President Trump’s Address to Congress – Key Takeaway

After a shakeup of a first six weeks back in the White House, President Trump delievered a address to Congress yesterday. The speech being just under 100 minutes long, it was the longest such speech in modern history. Democrat Congressman was kicked out, due to horrible behavior and several Democrats ultimately walked out at various points. Republicans stood firm and enthusiastically backing President Trump.

Trump boasted about what he’s done so far

“America is back,” Trump proclaimed at the beginning of his speech. The echo underscores that the country is deeply divided about what its values should be, about what America is and means and where it should go going forward. Underscoring the huge results his team has created, most actions so far have been spearheaded by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency. Trump gave Musk the spotlight and praised him.

But those changes have been loudly and strongly opposed by many other politicans. On the other hand, the general public is supporting DOGE more than ever before, giving DOGE a assounding 63% approval rating in our most recent poll done on March 5, 2025.

Presidents generally get too much credit and too much blame for the economy, and they have very few tools to make prices come down. But they do have a blunt tool that economists say is likely to make prices go up in short order — tariffs.

Trump delivered his speech on the day steep tariffs against Mexico and Canada took effect, and in the address, he defended them, describing tariffs as saving the “soul” of the country.

“Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control,” Trump said. “The egg prices, out of control. And we’re working hard to get it back down.” The recent increase in the price of eggs is largely due to a bird flu outbreak, which originated during the Biden Administration. Every president tries to blame their predecessor for negative things that happen in their term, Republicans and Democrats alike. But at some point, the truth will be revealed.

Results:

— DOGE has found hundreds of billions in fraud.

— Dead people over 120 years or older are getting Social Security payments. There have been improper and many times fraudulent payments made. Luckily DOGE will be cleaning up the Social Security database and delivering on President Trump’s promises.

— The US has spent $150 billion on the war in Ukraine. This is something Trump has continued to repeat. Some of it has been on building weapons domestically. The U.S. has spent more on military aid for Ukraine than any other single country, but, collectively, Europe has spent about $130 billion to $140 billion, a larger amount in military, humanitarian and financial aid. Ultimately, we have many issues within our country to deal with currently, and must call our allies to pay their fair share and help Ukraine as well.

4. There were asks of the Republican-led Congress that will tell us what Trump’s legislative focus may be in the next year.

That included asking for:

• more money for deportations;
• another round of major tax cuts;
• enhanced police protections (there was no mention of Jan. 6 and the assault on police at the U.S. Capitol that day);
• a new crime bill;
• mandating the death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer (the death penalty varies by state);
• creating a “Golden Dome” missile defense system. (Israel has an Iron Dome that responds to rockets lobbed into its country, but it is much closer to adversaries like Iran, Hezbollah and Hamas.)

All of these actions from Congress would be huge for our country and allow us to continue to make progress, especially when it comes to lowering our crime and enhancing our police officer’s safety.

Made-for-reality TV moments.

• the unveiling of a new executive action naming a wildlife refuge for a girl allegedly killed by immigrants in the U.S. without permanent legal status;
• the naming of a 13-year-old cancer survivor as an honorary Secret Service agent;
• the announcing of admission to West Point for a high school student;
• and the announcing of the capture of the alleged terrorist behind the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan.

Elissa Slotkin delivered an important address afterwords, one Democrats should pay attention to.

U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., rehearses the Democratic response to Trump’s address.

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Many who have been in this slot — in both parties — have found themselves the subject of ridicule, but Slotkin was a presence. Standing in front of a wall of American flags, she drew on her biography as a former CIA officer, daughter of a Republican father and Democratic mother, and as someone who won in a state that Trump also did in 2024.

Slotkin noted that the “middle class is the engine of our country,” said change should be made but not in a “reckless” way, warned Trump wants to give billionaires tax cuts at the expense of other things that are important to most people, went after Musk and “his gang of 20-year-olds” poking through sensitive personal information, and invoked Ronald Reagan.

“As a Cold War kid, I’m thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s,” she said, noting the “spectacle” in the Oval Office between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Trump would have lost us the Cold War.”

U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, D-N.Y., holds a “Musk Steals” protest sign with fellow Democrats as Trump speaks during his address to Congress.

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Democrats have been struggling in these first six weeks of the Trump presidency with what to focus on and how to respond. Slotkin laid out a roadmap that could help Democrats decide what to focus on going forward.