*The address was watched and reported on by the author.
On March 4, 2025, President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress. This speech was different from a State of the Union address due to it only coming six weeks after the swearing in, whereas a State of the Union address is focused on the achievements of the administration rather than laying out an administration’s agenda. The address laid out Trump’s agenda to Congress, who controls the funding that Trump will need to fulfill his agenda, according to NPR. The AP finds that the address comes after six weeks of heightened tensions with allies, a dismantling of the federal government and the announcement of a trade war.
Trump opened his address by stating that “America is back” and received chants of “U.S.A.” in response. He spoke about the efficacy of his first six weeks, claiming that his administration has achieved more in six weeks than most do in four or eight years, and called this moment the “dawn of the Golden Age of America.” Trump took credit for “swift and unrelenting” action taken in regards to immigration, economy and security. Trump spoke about the “comeback” of America and the “American Dream.” When discussing the outcome of the November election, Trump claimed that his win in November was a “mandate” for his agenda, then was interrupted by booing from Democratic lawmakers and then “U.S.A.” chants from Republican lawmakers, at which point Speaker of the House Mike Johnson instructed all members to refrain from interrupting or else be removed, then directed the sergeant at arms to remove Rep. Al Green (D-TX) for shouting that Trump has “no mandate” in response to his election claims. Trump then went on to claim that his first month was the most successful and efficient, second only to George Washington.
Trump then went on to tout his achievements in regards to immigration, claiming that by enacting a state of emergency on the southern border resulting in the “lowest” amount of border crossings ever, although according to NPR, this figure is unclear. He compared himself to former President Joe Biden, calling him the “worst president ever” and claimed that Biden allowed murderers and people from mental asylums into the country. He then went on to criticize Democratic lawmakers for not “celebrating” his achievements and saying that there was nothing he could do to get Democrats to like him. Many Democrats held up signs saying “False,” “Musk Steals” and “Save Medicaid,” which continued in response to most of Trump’s remarks throughout the address.
Trump then listed a few of the things he had done, such as freezing federal hires, withdrawing from the “un-American” U.N. Council on Human Rights, ending climate initiatives from the Biden administration and withdrawing from the World Health Organizations (WHO). He once again claimed that he would “remove ten” regulations for every new regulation added. He also stated that he ended political persecution of the executive branch’s enemies “like [him],” and said that “free speech was back in America.” He also mentioned his orders regarding making English the official language and his renaming of several geographic locations, such as calling the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America.”
Trump also praised his ending of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including in regards to air traffic controllers, saying that they should be hired based on merit and not race, and stated that “America is woke no more.” President Trump criticized Critical Race Theory (CRT) and stated that he banned “men from playing in women’s sports” in schools, as further discussed by AP News. He further went on to discuss that schools that did not comply would risk losing federal funding, referencing Payton McNabb, a student volleyball player who was hit in the face with a volleyball spiked by a transgender athlete on the opposing team, as discussed by the AP. McNabb was in attendance at the address.
Trump said that he was prioritising addressing the “economic catastrophe” inherited from Biden such as the “worst inflation in 48 years…perhaps in history,” although according to AP News, Trump inherited a growing economy with a 4% unemployment rate as of Jan. 2025 with falling inflation rates. He also argued that economic policy should prioritise traditional energy production, once again using his slogan “drill, baby, drill,” although according to NPR, the U.S. was producing record amounts of oil in 2023 under Biden. He claimed that his administration was working on the “largest” oil pipeline “in the world” to be constructed in Alaska. Trump said that his administration would also focus on mineral production and “rare earths.”
He praised his creation of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), headed by Elon Musk, to address “waste” in the federal government. Musk received much applause from Republican attendees. He listed a variety of U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) programs and DEI spending in the Department of Education that he claimed that he had slashed, calling them “scams.” NPR recently found that DOGE’s calculations had overestimated its total savings “by billions of dollars,” however. Trump praised the “young people” at DOGE for making the cuts. He also claimed that there was “incompetence” and “fraud” in Social Security, claiming that there are millions of people between ages of 100 and 360 collecting payments that would be rooted out, although according to the Social Security Administration, “almost none of the 18.9 million numberholders [born before 1920] currently receive SSA payments,” and that this figure was due to a lack of death information. Trump stated that by addressing fraud, he would be able to address inflation rates and “put more money in the pockets of the American people.” He also claimed that he would balance the federal budget. Trump mentioned his “gold card,” which would allow “successful” people to purchase American citizenship in order to stimulate the economy and create jobs.
He claimed that bureaucracy has “ballooned” and is crushing the rights of the American people with heavy regulations. Trump claimed that he would address the size of government and “restore true democracy… once again,” threatening to remove any public servant who does not comply. He called for “tax cuts for everybody,” insisting that Democrats would lose re-election if they did not vote for his tax cuts. Trump promised no tax on social security payments for seniors, overtime, or tips, tax cuts on all American manufacturing, and allowing for payments on American made cars to be tax deductible. He also promised auto industry growth, owing growth to the construction of new plants and tariffs. Trump once again claimed that he would weaponize tariffs against other nations who levied tariffs on American goods, preventing America from getting “ripped off,” including against Canada and Mexico. He then claimed that Mexico and Canada allowed for large amounts of Fentanyl to enter the U.S. According to Customs and Border Protections Data, however, fentanyl overdoses and smuggling from Mexico have been dropping over the last year.
