Newsman: President Trump said “America is back” and asked the nation “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. “
President Donald Trump was addressing a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night in his first state of Union address since retaking office for the second term.
President Trump said, “America is back” while touting the flurry of actions he has taken over the first six weeks of his second term.
The president presented an optimistic vision for the future said “The golden age of America has only just begun.”
“We are going to create the highest quality of life, build the highest quality of life, build the safest and wealthiest and healthiest and most vital communities anywhere in the world,” he said. “We are going to conquer the vast frontiers of science and we are going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond.”
President continued, “And through it all, we are going to rediscover the unstoppable power of the American spirit. And we are going to renew [the] 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.
Speaking for an hour and 40 minutes longest in at least 61 years of history including pauses for clapping, applause and other reactions ) President Trump highlighted the executive orders he has issued and laid out his vision for how Congress should begin implementing his sweeping legislative agenda. He also praised the work of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency task force, or DOGE, for the drastic cuts they have enacted across the executive branch.
The president added that he believes his life was saved in Butler that day “for a very good reason.”
“I was saved by God to make America great again, I believe that,” he said, reiterating a line he said in his inaugural address.
“Gunfire rang out, and a sick and deranged assassin unloaded eight bullets from his sniper’s perch into a crowd of many thousands of people,” the president said. “My life was saved by a fraction of an inch, but some were not so lucky.”
The president said Comperatore was “a firefighter, a veteran, a Christian, a husband, a devoted father, and above all, a protector” who, when the sound of gunshots rang out, “knew instantly what it was and what to do.”
“He threw himself on top of his wife and daughters, and shielded them from the bullets with his own body,” the president said, while noting that Comperatore’s wife and daughters were in the gallery.
“Corey is looking down on his three beautiful ladies right now and he is cheering you on,” Mr. Trump said. “Corey was taken from us much too soon, but his destiny was to leave us all with a shining example of the selflessness devotion of a true American patriot.”
The president called on Congress “to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body.”
“This is a big lie,” he said. “And our message to every child in America is that you are perfect, exactly the way God made you.”
The president urged Congress, especially Democrats, to vote for tax cuts for “everybody.”
“The next phase of our plan to deliver the greatest economy in history is for this Congress to pass tax cuts for everybody,” he said, referring to the House GOP’s budget plan. “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,” the president told Democratic members. “Because otherwise, I don’t believe that people will ever vote you into office. So I’m doing a big favor by telling you that.”
Mr. Trump said they’re “seeking permanent income tax cuts all across the board,” which would carry a price tag of at least $4.5 trillion over the next decade.
The president also called on Congress to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits.
The president called on Congress to fund a “Golden Dome missile defense shield,” similar to Israel’s.
“As commander in chief, my focus is on building the most powerful military of the future,” Mr. Trump said. “As a first step, I’m asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art Golden Dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland. All made in the USA.”
He added: “Other places have it. And the United States should have it too, right?”
Trump also calls on Congress to pass law requiring mandatory death penalty for police killers.
“I’ve already signed an executive order requiring a mandatory death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer,” the president said. “And tonight, I’m asking Congress to pass that policy into permanent law.”
The President said law enforcement deserves “support, protection and respect,” though he issued sweeping pardons for those convicted or facing charges of assaulting police officers during the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021.
“We’re also, once again, giving our police officers the support, protection and respect they so dearly deserve. They have to get it. They have such a hard, dangerous job, but we’re going to make it less dangerous,” he said. “The problem is, the bad guys don’t respect the law, but they’re starting to respect it, and they soon will respect it.”
One day after announcing new investments in the U.S. by a Taiwanese semiconductor company, the president called on Congress to “get rid of” the CHIPS and Science Act, which was enacted under the Biden administration. The law is intended to boost semiconductor chip manufacturing in the U.S., both for economic and national security reasons.
“You should get rid of the CHIP Act, and whatever’s left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt, or any other reason you want to,” Mr. Trump said.
President Trump touted his administration’s work to address border security and immigration so far, celebrating what he called “the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history.”
“The media and our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying, ‘We needed new legislation, we must have legislation to secure the border,'” Mr. Trump said. “But it turns out all we needed was a new president.”
