By Zo Terrana
Staff Writer
President Donald Trump delivered a joint session address lasting one hour and 50 minutes to Congress on March 4 at the United States Capitol. In this address, Trump spoke on a variety of topics, including the economy, education system and cutting government waste through the Department of Government Efficacy. Trump also spoke of his tariff plan for foreign countries and the Russia-Ukraine war.
The overall demeanor of Democrats during the address was turbulent. According to Time Magazine, more than six democrats exited the live speech as other Democrats held various small signs and wore T-shirts displaying remarks at Trump. The signs in the audience included comments such as “lies,” “false” and “save medicare,” according to NBC News.
After the welcoming remarks, Trump proceeded to prop up his own administration, stating, “We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years. And we are just getting started.”
Trump segued to his election win, mentioning how his campaign won all the swing states. After this remark, Rep. Al Green (D-TX) began to heckle the president, according to Fox 5 DC.
Time Magazine reported that Green yelled, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid.” During this statement, House Speaker Mike Johnson instructed Green to exit the chamber, and he was promptly escorted out of the location by the sergeant at arms.
Trump spoke about the executive orders he signed and actions he took at the beginning of his second term, stating, “I have signed nearly 100 executive orders and taken more than 400 executive actions,” which in his terms were enacted to restore “common sense, safety, optimism and wealth all across our wonderful land.”
Trump expanded on his recent actions, discussing his withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord, World Health Organization, United Nations Human Rights Council and terminating the Green New Deal. He then pointed the finger at former President Joe Biden for “environmental restrictions,” classifying them as “far less safe and totally unaffordable.”
Trump then spoke about diversity, equity and inclusion, explaining how he removed policies on a federal and private sector level, as well as within the military. He then transitioned to the removal of critical race theory within public schools and his policy stance on gender, according to Fox 5 DC. Trump stated, “I signed an order making it the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders.”
The address transitioned to Trump referring to the U.S. economic position and the energy sector, and then criticized Biden, stating, “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.”
A remark that has recently evoked a great divide among Republicans and Democrats was Trump’s statement on the Department of Government Efficiency. Trump thanked Elon Musk, who was present during the speech, for his “hard work,” pertaining to his leadership within the department.
According to AP News, the president stated that Musk uncovered billions of dollars of fraud, immensely overstating his team's achievements. However, the scale down of the federal government has resulted in thousands of workers being discharged from their jobs, and even more could follow suit, AP News reported.
After speaking on cutting government waste, Trump addressed his potential tax cut for “everybody,” including eliminating tax on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits.
Trump’s tariff proposals in regards to China, Mexico and Canada were also discussed. The president remained adamant about his future tariff plan, stating, “April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in and whatever they tariff us, other countries we will tariff them. That's reciprocal — back and forth whatever they tax us we will tax them.”
The Russia-Ukraine war was then put into the spotlight during the address as Trump stated, “Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict with no end in sight.”
During his speech, Trump revealed a letter was sent to him by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, stating that his country is ready to negotiate ending the conflict. The letter laid out the specificities for the first phase of a peace deal. According to the BBC, this entails “a naval and aerial ceasefire.” Russia alike has discussed long-term solutions for peace, according to Trump.
In his closing statement, the president spoke on the revitalization of the “American spirit” and the “American Dream” before ending the address stating, “Thank you. God bless you and God bless America.”
