In a speech to Congress and the United States, President Donald Trump promised that his administration would work to take “America’s destiny into our own hands” and that “this will be our greatest era” in which he would fight to forge the most free civilization.
Trump made the remarks while delivering a speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, similar to the annual State of the Union address, in which he declared that “America is back” and that the “American dream is surging.”
Trump announced in his speech that Ukraine is willing to sign off on a rare-earth minerals deal and continue peace talks to end the war with Russia, and that his administration has apprehended the terrorist responsible for an attack in Afghanistan that killed 13 US troops.
He also promised to reduce inflation and “wage a war” on drug cartels, bragging about his administration’s accomplishments in the previous six weeks, including reducing illegal immigration crossings.
Specifically, Trump urged lawmakers on Tuesday to increase border security funding to pay for deportations and the construction of a border wall along the United States’ southern border, claiming that his administration has “launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history.”
“The cartels are waging a war on America, and it is time for America to wage a war on the cartels, which we are doing,” Mr. Trump said on Tuesday.
Trump stated that he has sent Congress a detailed funding request outlining how to eliminate threats and conduct the “largest deportation operation in American history.”
“Americans expect Congress to send me this funding as soon as possible, so I can sign it into law,” Trump said, urging House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to pass such a measure so he could sign it into law.
Furthermore, Trump stated on Tuesday that his administration inherited a “economic catastrophe,” accusing the Biden administration of allowing egg prices to spiral “out of control.”
“Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families,” Mr. Trump stated. “As president, I am fighting every day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again.”
According to the consumer price index, consumer prices increased by approximately 20% during former President Joe Biden’s administration, with egg prices rising by nearly 37% in the last year.
Trump also defended his administration’s new tariffs, which came after the United States imposed 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports and increased existing tariffs on Chinese goods to 20%.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday that Canada would impose tariffs on more than $100 billion in American goods, while Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said Mexico would impose its own retaliatory tariffs on Sunday.
Americans remain divided along party lines on the economy’s outlook for the coming year. According to the Pew Research Center survey, 73% of Republicans expect the economy to improve a year from now, while 64% expect it to worsen.
Trump also stated that he would continue to work to end the war in Ukraine, following Russia’s invasion of the country in 2022 and the stalled negotiations on Friday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a visit to Washington on Friday as part of negotiations to end the war in Ukraine. He was expected to sign a minerals agreement that would give the US access to Ukraine’s minerals in exchange for US support in the country.
Meanwhile, Zelenskyy said in a post on X on Tuesday, hours before Trump’s speech, that Ukraine is now ready to “come to the negotiating table” and that “it is time to make things right”. He also described the exchange on Friday as “regrettable,” and stated that Ukraine is ready to sign a minerals agreement.
Trump announced on Tuesday that he had received a letter from Zelenskyy stating that Ukraine is ready to negotiate and resume peace talks, as well as sign the minerals deal.
“It is time to end this senseless war,” Trump said, emphasizing the importance of communicating with both sides to bring wars to an end.
Special guests who attended the Tuesday address included Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, the former acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement director; Noa Argamani, who suffered captivity from Palestinian militant group Hamas after the group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023; and hockey legends Buzz Schneider and Rob McClanahan, who were inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003 and were part of the U.S. hockey team that defeated the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics.
While all lawmakers are typically invited to the president’s annual address, Democrats such as Sens. Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, and Patty Murray of Washington, as well as Reps. Don Beyer of Virginia and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, chose not to attend this year.
Freshman Senator Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., is set to deliver the Democratic Party’s official response to Trump’s speech on Tuesday. Before joining the Senate, Slotkin, a former CIA analyst who worked at the Pentagon and the White House under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama, represented her state in the United States House of Representatives for several terms.