The president thanked his border czar Tom Homan and Homeland Security Secretary Krisi Noem for their work so far. And he honored Laken Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student who was murdered by an immigrant in the U.S. illegally whose story became a rallying cry for Republicans on the campaign trail, declaring that “America will never ever forget” her. Riley’s mother and sister were seated in the gallery.
Mr. Trump also shared the story of a 12-year-old girl who he said was killed by immigrants in the U.S. illegally. He addressed her mother in the gallery and highlighted an order he said he signed earlier to rename a wildlife refuge in her daughter’s name. The president displayed the order, holding it up to applause from Republicans.
Trump said, he was pleased to announce that his administration has “just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.” He credited the government of Pakistan for helping to arrest “this monster.”
The president recalled the 13 American service members killed during a suicide bombing at the airport in Kabul during the 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, calling the withdrawal under the Biden administration “disastrous and incompetent.”
“Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country,” he said.
Talking on Greenland , The US president Trump said, “We’re going to get it, one way or the other.”
“I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland,” President. Trump said. “We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America.”
He said the territory is important to U.S. national security and that his administration is “working with everybody involved to try and get it.”
“And I think we’re going to get it, one way or the other,” President Trump said. “We’re going to get it. We will keep you safe, we will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before. It’s a very small population, but very, very large piece of land, and very, very important for military security.”
Throughout the speech. of Democratic lawmakers have been holding up signs with slogans like “Musk Steals,” “Save Medicaid,” “Protect Veterans” and “False.” Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan has a whiteboard that she has used to respond to Mr. Trump in real time:
The president made his case for his reciprocal tariffs, which will commence April 2. He wants to impose the same tariff on imports from foreign countries as those nations impose on U.S. exports.
“If you don’t make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff, and in some cases, a rather large one,” he said. “Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada — have you heard of them? — and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It’s very unfair.
“India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100%,” he continued. “China’s average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them. And South Korea’s average tariff is four times higher. Think of that. Four times higher. And we give so much help militarily and in so many other ways to South Korea but that’s what happens. This is happening by friend and foe. The system is not fair to the United States and never was.
“April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in, and whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them,” the president said. “That’s reciprocal. Back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them.”
Trump says U.S. farmers will benefit from tariffs because foreign produce is “dirty” and “uninspected”
Mr. Trump praised American farmers, insisting the tariffs targeting imports from Canada and Mexico will benefit them.
“I love the farmer, who will now be selling into our whole market, the USA, because nobody is going to be able to compete with you,” he said. “Because those goods that come in from other companies and countries, they’re really, really in a bad position in so many different ways. They’re uninspected. They may be very dirty and disgusting. And they come in and they pour in and they hurt our American farmers.”
Trump says he wants to make interest on American-made cars tax deductible
Mr. Trump said he wants to make interest payments on car loans tax deductible, “but only if the car is made in America.”
“By the way, we’re going to have growth in the auto industry like nobody’s ever seen,” he said. “Plants are opening up all over the place. Deals are being made.”
He said that his policies would allow the U.S. auto industry to “absolutely boom.”
Mr. Trump said last month that he could impose hefty tariffs on automobile imports, but would have more to say in early April. At the time, he said that the tariffs could be “in the neighborhood of 25%.”
“Already numerous car companies have announced that they will be building massive automobile plants in America,” he said.
President urged Congress to “pass tax cuts for everybody” calls for balancing the budget, despite GOP plan that would add trillions to deficit.Mr. Trump claimed he would soon balance the budget, but he has endorsed a plan by Republicans in Congress to extend tax cuts and enact spending reductions that would add trillions to the nation’s budget deficit.
“In the near future, I want to do what has not been done in 24 years, balance the federal budget,” Trump said.
Last week, the House narrowly adopted a budget proposal that paves the way for implementing Mr. Trump’s border security, defense and energy priorities. President Trump has dubbed it a “big, beautiful bill.”
The House Republican resolution instructs committees to craft legislation that would cut $4.5 trillion in taxes and at least $1.5 trillion in spending over the next 10 years, while raising the debt ceiling by $4 trillion.
The president touted his administration’s swift deportations of illegal immigrants, saying Democrats seated in the chamber should celebrate what he is doing.
