In President Trump’s first address to Congress of his second term, he ran through his record-breaking list of executive orders, claimed peace was closer than ever in Ukraine, called on Congress to pass a bill “banning and criminalizing sex changes on children” and said the U.S. is going to “Get” Greenland, “One way or another.”
During his 100-minute speech, Trump exhibited very little concern as to how practicable his aims are. He didn’t explicitly discuss how tough the economic consequences of his recent tariffs might be, but noted about 50 minutes in: “There’ll be a little disturbance.”
Here’s the 411.
Trump defended his tariffs
Trump’s administration is in a difficult position financially. The stock market has already lost all of its $3.4 trillion in post-election gains, and balancing the budget while delivering the many tax cuts he’s promised, plus managing the effects of his steep new tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China on American consumers, is a tall order. Nevertheless, he vigorously defended his impending reciprocal tariffs which commence on April 2, saying the “system is not fair to the United States.”
“If you don’t make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff, and in some cases, a rather large one,” he said. “Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries.”
He claimed that India charges the U.S. “auto tariffs higher than 100%,” and that “China’s average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them.” He added that South Korea’s tariff is “four times higher.”
Trump couched all his economic moves as beneficial for the American people. He said: “We suffered the worst inflation in 48 years, but perhaps even in the history of our country. As president, I’m fighting every day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again.”
Unfortunately, experts have pointed out that his new tariffs are likely to hurt growth — and may increase costs for consumers, depending on how much of their impact businesses are prepared to absorb.
Trump touted his peacemaking efforts in Ukraine
Just days after a historically tense clash at the Oval Office, Trump said that he’d received a letter from Ukraine’s President Zelensky.
In the letter, Trump said Zelensky had thanked the U.S. for its contribution to Ukraine’s defense against Russia, and pledged to sign a deal giving the U.S. rights to his country’s minerals. He also expressed regret for the blow-up at the White House last Friday and said he was ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible, and work to bring peace closer.
Trump appeared pleased with the message, saying: “I appreciate that he sent this letter.”
“I am also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine,” he added.
Trump claimed to back the police
Trump emphasized that the police deserve “support, protection and respect,” despite having pardoned rioters who were convicted of assaulting officers during the Capitol attack.
“They have such a hard, dangerous job, but we’re going to make it less dangerous,” he said. “The problem is, the bad guys don’t respect the law, but they’re starting to respect it, and they soon will respect it.”
Trump also called on Congress to pass legislation enforcing an executive order he’s signed calling for the U.S. attorney general to push for the death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer.
“I’ve already signed an executive order requiring a mandatory death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer,” he said. “And tonight, I’m asking Congress to pass that policy into permanent law.”
(FYI — The executive order he signed doesn’t actually require the death penalty in such instances — it just called the AG to seek it when it’s consistent with the law.)
Trump said America will “get” Greenland, “one way or another”
Trump revisited his pet notion of the U.S. acquiring Greenland.
Speaking to the people of Greenland, the president said: “We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America.”
However, he added that the U.S. needs Greenland “for national security and even international security. And we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it … And I think we’re going to get it one way or the other. We’re going to get it.”
A massive 85% of Greenlanders object to a Trump takeover, according to a January poll.
Fighting the culture war on all fronts
Trump promised that his administration would eradicate “wokeness” from American society.
“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,” Trump said. “Wokeness is trouble. Wokeness is bad. It’s gone.”
He touted his efforts to remove transgender women and girls from women’s sports, and said his administration has “ended the tyranny of so-called ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ policies.”
He called on Congress “to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body.”
“This is a big lie,” he said. “And our message to every child in America is that you are perfect, exactly the way God made you.”
Rep. Al Green was removed from the House chamber
Texas Democrat Rep. Al Green was removed from the House chamber after standing and shaking his cane at the president just minutes into his speech. Other lawmakers heckled and cheered him, and while Trump paused, House Speaker Mike Johnson said: “Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the House and to cease any further disruptions.” Green refused to sit down, and so was escorted from the chamber.
Green’s action was far from the only one during Trump’s speech. The Democrats proved unusually well coordinated, with many of them holding up signs of protest — despite urgences from the leadership not to do anything that would see them make headlines.
Trump called for a “Golden Dome” missile defense shield
The president asked Congress to fund a “Golden Dome missile defense shield,” like Israel’s Iron Dome, which intercepts short-range rockets.
“As commander in chief, my focus is on building the most powerful military of the future,” he said. “As a first step, I’m asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art Golden Dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland. All made in the USA.”
“Other places have it. And the United States should have it too, right?” he added.
How truthful was Trump’s speech?
Multiple outlets rushed to highlight dozens of instances during Trump’s address when he either outright lied, or seriously misled his audience.
The New York Times noted that his statement “Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control — and we’re working hard to get it back down” was misleading. It also noted that his claim that
“We found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud” lacks evidence, and his declaration “Countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them” was exaggerated.
NBC News noted that Trump’s claim that his administration is “identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program for our seniors” is false, as is his claim that illegal immigration “destroyed” towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio.
The outlet added that Trump’s claim that many of the immigrants who’ve entered the U.S. over the last four states is misleading — and that he hugely overstated how many migrants entered the country during that time.
Trump claimed that the Department of Government Efficiency identified government spending of “$8 million for making mice transgender” — which CNN pointed out is false.
Digging deeper
Katie sat down with Peter Baker, NYT‘s chief White House correspondent, to unpack Trump’s record-breaking speech, and dig into some of the detail. Watch their conversation, below.
