On Tuesday, March 4th, the world saw US President Donald Trump deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress. The address, similar to a State of the Union address, followed a sweeping victory for the Republicans last November, winning majorities in the House of Representatives, the Senate, and of course the White House itself. Trump’s address was met with excitement by many in the house, especially given the unconventional nature of the first 100 days in office. Rife with over 70 executive orders, controversial cabinet picks and unprecedented foreign policy shifts, the Trump administration has not been short of opposition, both domestically and internationally. The president’s speech aimed to report on and justify his administration’s policies so far, and to welcome lawmakers to what Mr. Trump called “the dawn of the golden age of America.”
A Victory Parade
The feeling among Trump and his supporters was of excitement and pride. Aforementioned Republican victories were clearly reflected in Trump’s address, who paraded this victory to the country. “America’s momentum is back” was the key theme of the opening parts of the speech, with the president congratulating Republicans on the party’s major victories across the country. House Republicans responded with clear support of the president, with cheering and applause making up a significant portion of the speech’s runtime. This was further seen in President Trump’s consistent jabs at the Democrats and, in particular, former President Joe Biden, with the president boasting about reversing the majority of Biden’s policies and directly calling him “the worst president in American history”. Not all Democrats took these comments lying down, however. Notably, Texan Congressman Al Green began to interrupt the president’s speech, ending with speaker of the House Mike Johnson ordering the sergeant-at-arms to remove Mr. Green from the gallery altogether. Signs were also held by other Democrats in protest of the president’s policies, with statements such as “This is not normal” and “Musk Steals” being waved in response to the president’s words.
Key Figures of the New Administration
The speech also saw Trump highlight members of the new cabinet to the audience, calling special attention to many of the key players who will help shape US policy over the next four years. “Good luck, Marco” were the words he gave to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, one of the less controversial picks of the new Trump administration and an interesting player in the new cabinet. After all, Rubio was previously one of the most outspoken senators in his criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin, a position which he will undoubtedly have to alter given Trump’s revised position on US-Russian relations. Trump also thanked new Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a controversial pick for the role given his critical views on vaccinations and mental health treatments across the country. Nevertheless, Trump praised the secretary’s “Make America Healthy Again” agenda. Secretary of Defense, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth, was also briefly mentioned in Trump’s defence policy. And of course, Special Advisor to the president, “Head of the Department of Government Efficiency” and the world’s wealthiest individual Elon Musk was also present for the address. Musk’s agenda for rapidly slashing government spending was not only one personally appreciated by the president during the speech, but also proved to make up a significant portion of the address as a whole.
“A Golden Age of America”
Trump spent the majority of the address outlining his administration’s political platform for the country, focusing on US domestic policy in key areas Trump campaigned on during the election. As stated earlier, government efficiency and inefficient use of federal funds was a major force in the address, dedicating significant time to exemplifying what the president called “appalling waste” in the government in exact dollars and cents. Criticism of spending ranged from domestically, such as millions of dollars being used for “illegal alien hotel rooms” in New York, to internationally, criticising the funds used to “promote L.G.B.T.Q.I.+” in Lesotho, calling it a country “nobody has heard of”. Gender continued to be a key theme, specifically in the area of women’s sports and in direct reference to his banning of men playing in women’s sports teams.
Much of Trump’s domestic policy covered in the speech was in direct reference to executive orders he has already passed. Immigration was a key theme in Trump’s speech, being one of the political issues helping Trump win the election last November, reiterating his declaration of a national emergency at the US-Mexico border and criticising the previous administration for its less strict immigration policy. Law enforcement was also a core theme within Trump’s address, both in relation to handling migration as well as generally wishing for the return of “respect” for the police. For each of these issues, Trump brought in citizens affected by the problems the president has deemed necessary to fix in the country: a former volleyball athlete injured by a male competitor, a 13 year old boy who survived brain cancer, and the family of a police officer killed in gang-related violence. Interestingly, the economy was less of a theme of the address than many had anticipated, especially given Trump’s consistent criticisms of the Biden administration’s handling of it. Though economic policies familiar from the previous Trump administration such as tariffs and tax cuts made it into the speech, there was little talk of how Trump plans to lower inflation rates and reduce the unemployment affecting the country, the president preferring to weave economic issues into other policies, particularly within immigration and government efficiency.
America First
US Foreign Policy too proved to be a focus point for the president, with many of the controversial statements and policies from the new administration making their way back to the surface of Trump’s ambitions for the country outside its borders. “Tariffs. It’s a beautiful word, isn’t it?” said the president, reiterating the need for the US to make itself more self-sufficient, and accusing the rest of the world of “ripp[ing] off” the country for decades. The context here is important, as the address followed the president declaring that the US will impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico the day before, and indicating earlier in the week that the EU would soon face increased protectionist measures in trade across the Atlantic. April 2nd is the day Trump has chosen for the tariffs to kick in for the former NAFTA members, leading to unrest especially in Canada, whose government immediately committed to taking retaliatory measures should this go through.
Trump also repeated his previous territorial claims he has pushed since he was inaugurated. The president continued pressing the return of US control over the Panama Canal, arguing that the trade route was built “by Americans for Americans” and that China has become too involved in the area. The claim on Greenland too was pushed, with Trump affirming “[Greenlanders’] right to determine [their] own future” and bluntly stating “one way or the other, we’re going to get it”, promising vast wealth and security to the Greenlandic people, who will be holding elections on March 11th.
Most importantly on the foreign policy agenda, though, was Ukraine. The press conference held in the Oval Office between President Trump and President Zelensky, ending in fierce words between the two leaders and the latter leaving the summit early, has led to political unrest across the international community, and this was not forgotten in Trump’s address. The president compared Ukraine’s receiving of US aid to “taking candy from a baby”, and again pushed his view that Europe has contributed far less to supporting the Eastern European country than the US. He continued by reading a letter from President Zelensky, citing that “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.” and announcing revitalised negotiations on a mineral deal between the two countries. Of course, peace between Russia and Ukraine is by no means guaranteed, however, President Trump seemed confident that the two nations would soon engage in peace talks.
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