'America is back!': Trump and an inspirational speech on his return to Congress

Donald Trump gave his first speech before a joint session of Congress since his return to the White House. Constantly interrupted by Republican applause and cheers, the president claimed to be inaugurating "the greatest and most successful era in the history" of the United States. The speech also had the Democrats as protagonists, since some of its members began to shout at the president. Even congressman Al Green had to be removed from the chamber.

Among other things, he assured that the United States would reach Mars, promised to balance the federal budget, end the war in Ukraine, lower the cost of living and lead a "common sense revolution."

Minutes after the first lady and cabinet members entered, Trump appeared before Congress wearing his trademark blue suit. After a lengthy entrance in which he shook hands with dozens of lawmakers, he reached the podium, cheerfully greeted by Vice President JD Vance and Mike Johnson, speaker of the House of Representatives.

Unlike the State of the Union, a tradition that began with George Washington and stems from Article III of the National Constitution, the address to a joint session of Congress was first showcased by Ronald Reagan in 1981. It is a speech that is virtually identical in structure but has a different name. It usually takes place in February and is the incoming president's first interaction with members of Congress.

Notable guests included Ben Shapiro, Matt Walsh, Riley Gaines, Payton McNabb, relatives of Laken Riley, the family of Corey Comperatore and Roberto Ortiz, a Border Patrol agent who was shot several times in the line of duty.

"America is back"

Trump elaborated his speech in the best bill-passing style, listing the achievements of his administration in this first month in office.

"America is back. (...) We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years, eight years, and we are just getting started," the president began, remarking that he has a clear "mandate" from voters to implement his policies. This comment sparked Democratic rebuke right off the bat.

"You have no mandate," Congressman Al Green, who subsequently had to be removed from the floor by the sergeant-at-arms, shouted at him over and over again.

Thereupon, Trump began the aforementioned enumeration with the southern border, remarking on implementing policies to "stop the invasion" left by the Biden administration. Indeed, he said that illegal crossings of the southern border in February were "the lowest ever recorded."

In his characteristic style, the president seemed to scold Democrats for "never" celebrating any of his policies, even leaving them with a challenge for the night. "So, Democrats sitting before me, for just this one night, why not join us in celebrating so many incredible wins for America? For the good of our nation, let's work together and let's truly make America great again," he continued.

He later asserted that now is the time to "dream big and act boldly." He highlighted the withdrawal of the World Health Organization (WHO), the elimination of ten regulations for every new one added, and the reduction in the size of government.

"A common sense revolution"

In that common sense, he included making transgender athletes ineligible to compete in women's sports and continuing to reduce government spending, among other things.

"Common sense. What I've just described is only a small fraction of the common sense revolution that is now, because of us, sweeping the entire world. Common sense has become a common theme, and we will never go back. Never. Never gonna let that happen," the president assured.

"It's very simple. The days ruled by unelected bureaucrats are over," the president continued.

"Hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud"

Trump praised the work of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and vowed to end the "blatant waste of taxpayer money." He then spent several minutes listing the most outrageous expenditures Musk had uncovered.

"Just listen to some of the appalling waste we have already identified. $22 billion from HHS to provide free housing and cars for illegal aliens. $45 million for diversity, equity, and inclusion scholarships in Burma. $40 million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants. Nobody knows what that is. $8 million to promote LGBTQI+, in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of," Trump continued.

Among other expenditures, he also mentioned $1.9 billion for the newly created home decarbonization committee, $32 million for a leftist propaganda operation in Moldova and even money for a Stacey Abrams organization. As the president spoke, some Democrats held up signs reading "Musk steals" or "resist."

"I want to do what hasn't been done in 24 years: Balance the federal budget"

After listing the unnecessary spending uncovered by Musk, the president assured that his medium-term goal is to achieve "balancing the federal budget." The last time Congress passed a balanced budget was for 2001.

"With that goal in mind, we have developed in great detail what we are calling the gold card, which goes on sale very, very soon. For $5 million, we will allow the most successful job creating people from all over the world to buy a path to U.S. citizenship," he added.

Trump's tax reform

The president also provided details of his tax plan, which is included in the budget reconciliation recently passed by the House of Representatives.

