Takeaways from Trump’s address to Congress
President Donald Trump’s first address to Congress since returning to power is both a victory lap following a consequential first 43 days in office and an attempt to justify what he’s done to an American public that may still be digesting his rapid-pace changes.
On tariffs, government cuts and foreign affairs, Trump has taken dramatic steps that have left Democrats fuming and even some Republicans skeptical, while foreign capitals have scrambled to respond. His task Tuesday was to say why.
Trump’s speeches almost always fall into two categories: the raucous rally remarks that can’t be contained on a teleprompter and more staid policy addresses that usually lack the energy of his wilder events.
This time, the dramatics began in the audience, when Democratic Rep. Al Green interrupted the president repeatedly before House Speaker Mike Johnson ordered the House sergeant-at-arms to eject the Texas congressman.
Trump was prepared to parry with Democratic hecklers during his speech, but the address was carefully scripted to make his case to one of his largest television audiences of the year. Even his criticism of Democrats for not applauding him was written into his speech.
That made Tuesday’s address one of the most partisan in memory, with Democrats almost uniformly resistant to his agenda and Trump lashing out at his opponents with open contempt.
Rapid pace of change
The executive actions reshaping the federal government have come fast and furious in Trump’s first month-and-a-half; his team is far more experienced this time around, and the president himself is impatient to fulfill his campaign promises.
Yet for many Americans, the flurry of changes has been confusing. Polls show skepticism seeping in about Trump’s priorities. Tuesday’s speech was an opportunity to present a cogent argument.
He chose to highlight Elon Musk, the billionaire in charge of his government efficiency effort who was sitting in the galleries.
“He’s working very hard. He didn’t need this. He didn’t need this,” Trump said, before goading Democrats further: “Everybody here, even this side, appreciates it. I believe they just don’t want to admit that,” he said, pointing toward Democrats.
Issue number 1
The hours ahead of Trump’s speech were hardly the economic backdrop he may have hoped for. Stock markets tumbled as the broad tariffs he announced on Mexico, Canada and China reverberated among investors. Almost as soon as markets closed, his commerce secretary suggested there may be a pull-back on the new duties on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, Trump — who has advocated for tariffs since the 1970s, and once called “tariff” his favorite word — was not backing away from the strategy during his biggest speech of the year.
“Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them. Whatever they tax us, we tax them,” he’ll say in the speech, according to excerpts released by the White House. “We will take in trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before.”
Many Republicans have deep reservations about the tariffs, and lawmakers from states that could be hard-hit spent Tuesday on the phone with Trump’s aides voicing their concerns. They had been hoping to hear from Trump a more fulsome explanation of his tariff plan, and an explanation of how average Americans might benefit.
Blame it on Biden
Trump has made his predecessor, former President Joe Biden a central figure of his second presidency, blaming him for everything from higher prices to foreign conflicts.
Tuesday’s speech has been no exception. He accused Biden of leaving him problems ranging from the high price of eggs to authorizing too much money for Ukraine, according to excerpts of the speech.
“As you know, we inherited, from the last administration, an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare,” Trump said in his speech.
Every president inherits obstacles left to them by the previous administration. Yet how much longer Trump can blame Biden for the country’s continued challenges remains to be seen. Eventually, voters look to the office-holder to fix their problems — not blame them on someone else.
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