Donald Trump declares administration ‘just getting started’ in address to Congress
US Prez boasted about efforts to slash federal workforce and reorient foreign policy as Democrats protested
Donald Trump on Tuesday, March 5, declared that his administration was “just getting started”, boasting in a marathon address to Congress that his efforts to slash the size of the federal workforce, reorient US foreign policy and escalate a risky trade war marked the beginning of the “most thrilling days in the history of our country” as Democratic lawmakers protested with placards that read “lies” and “false”.
“America is back,” Trump declared, opening the his primetime speech to a joint session of Congress, the first of his second term and the longest in American history. Republicans broke into a boisterous chant of “USA”.
Throughout the prime-time address, which lasted about one hour and 40 minutes, a jocular Trump touted his administration’s “swift and unrelenting action” and praised the work of his billionaire adviser, Elon Musk, who has led his administration’s efforts to dramatically downsize the federal government through his so-called “department of government efficiency”.
“Thank you, Elon,” Trump said, gesturing to Musk, who was seated in the House gallery overlooking the chamber where Democrats waved paddles that read “Musk steals”.
Donald Trump declared “America is back” on Tuesday in his first address to Congress since returning to power, touting his radical policies in the face of raucous Democratic hostility while proclaiming a breakthrough on Ukraine.
In the longest presidential speech to lawmakers on record, the Republican repeatedly hailed billionaire advisor Elon Musk’s controversial assault on the federal bureaucracy and said his administration was “just getting started”.
“The American Dream is unstoppable,” said Trump in a speech lasting over one hour and 40 minutes, which beat Bill Clinton’s record for his State of the Union speech in 2000.
Almost every line got loud applause from Republican Party members, including on two occasions when Trump singled out SpaceX and Tesla tycoon Musk, who stood up to salute Congress.
But protests also began within minutes.
One Democratic congressman, Al Green, was ejected because he refused to stop heckling Trump over healthcare programmes, 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 Trump, referring to his supporters’ violent attack on the Capitol in 2021 after he refused to concede his election loss.
The 78-year-old president was undeterred, hailing his first six weeks and vowing to press on with his polarising bid to reshape the US government and end the Ukraine war — whatever the cost.
Trump reverted to his tried-and-tested reality TV instincts. At one point he called attention to a boy with brain cancer who — in front of Congress — was handed an official ID by the head of the Secret Service.
But in what mostly sounded like a campaign speech rather than an address to the nation, Trump made no attempt to reach out to opponents and at times mocked them.
To cheers of “USA” and “Trump, Trump, Trump”, he proclaimed that his culture war on diversity programmes and transgender rights meant “our country will be woke no longer”.
He claimed that he was trying to resolve an “economic catastrophe”, despite inheriting the strongest developed economy in the world from his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.
Trump seized the high-profile moment to defend his administration’s action during the first weeks of his return to power, including, according to his tally, nearly 100 executive orders and more than 400 executive actions.
“The people elected me to do the job, and I am doing it,” he said, making no mention of the legal challenges that have stalled many of his actions and deepening fears that his trade war will plunge the country into economic chaos.
Trump also expanded on his “America First” foreign policy vision, just days after a dramatic Oval Office meeting with the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, spiraled out of control as Trump and JD Vance berated him over a perceived lack of respect.
During his remarks, Trump recited from a letter Zelenskyy shared earlier in the day, indicating that he was ready to return to the negotiating table to end Russia’s three-year war. The US had simultaneously received “strong signals” from Russia that Moscow is “ready for peace,” Trump said. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”
Elsewhere, Trump envisioned the US expanding. He declared that his administration was in the process of “reclaiming the Panama Canal” and repeated his threat to take control of Greenland: “One way or the other, we’re going to get it.”
No comments:
Post a Comment