"The next phase of our plan to deliver the greatest economy in history is for this Congress to pass tax cuts for everybody. They're in there, they're waiting for you to vote. And I'm sure that the people on my right, I don't mean the Republican right, but my right right here, I'm sure you're going to vote for those tax cuts because otherwise I don't believe the people will ever vote you into office. So I'm doing you a big favor by telling you that," he added.

He specifically talked about lowering costs for working-class and middle-class families, with no tax on tips and also eliminating taxes on Social Security benefits.

Trump and tariffs: "Now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries"

One of the most anticipated points of Trump's speech was tariffs. The president defended their use to prevent other countries from "taking advantage" of the United States, something that "has been happening for a long time." He assured that tariffs will make the country richer and bigger, something that "will happen pretty quickly."

"If you don't make your product in the United States, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff, and in some cases, a pretty big one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it's our turn to start using them against those other countries," Trump said.

"On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada, have you heard of them? Those other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100%. (...)This is happening by friend and foe. This system is not fair to the United States, it never was," he continued.

Regarding the possible price increases resulting from the tariffs, Trump said there would be some "riots," but "it won't be much."

Rain of investments

Trump also boasted about the recent investments announced for the United States, which "would never have existed if Kamala had won". He spoke of the multi-billion dollar investments announced by Apple, Taiwan and OpenAI.

A tribute to Laken Riley

The president paid tribute to Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was killed by an illegal immigrant on the University of Georgia campus on February 22, 2024.

"Laken was stolen from us by a savage illegal alien gang member who was arrested while trespassing across Biden's open southern border and then set loose into the United States under the heartless policies of that failed administration. It was indeed a failed administration. He had then been arrested and released in a democrat-run sanctuary city, a disaster, before ending the life of this beautiful young angel," the president said. He later called for a round of applause for Riley's family present.

Trump highlighted the passage of the Laken Riley Act, the first legislation he enacted since returning to the White House. Theact requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrest illegal immigrants for "any theft, burglary or shoplifting offense."

"Fair, equal and impartial justice"

Trump promised to return to the doctrine of "law and order," something he said was forgotten by the "lunatics" in the Biden administration. He singled out Democrats as he made the comment. 

"Any jurisdictions virtually seized enforcing the law against dangerous repeat offenders while weaponizing law enforcement against political opponents like me. My administration has acted swiftly and decisively to restore fair, equal, and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law, starting at the FBI and the DOJ," Trump continued.

He also announced that he signed an executive order calling for the death penalty for criminals who kill police officers and asked Congress to codify the order as soon as possible.

DJ Daniel and one of the most emotional moments of the speech

On the rostrum was DJ Daniel, a 13-year-old teenager who was previously diagnosed with brain cancer and aspired to become a police officer. Although doctors initially gave him 5 months to live, the young man has been battling the disease for more than 5 years.

Then the director of the Secret Service, Sean Curran, presented Daniel with a plaque and made him an honorary agent. It was one of the moments that garnered the most applause of the evening.

A look at foreign policy

Among other things, the president promised to recover the Panama Canal, which was "built by Americans and for Americans, not for others." Trump highlighted the work of Marco Rubio as secretary of state, perhaps the most applauded official by his colleagues.

"He also took the opportunity to leave a message for the citizens of Greenland. "We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America. We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And we're working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it really for international world security. And I think we're going to get it one way or the other, we're going to get it," the Republican said.

On ending the war in Ukraine

"I'm also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict. With no end in sight, the United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine's defense. With no security, do you want to keep it going for another five years? Yeah, yeah, you would say Pocahontas says yes," he continued, referring to Senator Elizabeth Warren, whom he dubbed that way several years ago.

Trump highlighted a letter recently received by Volodymyr Zelensky in which he assured him that he was ready to enter the negotiating table with Vladimir Putin.

"It's time to stop this madness. senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides," the Republican added.

"America's golden age has only just begun"

Nearing the one hour and forty minute mark of the speech, the president ended with encouraging rhetoric about the country's future.

"And through it all, we are going to rediscover the unstoppable power of the American spirit. And we are going to renew unlimited promise of the American dream. Every single day, we will stand up and we will fight, fight, fight for the country our citizens believe in, and for the country our people deserve. My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future because the golden age of America has only just begun. It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless America," Trump concluded.