On Wednesday, President Donald Trump addressed Congress highlighting what the administration has done already and his vision for U.S. policy moving forward.
This special address to the joint Congress lasted almost 100 minutes, a performance that shocked the First Lady, who’s probably never seen Trump last anywhere near that long.
Trump’s speech touched on a range of issues, from economic policy, foreign affairs, immigration and national security. He laid out the administration’s ambitious plans.
His speech ignited a variety of responses. Republicans frequently applauded, supporting his vision for the U.S. and tactics proposed to get there. Democrats showed their disapproval through the lack of reaction, holding of signs, and some even walking out to protest. The reactions signified the deep partisan divide in the U.S. today.
Some Democrats held up signs with messages such as: “No King!” and “Save Medicaid” during the speech. Some used paddle signs displaying words such as “false” and “Musk Steals,” which drew criticism and mockery from various quarters.
Trump’s speech began by declaring that the U.S. has regained its momentum, spirit, pride, and confidence, emphasizing swift and unprecedented accomplishments in the past 43 days as the nation enters a new “Golden Age.”
Trump asserted that the U.S. is experiencing an unprecedented comeback, highlighting a decisive electoral victory with a sweeping mandate across swing states, a dominant Electoral College win, and overwhelming Republican support nationwide.
He noted record-breaking gains in small business optimism and nearly 100 Executive Orders and over 400 Executive Actions taken to restore safety, wealth, and “common sense,” therefore claiming that the administration’s first month back in office is the most successful in U.S. history. Trump claimed again that Biden was the “worst president in American History.”
The following is a breakdown by policy issue of Trump’s address.
Federal Budget and Debt Ceiling:
Trump reiterated his plan to address the national debt, including a push to balance the budget. He called for a freeze on non-defense spending to curb the rising deficit and proposed cutting some social programs.
He shouted out the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency, and thanked Elon Musk for his work thus far. After listening to a variety of social programs from healthcare to foreign assistance, Trump said, “And we’ve taken back the money and reduced our debt to fight inflation and other things. Taking back a lot of that money, we got it just in time. This is just the beginning. The Government Accountability Office, federal government office, has estimated annual fraud of over $500 billion in our nation, and we are working very hard to stop it.”
Tax Reforms:
He proposed comprehensive tax cuts for individuals and businesses. Supported by the recent passing of the Senate GOP budget, $4.5 trillion in tax cuts will be delivered, favoring the wealthiest Americans in the U.S. By reducing taxes for high-income earners, Trump does so with the intention of stimulating economic growth – but instead the government will experience a revenue loss and will have to cut programs like funding to Medicaid.
Trump said, “We’re seeking permanent income tax cuts all across the board and to get urgently needed relief to Americans hit especially hard by inflation.”
Energy Policy:
Trump advocated for expanding domestic energy production through fossil fuels, reiterating the Republican “Drill, baby, drill,” mentality said in his inaugural address. He is supporting energy independence initiatives to reduce reliance on foreign sources.
“A major focus of our fight to defeat inflation is rapidly reducing the cost of energy. The previous administration cut the number of new oil and gas leases by 95%, slowed pipeline construction to a halt, and closed more than 100 power plants. We are opening up many of those power plants right now,” Trump said.
Health:
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing the “Make America Healthy Again,” commission which seeks to eliminate toxins, improve nutrition, preserve natural habitats and fight the chronic disease epidemic.
Trump expressed the U.S. is a lot healthier than he anticipated, but “Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply, and keep our children healthy and strong.”
And, he ultimately does not support government assisted systems like the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid and Medicare.
Education:
Trump proposed a major overhaul of education, focusing on school choice, cutting federal oversight of public schools, removing the discussion of certain topics like critical race theory, and encouraging private sector involvement.
Trump said, “Because we’re getting wokeness out of our schools and out of our military, and it’s already out, and it’s out of our society. We don’t want it. Wokeness is trouble. Wokeness is bad. It’s gone.”
Law and Order:
Trump emphasized his commitments to various initiatives. Including, he said “I’ve already signed an executive order requiring a mandatory death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer … I’m also asking for a new crime bill getting tougher on repeat offenders while enhancing protections for America’s police officers so they can do their jobs without fear of their lives being totally destroyed.”
Immigration and Border Control:
Trump said, “Over the past four years, 21 million people poured into the United States, many of them were murderers, human traffickers, gang members, and other criminals from the streets of dangerous cities all throughout the world because of Joe Biden’s insane and very dangerous open border policies.”
He has continued supporting “sweeping border and immigration crackdown.” He mentioned the “Gold Card” again which will allow for wealthy people to gain a pathway to U.S. citizenship by buying a “sophisticated” green-card for $5 million.
Foreign Policy and International Relations:
Much of this policy area was focused on tariffs and trade. Trump said “Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada … And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them.”
He briefly mentioned situations in the Middle East, and bringing hostages back from Gaza, and working “tirelessly” to rectify the situation in Ukraine.
Photo by The White House.
In the first six weeks of Trump’s second term, he has set the tone as both an inspiring leader or a president getting away with executive overreach, depending on a person’s political stance.
His speech ultimately reflected his approach to running for re-election: presenting a vision of returning to policies from his first term while pushing more hardline positions on issues such as immigration, crime, and trade.
He framed his economic agenda as a continuation of the tax cuts and deregulation efforts that defined his first term, vowing to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and further reduce federal regulations to spur business growth. Related to both economy, domestic and foreign affairs, Trump’s tariffs have been a beacon for a stark shift in U.S. foreign policy with hopes to bolster American industries and workers.
On immigration, he pledged to implement what he called the most aggressive border security measures in U.S. history, enforcing stricter penalties for those who overstay visas and harsher consequences for sanctuary cities that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Whether this latest episode of Keeping Up With Trumpians will serve as a defining moment in his bid for an unconstitutional third term or a further flashpoint in an already polarized nation remains to be seen. However, his rhetoric suggests that he is positioning the Trump legacy.
