President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress Tuesday, where he touted his administration's achievements so far and focused on an economic agenda for the United States.
President Trump's speech ran nearly an hour and 42 minutes, setting a record for the longest presidential address before Congress.
He began by recalling his victory in the presidential election, and highlighting actions his administration has taken during his first weeks in office.
"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," President Trump said.
Economic and energy relief
"Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families," President Trump said, criticizing energy costs and record inflation that have weighed on families in recent years.
The president brought up egg prices, calling them "out of control."
"As president I'm fighting every day to reverse this damage," he said.
The administration's energy policies, President Trump said, would unlock U.S. natural resources and bring down prices for U.S. consumers.
"Later this week, I will also take historic action to dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in USA," President Trump said.
The Department of Government Efficiency
"Listen to some of the appalling waste we have already identified," President Trump said, listing various programs including grants for the decarbonization of homes, housing of illegal migrants in New York hotel rooms, climate and education programs abroad and DEI contracts at the Department of Education.
"We found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud," the president said. "We've taken back the money and reduced our debt to fight inflation and other things."
Excessive regulations and a ballooning government workforce has hampered the operation of government, President Trump said.
"Any federal bureaucrat who resists this change will be removed from office immediately," he said. "The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over."
Budget priorities
"In the near future, I want to do what has not been done in 24 years: balance the federal budget," President Trump said.
A new "gold card" scheme that allows foreign entrepreneurs to buy into a path to citizenship would help address U.S. debt loads, the president said.
Tax cuts working their way through Congress would relieve inflation pressures on consumers, President Trump said.
"I also want to make interest payments on car loans tax deductible, but only if the car is made in America," he said.
"We want to cut taxes" on "domestic production and all manufacturing," he said.
The House in February voted to pass a comprehensive budget resolution that includes over $4 trillion in tax cuts and $2 trillion in spending reductions over the next decade.
If enacted, the cuts are forecast to add about $4.6 trillion to the federal deficit over the next decade.
The threat and impact of tariffs
The president claimed countries charged the U.S. steep tariffs, compared to those the U.S. levies on imports.
"This system is not fair to the United States and never was," Trump said. "April 2nd, reciprocal tariffs kick in. Whatever they tariff us, we will tariff them. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them."
"We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we've never seen before," the president said.
Tariffs had driven companies like TSMC to build new manufacturing in the U.S. to avoid paying for imports, President Trump said.
And they would cause sharp changes in U.S. agricultural practices by incentivizing more domestic production of food.
"To our farmers: Have a lot of fun. I love you, too," President Trump said.
The speech comes on the same day that President Trump used an economic emergency declaration to enact 25% tariffs on nearly all goods from Canada and Mexico, and 10% tariffs on energy-related imports from Canada, including oil, natural gas and electricity. In a separate executive order Monday, President Trump also increased the tariff on all goods imported from China to 20%.
All three countries quickly announced they would take retaliatory action against the tariffs. The overnight trade war has eliminated all gains made in the S&P 500 benchmark index since President Trump took office in January, and trade experts and retail CEOs have warned that U.S. consumers will now pay higher prices, potentially in a matter of days.
"There'll be a little disturbance, but we'll be okay with that," President Trump said.
Increasing border security
President Trump claimed "murderers, human traffickers and gang members" had entered the U.S. thanks to relatively lax border policies. "But we are getting them out, and getting them out fast."
"We quickly achieved the lowest number of illegal border crossings ever recorded," he said of his administration's policies so far.
President Trump characterized a "migrant occupation" in towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Illinois, that his policies had addressed.
"But there still is much work to be done," he said.
In an executive order signed on the day he took office, President Trump designated several cartels as foreign terror organizations, to facilitate the removal or imprisonment of their members in the U.S.
These cartels, President Trump claimed, now held "total control" over Mexico.
"The cartels are waging war on America, and it's time for America to wage war on the cartels," he said.
The president has asked Congress for more funding to expand deportation operations, promising to sign legislation as quickly as it's delivered to his desk.
Trump's stance on gender identity
"I want 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," President Trump said. "My message to every child in America is you are perfect exactly the way God made you."
"Wokeness is trouble," the president warned, giving the example of recent changes to U.S. military requirements that would stop admissions for transgender applicants. "Our service members won't be activists and ideologues, they will be fighters and warriors."
Trump again eyes Panama and Greenland
"My administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal," Trump said. "The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others."
Trump said that while other countries could still use the canal, the changes to U.S. policies were a response to agreements governing its use that had been violated.
"I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland," President Trump said. "We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America."
Greenland represents a national security necessity, the president said. "We need it really for international, world security, and I think we're going to get it. One way or the other we're going to get it."
The war in Ukraine
President Trump's speech comes just days after high-profile talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy collapsed into recrimination and shouting at the White House.
President Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly criticized Zelenskyy during the meeting, claiming he has not shown enough appreciation for U.S. support and questioning his commitment to peace even though it was Russia that invaded Ukraine in 2022. They asked him to leave the White House without signing an anticipated natural resources deal.
The Trump administration on Monday then paused aid to Ukraine to "ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
President Trump said Tuesday he had received a letter from Zelenskyy indicating Ukraine wanted to return to negotiations.
"Simultaneously we've had serious discussions with Russia, and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace," President Trump said.
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"We are a country of doers, dreamers, fighters and survivors," President Trump said, in closing. "We stand on the shoulders of these pioneers who won and build the modern age."
"Now it is our time to take up the righteous cause of American liberty," he said. "Over the next four years we are going to lead this nation even higher."