Trump claimed that his “America First” policies are resulting in more investment in the U.S., particularly in the Artificial Intelligence (AI) and tech sectors. He stated that his economic policies would be good for the American farmers by levying tariffs on foreign crops, although he said there would have to be “a little adjustment” by the American people, referencing the tariffs he placed on China during his first term which potentially impacted manufacturing and farming jobs negatively in 2019, according to NPR.
Trump also praised first lady Melania Trump’s initiatives to encourage young leaders. He praised the “Take It Down Act” that the First Lady lobbied, which would criminalize the distribution of deep fake imagery, claiming that he was the most notable victim of deep fake images. He then stated that the most important point of security for young people would be the deportation of illegal immigrants, citing the death of Laken Riley at the hands of a Venezuelan immigrant and the passage of the Laken Riley Act, which expanded the scope of who can be detained and deported by federal immigration officers. Trump claimed that towns like Springfield, OH and Aurora, CO were “destroyed” by illegal immigration (although according to the AP, both towns are still standing) and claimed that Biden’s border policies resulted in the death of Jocelyn Nungaray at the hands of two Venezuelan men who entered the country illegally, and that he had renamed a wildlife refuge near Galveston in her honor. He blamed the murders on foreign cartels and stated that he had designated these organizations as terrorist organizations in order to arrest and deport gang members in the U.S. and to “wage war” on foreign cartels. Trump cited the Mexican government turning over 29 cartel leaders over to the U.S. Trump then asked for congressional funding to allow him to address the fentanyl crisis and carry out mass deportations, again calling for “law and order” to be restored. Trump called for law enforcement to be “fair, equal and impartial” from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Department of Justice (DOJ) in order to prevent political persecution, again of people “like [Trump],” as well as empowering police and fire departments. Trump cited the death of Jonathan Diller, and called for Congress to pass a bill for a mandatory death penalty for anyone convicted of killing a police officer as well as a new crime bill protecting officers and cracking down on repeat offenders.
Trump claimed that childhood cancer rates have risen due to chemicals, and stated that along with Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) secretary Robert F. Kennedy, he would get rid of toxins to make America healthier. He claimed that the rates of autism in children had risen to 1 in 36, potentially in regards to anti-vaccine conspiracies linking autism and vaccination. The AP argues that this increase is not due to vaccines and that there is no scientific link between vaccines and autism. Trump then criticized public school’s discussing “transgender ideology” and again threatened to cut off funding to institutions that encourage “sexual mutilation” of children and called on congress to criminalize gender affirming care.
Trump touted increased military recruitment rates, claiming that his “anti-woke” policies helped to cause this, although the AP notes that Army recruitment rates have been rising since 2022. Trump stated that creating a stronger military was a priority of his administration and called on Congress to approve funding for the manufacturing of a “golden dome” missile shielding technology, as well as promote ship building in the U.S. Trump then claimed that the U.S. would reclaim the Panama Canal, repeating claims that the canal had been given to China by the Panamanian government and the U.S. “would be taking it back.” Trump then said that Greenland would be allowed to join the U.S. if it chose, as the U.S. needed Greenland for security purposes, but then said that he believed that the U.S. will get it “one way or another,” regardless of whether or not Greenland elected to join the U.S. Trump said that he was working to end conflicts abroad in Ukraine and in the Middle East, claiming that Europe was buying Russian oil and gas instead of funding Ukraine’s defense. Trump stated that Ukraine was ready to sign an agreement and that Russia was “ready for peace,” calling for an end to the war. Trump cited his negotiating for the release of Mark Fogle as evidence that he would be able to negotiate with Russia.
Trump then referenced the assassination attempt in Butler, PA, mentioning the death of Corey Comperatore. He once again claimed that God had saved him to “make America Great Again.” Trump called America a country of “strivers and survivors,” making references to American heroes in history and the sciences. He stated that it was time for “the greatest era,” and that the U.S. will become a leader in science and space exploration, repeating his campaign promise to “plant the American flag on Mars.” Trump also made many symbolic gestures to audience members earlier in his speech, such as when he made a 13 year old cancer survivor an honorary member of the Secret Service or announced that a highschool senior who had applied to Westpoint Military Academy had been accepted. He concluded by again stating that “the golden age of America” was upon them.
Throughout the night, several Democratic lawmakers walked out, many dressed in black “resist” t-shirts or pink. Democratic lawmakers who attended largely remained seated and refused to applaud, only doing so in regards to a few bipartisan issues. Several lawmakers shouted out their disagreements or held up signs or whiteboards to express their opposition.
By Lola Mestas, Copy Editor
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