President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
| Photo Credit: AP
Donald Trump declared, “America is back” on Tuesday (March 5, 2025) in his first address to Congress since returning to power, facing instant Democratic hostility as he touted radical social and economic policies while hailing his billionaire adviser Elon Musk.
Trump address to Congress LIVE
With Mr. Musk, the world’s richest person, among those attending the primetime televised speech, the 78-year-old Republican said after less than two months back in power he is “just getting started.”
The “American dream is unstoppable,” he declared.
Almost every line got loud applause from Republican Party members, including on two occasions when Mr. Trump singled out Mr. Musk, who stood up to salute the Congress.
But protests also began within minutes.
One Democratic congressman, Al Green, was ordered ejected because he refused to stop heckling, claiming Mr. Trump has no mandate to dismantle healthcare programs, and shaking his walking stick at the president.
Other Democrats silently held up placards including “False” and “Musk steals” and “That’s a lie!”
And at one moment, numerous Democrats yelled “January 6!” at Mr. Trump, referring to his supporters’ violent attack on the Capitol in 2021 after he refused to concede his election loss.
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The Republican president was undeterred, hailing his first six weeks and vowing to press on with his polarizing bid to reshape the U.S. government and end the Ukraine war — whatever the cost.
Reality TV style
Mr. Trump reverted to his tried-and-tested reality TV instincts. At one point, he called attention to a boy with brain cancer who dreamed of becoming a policeman and — in front of Congress — was handed an official ID by the head of the Secret Service.
He claimed that he was trying to resolve an “economic catastrophe,” despite actually inheriting the strongest developed economy in the world from his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.
He defended his disruptive economic moves — even as the trade war he launched against Canada, China, and Mexico is prompting jitters on world markets.
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After a torrent of warnings that tariffs will badly hurt U.S. exporters, including politically powerful farmers, he conceded they would bring “a little disturbance.”
“Have a lot of fun,” Mr. Trump said to farmers, whom he said “I love.”
And after enumerating a series of murders committed by migrants, Trump got big applause when he vowed to “wage war” on Mexican drug cartels.
Well before he had finished, dozens of Democrats had already walked out.
Mr. Trump also doubled down on his controversial vows on “taking back” the Panama Canal and getting Greenland from Denmark by “one way or another.”
Democrats have so far struggled to counter Mr. Trump’s flood-the-zone strategy and his hogging of the news cycle with constant press conferences.
The Democratic rebuttal to Mr. Trump’s address will be provided by new Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin, a 48-year-old former CIA analyst and rising star in the party.
Published – March 05, 2025 10:40 am IST
