“Our country will be woke no longer,” Mr. Trump said in his joint address to the U.S. Congress
Updated – March 05, 2025 01:05 pm IST
President Donald Trump leaves the chamber after addressing a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. | Photo Credit: AP
“We are just getting started,” President Donald Trump said in his first major address to the Congress since he took over the highest office in the U.S. He set a record for the longest address to a joint session of Congress — speaking for more than an hour and 40 minutes — breaking the previous record set by President Bill Clinton, at 1 hour, 28 minutes and 49 seconds.
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Mr. Trump also recited a letter he received earlier Tuesday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that the wartime President wants to come back to the table after an explosive Oval office meeting last week broke down negotiations for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
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Almost every line by the President 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.
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Mr. Trump also said the person responsible for killing 13 U.S. service members during the withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 had been arrested with the help of Pakistan and was now on his way to the U.S. to face justice.
Speaking about the trade war, the President said the United States economy is set to see some “disturbance” from tariffs. “Tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs. They’re about protecting the soul of our country,” Mr. Trump said.
Trump’s speech was meant to be to the whole of Congress and the nation, but he sounded like he was still campaigning for the presidency, rarely bothering to reach out to opponents at all — unless to throw jibes.
On the Republican side of the chamber, the president’s jabs were met with repeated standing ovations and chats of “USA! USA!”
The ultra-Trumpist congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene sported a red “Trump was right about everything” cap — in violation of a ban on headwear introduced almost two centuries ago.