"This will be our greatest era of America - We have returned to the most free civilization for peace and security" - President Donald Trump
Washington — In his address to Congress, President Donald Trump claimed that his administration would work to take "America’s destiny into our own hands" and promised, "this will be our greatest era," where he would fight to establish "the most free civilization."
Trump's remarks were made during a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, which, although similar to the annual State of the Union address, saw Trump stating that "America is back" and "the American dream is now surging once again."
In his speech, Trump revealed that Ukraine is ready to sign a rare-earth minerals deal and continue peace talks with Russia to end the war. He also mentioned that his administration had arrested the terrorist responsible for an attack in Afghanistan that resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. troops. He pledged to "wage a war" against foreign drug cartels and noted that his administration had already shown success in reducing illegal immigration crossings in just six weeks.
Trump called on Congress to allocate more funding for border security to combat illegal immigration and fund the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. He said, "The cartels are waging a war on America, and now America is waging a war on the cartels, which we are doing."
Additionally, Trump stated that his administration inherited "an economic catastrophe" and blamed the Biden administration for allowing egg prices to get "out of control." He said, "One of my highest priorities is to rescue our economy and provide rapid and intense financial relief to working families."
Trump also defended his administration’s new tariff policy, which imposed a 25% tariff on Mexican and Canadian imports and raised existing tariffs on Chinese goods to 20%. In response, Canada and Mexico are set to announce their own tariffs.
Furthermore, Trump read a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stating that Ukraine is ready to begin peace talks. Trump said, "It is time to end this senseless war."
Special guests attending the speech included Trump's border czar Tom Homan, former director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); Noa Argamani, who was captured by Hamas during the Israel attacks; and U.S. hockey legends Buzz Schneider and Rob McClanahan, who were part of the 1980 U.S. hockey team that defeated the Soviet Union in the Olympics.
Some Democrats, including several Senators and Representatives, chose not to attend Trump’s address. Senator Elissa Slotkin from the Democratic Party is set to give the official response to Trump’s speech.