“This is my fifth such speech to Congress,” Mr. Trump said. “And once again 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. Nothing I can do.”
Trump says citizenship “gold card” will go on sale “very, very soon”
The president said his administration is preparing a “gold card” that would allow foreigners to pay $5 million to be placed on a pathway to citizenship, and said it would go on sale “very, very soon.” Administration officials have said they won’t discriminate based on country of origin, but candidates will be vetted.
“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 said. “It’s like the green card, but better and more sophisticated. These people will have to pay tax in our country.”
“They’ll also be taking people out of colleges and paying for them so that we can keep them in our country instead of having them being forced out,” he added. “They’re going to pay a lot of money and we’re going to reduce our debt with that money.”
Trump touts DOGE and Elon Musk, listing canceled programs ,Overhauling of the federal government, changes.
“Perhaps you’ve heard of it,” Mr. Trump said as he mentioned the task force. “Perhaps.”
Musk, who is in attendance, has been “working very hard,” .Trump said.
“He didn’t need this. He didn’t need this,” he said. “We appreciate it.”
The president then listed various programs, particularly foreign aid-related programs, that his administration has terminated and claimed that the task force has found billions in fraud and waste.
“By slashing all of the fraud, waste and theft we can find, we will defeat inflation, bring down mortgage rates, lower car payments and grocery prices, protect our seniors and put more money in the pockets of American families,” President Trump said.
The president claimed that DOGE has found “hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud.” DOGE claims on its website that it has saved $105 billion by slashing contracts and finding fraud. But as of Monday, the data DOGE has made available only itemizes a total of $8.86 billion in canceled federal contracts.
Trump says he inherited “an inflation nightmare,” blames Biden for rising egg prices
The president said his highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families acknowledging that Americans are hurting from inflation and blamed former President Joe Biden for higher prices.
“Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families,” he said. “As you know, we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare. Their policies drove up energy prices, pushed up grocery costs and drove the necessities of life out of reach for millions and millions of Americans.”
President said he’s fighting to reverse inflation, the same day his tariffs went into effect that economists predict will contribute to higher prices.
“As president, I’m fighting every day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again,” the president said to applause from Republicans.
The president also blamed Biden for the price of eggs, which has continued to skyrocket under Mr. Trump as bird flu spreads.
“Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control,” he said. “The egg price is out of control, and we’re working hard to get it back down.”
President Donald Trump listed off the litany of executive orders and other changes he’s made in the first six weeks since the start of his second term, including renaming the Gulf of Mexico as the “Gulf of America,” banning transgender women from playing in girls and women’s sports and making English the official language of the U.S.
“Our country will be woke no longer,” he said, adding that workers should be hired based on “skill and competence, not race and gender.”
“We’ve ended the tyranny of so called ‘Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’ policies all across the entire federal government and indeed the private sector and our military,” he said.
Trump said there is “absolutely nothing I can say” or do to make Democratic lawmakers happy.
He continued: “I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history, or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded. And these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. They won’t do it, no matter what. Five times I’ve been up here. It’s very sad, and it just shouldn’t be this way.”
The president earned sustained applause from Republicans and jeers from Democrats, one of whom was escorted from the chamber for interrupting the speech. Several Democrats walked out of the House chamber over the course of the address, and others protested silently with handheld signs.
“The presidential election of Nov. 5 was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades,” Trump said, noting that he won all seven battleground states.
“We won the popular vote by big numbers and won counties in our country,” President Trump said, as Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas rose to interrupt him. Republicans quickly stood, coming to the president’s support with chants of “USA.”
Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas was escorted from the chamber after he heckled the speech and refused to comply with directions to be quiet and sit.
House Speaker Mike Johnson warned raucous Democrats to be quiet before Green was escorted out.
“Members are directed to uphold and maintain decorum in the house and to cease any further disruptions. That’s your warning,” Johnson said. “Members are engaging in willful and continuing breach of decorum, and the chair is prepared to direct the sergeant at arms to restore order to the joint session.”
When Green declined to take his seat as Johnson asked, Johnson directed the sergeant at arms to restore order and “remove this gentleman from the chamber.”
