On Tuesday, March 4th, President Trump delivered a 100-minute speech at a joint session of Congress, which was the longest presidential address in modern American history.
The White House stated that his speech was themed around “Reviving the American Dream.” During his speech, Trump emphasized that “the American Dream will reignite, it will be greater than ever before, unstoppable.” He stated that his plan to reshape the nation is “just the beginning.” His close advisor, billionaire Elon Musk, also attended this prime time television address.
Trump vigorously promoted the achievements he has made in his six weeks in office, promising to spare no effort to completely reshape the American government and put an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Currently, Trump has signed over 100 executive orders, significantly reshaping the functions of the executive branch. The U.S. is continuing to combat illegal immigration and transforming its role in the international arena. Meanwhile, the federal government is undergoing massive layoffs in an attempt to fundamentally reform federal agencies.
“We have achieved more in just 43 days than many governments could do in 4 or even 8 years, and this is just the beginning,” Trump said.
The key points of Trump’s speech included a significant decrease in the number of illegal border crossings in the southern border of the United States. He attributed this change to his declaration of a national emergency at the border and deployment of the military to assist border patrol in “repelling the invasion of our country.”
“They are doing an amazing job,” Trump stated, “So, last month’s number of illegal border crossings was the lowest ever recorded—ever. They heard my words, so they chose not to come.”
Trump emphasized that he has signed an executive order prohibiting biological males from entering female-designated private spaces. The order clearly states that the official U.S. policy recognizes only two genders—male and female, and that Title IX of the 1972 Education Amendments Act applies only to females, not to transgender males.
Trump highlighted special guest Payton McNabb, who was injured by a transgender male volley…
The reduced funding will be used to:
– Reduce national debt
– Mitigate inflation
– Balance the federal budget
“We want to put more money back into the pockets of hard-working American families,” Trump said.
Trump called for permanent tax cuts for all Americans and urged the Republican Party to pass his tax cut plan.
“I believe you will support this tax cut policy, otherwise, I don’t think people will vote for you again,” Trump said.
He reiterated his positions, including canceling tip taxes, exempting Social Security benefits from taxes, and canceling overtime taxes.
Republican lawmakers in Congress are pushing through a major bill, which includes making the income tax cuts policy of 2017 permanent. Additionally, the bill involves provisions related to energy and border security.
In Trump’s joint session address, he announced his intention to push for a balanced federal budget in his second term.
“I want to do something that hasn’t been done in nearly 24 years: balance the budget,” Trump said, “We will balance the federal budget.”
Balancing the federal budget has been a long term goal for many Republicans, but Trump had not directly addressed the issue in the past. He stated that to achieve this goal, he will push for a “Gold Card” program, allowing foreigners to pay $5 million to obtain U.S. citizenship.
Trump stated that his trade policy will continue to focus on tariffs to attract foreign investment in the U.S. and narrow the trade deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars. His goal is to bring tens of billions of dollars in revenue to the U.S. through the newly established “External Revenue Service.”
“If you are not producing products in the U.S…. then you will pay tariffs, and in some cases, the tariffs will be quite high,” Trump said.
“Other countries have been imposing tariffs on us for decades, now it’s our turn to do the same to them.”
He emphasized that reciprocal tariffs will be imposed on any country that taxes American products.
“Numerous countries impose higher tariffs on our goods than we do on theirs, which is very unfair,” Trump said, “Some of these countries are enemies, some are allies, but they all do the same.”
Currently, a new round of tariff measures has taken effect today, including a 25% tariff on goods from Canada and Mexico, and an additional 20% tariff on Chinese goods in addition to the existing tariffs.
Reciprocal tariffs will officially take effect on April 2nd.
“They will pay as much tax on us as we do on them,” Trump said. “For decades, the U.S. has been exploited by almost all countries globally, and we will not allow this situation to continue.”
Although critics are concerned that tariffs may lead to inflation, Trump denied this claim, stating that the impact will be temporary.
“There will be some fluctuations, but it is something we can accept,” he said. “It won’t be too severe.”
Trump said he received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, expressing his willingness to pursue peace and end the war between Russia and Ukraine.
Trump read excerpts from the letter, which stated, “My team and I are ready to push for lasting peace under President Trump’s strong leadership.”
Earlier, Zelenskyy made a statement on social media, expressing that Ukraine is ready to end the war and thanking the U.S. for its support. He also expressed regret over the failed economic agreement stemming from the Oval Office meeting on February 28th.
Trump reiterated that he has always hoped that the U.S. could acquire Greenland for the past five years.
“Tonight, I have a message for the outstanding people of Greenland,” Trump said, “We firmly support your right to decide your own future, and if you are willing, we welcome you to become a part of America.”
He emphasized that Greenland is the largest island in the world, currently governed by Denmark, and is crucial for U.S. national security.
“We are working with all parties to push forward this plan because we truly need Greenland to ensure global security,” Trump said, “Regardless, I believe we will secure it.”
He pledged to protect the approximately 56,000 residents on the island and improve local living standards.
“We will protect you, make you prosperous, and together achieve unprecedented prosperity for Greenland,” Trump said.
“Although the population is not large, Greenland has a very, very vast territory, which is extremely important for military security,” he said.
Trump stated that his administration is actively working to regain control of the Panama Canal to strengthen U.S. national security.
“We have already started the action,” he added, mentioning that BlackRock-led consortium recently announced the acquisition of several ports along the canal, including ports at both ends.
The U.S. had previously built and long controlled the Panama Canal, but gradually transferred control to Panama after President Jimmy Carter signed a treaty. According to the treaty, the canal is to remain a neutral international trade thoroughfare.
“But this agreement has been severely violated,” Trump said, blaming the influence of China in the region.
“We are not handing over the canal to China but to Panama, and now we are taking it back,” he said.