrants just weeks before her birthday, was also in attendance.
"Earlier tonight I signed an order, keeping my word to you. One thing I learned about Jocelyn is that she loved animals so much, she loved nature. Across Galveston Bay from where Jocelyn lived in Houston, you'll find a magnificent wildlife refuge," Trump said, adding that "I formally renamed that refuge in loving memory of your beautiful daughter Jocelyn."
Stephanie Diller, the widow of New York Police Department officer Jonathan Diller who was killed during a traffic stop last year, was in the chamber to hear Trump honor her husband.
"I have already signed a mandatory death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer," Trump announced as he honored Diller. "I'm also asking for a new crime bill to get tough on repeat offenders while enhancing protections for America's police officers."
"In recent years, our Justice system has been turned upside-down by radical left lunatics," Trump said as he pointed to Democrats in chamber. "Many jurisdictions ceased enforcing the law against repeat offenders while weaponizing law enforcement against political opponents, like me. My administration has acted swiftly and decisively to restore fair, equal and impartial justice under the Constitutional rule of law, starting at the FBI and DOJ."
"We are once again giving our police officers the support and respect they deserve," Trump added. "This also includes our great fire departments throughout the country."
Trump also discussed plans to Make America Healthy Again, as he introduced Kennedy.
"Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply and keep our children healthy and strong," Trump said. "My administration is also working to protect our children from toxic ideology in our schools."
Mother and advocate January Littlejohn, who fought school administrators for allowing her daughter to transition without parental consent, also attended the president's speech, as Trump called what happened to her daughter a "form of child abuse."
"Stories like this are why I signed an executive order banning public schools from indoctrinating our children with transgender ideology," Trump said. "And now I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children."
"Our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way that God made you," Trump said to loud cheers. "Because we are getting wokeness out of our schools and out of our military," as he introduced Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Trump touted higher military recruiting numbers over the past month and announced he would ask Congress to fund a "start-of-the-art golden-dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland."
"Ronald Reagan wanted to do it years ago, but the technology wasn't there," he said.
The president also announced plans to increase ship building in the United States, along with his goal to "reclaim the Panama Canal."
And Trump discussed the United States' withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and honored the 13 soldiers killed, as he announced the United States had just apprehended the top terrorist "responsible for the atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice," to which the president received another standing ovation.
Trump concluded his 1-hour, 40-minute-long speech with a look back at history.
"We stand on the shoulders of those pioneers who won and built the modern age. These workers who poured their sweat into the skylines of our cities. The warriors who shed their blood on fields of battle and gave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom," Trump said. "We will fight, fight, fight for the country our citizens believe in."
"Now it is our time to take up the cause of American liberty and to take America's destiny into our own hands and begin the most thrilling days in the history of our country," Trump concluded.
Earlier, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., urged Democrats attending Trump's address to have a "strong, determined and dignified" presence amid reported plans to disrupt the speech. Several Democrats were seen walking out of the chamber, as others booed or sat silently.
Other Democrats announced before the speech that they would boycott, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
"I'm not going to the Joint Address," Ocasio-Cortez wrote Tuesday in a post on Bluesky. " I will be live posting and chatting with you all here instead."
Rep, Don Beyer, D-Va., announced he would not attend Tuesday, predicting Trump would "preen and gloat about his return to power and its abuses of that power."
"Meanwhile my constituents are seeing their livelihoods destroyed, often illegally," Beyer wrote in a post on X. "What he is doing is not normal, it is not acceptable and I won't be attending."
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., also boycotted Trump's speech "in solidarity" with federal government employees who have been fired over Trump's spending cuts, saying, "I cannot give audience to that."
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a first-term senator, delivered the Democratic response after Trump's speech concluded. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., delivered the Spanish language response.
