The US President spoke to Congress for the first time since his re-election. There was commotion and one person was thrown out of the hall. Donald Trump only mentioned Ukraine late.
It would be a “big” night, Donald Trump announced his speech . “I’ll tell it like it is.” On Tuesday evening (local time), the time had come: the US President appeared before both chambers of the US Congress. And he began by praising the work of his government to date. It had achieved more in 43 days than other US governments had in four or eight years. “And we’re just getting started.”
After a few minutes, Trump was interrupted by hecklers. The loudest of these was Democrat Al Green from the state of Texas . He was eventually asked to sit down again by Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. Green was then expelled from the room and escorted out of the chamber by stewards.
It was Trump’s first speech before both chambers of the US Parliament since taking office in January. As a sign of protest, several female Democrats wore pink during Trump’s appearance, including former Speaker of the House
Nancy Pelosi . When Trump entered the hall, the women demonstratively remained seated. Several Democratic supporters also repeatedly held up protest signs during the speech. They read, among other things, “No King!” and “False!”.
Trump complained that no accomplishment of his could make Democrats “smile or applaud.” That would be true even if he cured the world’s worst disease or reduced crime to its lowest level ever, he complained. “That’s very sad and it shouldn’t be that way.”
Other signs carried by Democrats read “Musk steals.”
Elon Musk was tasked by Trump with a controversial austerity program at the federal level. Now the extremely wealthy entrepreneur is pushing ahead with the restructuring of the state apparatus, including mass layoffs, with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is attached to the White House.
The US President mentioned and praised Musk’s work several times during his speech. There were repeated loud cheers of “USA, USA” and standing ovations from the ranks of Republican members of Congress.
One of the first major political issues Trump addressed was inflation in the US , which the population considers to be one of the most important problems. He blamed his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden for the situation. Biden is also to blame for the fact that egg prices in the US are currently so high.
Trump: Tariffs only cause “a little unrest”
After about 45 minutes, Trump then spoke about the new tariffs against Mexico and Canada . “Now it’s our turn,” said Trump, once again accusing other countries of taking economic advantage of the USA. “We will not stand for this any longer.” The new tariffs would bring in trillions of dollars and create jobs “like we’ve never seen before.” There would be a little unrest, said Trump. “But that’s OK with us.”
On the night of Tuesday (local time), tariffs announced by Trump on goods from China, Mexico and Canada came into force. Punitive tariffs of 25 percent now apply to goods from Canada and Mexico that are imported into the USA. Trump also announced that he would double the import tariffs on goods from China imposed in February to 20 percent.
Trump claims to have received a letter from Zelensky
For almost an hour and a half, Trump did not say a word about the major foreign policy issues, the crisis in the Middle East and Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Then Trump explained that he had “recently” received a letter from Volodymyr Zelensky . According to this, the Ukrainian president is ready to return to the negotiating table and sign a raw materials deal with the USA .
Last Friday, there was a scandal in the White House : Trump and his vice president JD Vance made serious accusations against Selenskyj in front of the cameras, accusing him of being ungrateful, among other things. Trump now said before the US Congress: “If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides.” He had received “strong signals” from Moscow that Russia was ready for peace, Trump said. It was time to end this “senseless war.”
A few hours earlier, Zelensky had taken a reconciliation approach to Trump . He was ready to work on a lasting peace under the “strong leadership” of the US president, he wrote on X . The Ukrainian head of government also reiterated his willingness to grant the US access to Ukrainian resources, as Trump had previously demanded.
Other points the US President addressed:
- Trump asked Congress to fund a US missile defense shield called the “Golden Dome.” He had previously discussed the plan.
- Trump reiterated his desire to take control of Greenland . He addressed the Greenlanders directly: If they decide to be part of the United States, they would be welcomed. Trump then added: “I think we’ll get it one way or another.”
- Trump announced the construction of a “gigantic” gas pipeline in Alaska . It will be one of the largest in the world. Japan , South Korea and other nations want to contribute trillions of dollars.
The US President ended his speech to the US Congress after around 100 minutes. According to data from the American Presidency Project at the University of California, it was the longest in history.
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