WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump took a victory lap in an address to Congress on Tuesday, drawing catcalls and interruptions from some Democratic lawmakers who held up signs and walked out mid-speech in protest.
The partisan rancor was reflective of the tumult that has accompanied Trump’s first six weeks in office upending U.S. foreign policy, igniting a trade war with close allies and slashing the federal workforce.
The primetime speech, his first to Congress since taking office on January 20, capped a second day of market turmoil after he imposed sweeping new tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China.
At 100 minutes, the speech was the longest presidential address to Congress in modern U.S. history, according to The American Presidency Project.
The speech was reminiscent of Trump’s campaign rallies though he largely avoided his habit of straying from prepared remarks to deliver asides. The president assailed his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, attacked immigrant criminals as “savages” and what he called “transgender ideology.”
He vowed to balance the federal budget, even as he urged lawmakers to enact a sweeping tax cut agenda that nonpartisan analysts say could add more than $5 trillion to the federal government’s $36 trillion debt load. Congress will need to act to raise the nation’s debt ceiling later this year or risk a devastating default.
World leaders were watching Trump’s speech closely, a day after he paused all military aid to Ukraine. The suspension followed an Oval Office blowup in which Trump angrily upbraided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in front of TV cameras.
Trump said Zelenskiy wrote him a letter on Tuesday saying Ukraine was prepared to sign a rare earth minerals deal that had been left in limbo by their clash.
“Simultaneously, we’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace,” Trump said. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”
The pause in aid threatened Kyiv’s efforts to defend against Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion three years ago, and further rattled European leaders worried that Trump is moving the U.S. too far toward Moscow.
While Trump has appeared to fault Ukraine for starting the war, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found 70% of Americans – including two-thirds of Republicans – say Russia was more to blame.
DEMOCRATIC PROTESTS
“To my fellow citizens, America is back,” Trump began to a standing ovation from fellow Republicans. “Our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again.”
Democrats held up signs with messages like “No King” and “This Is NOT Normal,” and dozens walked out mid-speech.
One Texas congressman, Al Green, was ordered removed after he refused to sit down.
“The chair now directs the sergeant at arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman from the chamber,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said after warning Democrats to maintain decorum.
Green, shaking his walking cane at Trump, appeared to be shouting that Trump did not win a mandate in November’s election after the president bragged about the Republicans’ victories. As Green was led from the chamber, some Republicans sang, “Nah, nah, nah, nah, hey, hey, goodbye.”
Trump, a political brawler by nature, appeared to revel in the disagreements.
“I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud,” he said after Green’s ejection.
Trump spoke in the House of Representatives, where lawmakers huddled in fear for their lives a little over four years ago while a mob of Trump supporters ransacked the Capitol in an unsuccessful effort to overturn Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 victory over the then-incumbent Trump.
The president praised billionaire businessman Elon Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency, which has downsized more than 100,000 federal workers, cut billions of dollars in foreign aid and shuttered entire agencies.
Trump credited Musk with identifying “hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud,” a claim that far exceeds even what the administration has claimed so far. Musk, seated in the gallery, received ovations from Republicans.
MORE TARIFFS COMING
Trump reiterated his intention to impose additional reciprocal tariffs on April 2, a move that would likely roil financial markets even more.
“Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries,” he said.
On this point, many Republicans remained seated, a signal of how Trump’s tariffs have divided his party.
Trump’s 25% tariffs on Mexico and Canada, two of the country’s closest allies, and an additional 10% on Chinese imports deepened investor concerns about the economy. The Nasdaq Composite is down more than 9% from its record closing high on December 16, near the 10% decline commonly called a market correction.
Trump, who has often taken credit for market increases, did not mention this week’s downturn in his speech. He also barely mentioned stubbornly high prices, blaming Biden and saying he was “fighting every day” to lower costs.
Just one in three Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, a potential danger sign amid worries his tariffs could increase inflation.
Trump urged Congress to extend his 2017 tax cuts. Congressional Republicans have advanced a sweeping $4.5 trillion plan that would extend the tax cuts, tighten border security and fund a huge increase in deportations.
The proposal calls for $2 trillion in spending reductions over a decade, with possible cuts to education, healthcare and other social services.
The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that Trump’s full tax agenda, including elimination of taxes on tips, overtime pay and Social Security benefits, could cost between $5 trillion and $11.2 trillion over a decade.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson, Erin Banco, Gram Slattery, Andrea Shalal, Steve Holland and Gabriella Borter; Additional reporting by Jason Lange, Richard Cowan, Trevor Hunnicutt and Tom Westbrook; Writing by Joseph Ax and Steve Holland; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Scott Malone and Howard Goller)
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