President Donald Trump delivered the biggest speech of his presidency yet, hitting on partisan talking points favoured by his conservative base, while largely sidestepping the effects of his sweeping tariff proposals on consumers.
The speech was largely aimed at Republicans, drawing frequent applause and “USA” chants, while Democrats protested the appearance with signs, jeers and interruptions — which led to one lawmaker, Representative Al Green of Texas, to be ejected from the House chamber.
Here are the key takeaways from Trump’s address on Tuesday to a joint session of Congress:
Tariff turbulence
Trump made clear that this week’s market selloff has not weakened his resolve on tariffs, saying he hopes to raise “trillions and trillions” in tariff revenue, which would amount to a widespread, sprawling new import tax.
“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again,” he said. “There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that.”
He stopped short of saying if he would claw back some of this week’s levies on Canada and Mexico, though Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has suggested a partial reprieve from the duties could be coming.
Semiconductors, border
In one extemporaneous moment, Trump flatly called for Congress to eliminate the $52 billion bipartisan Chips and Science Act, casting doubt on its future and potentially on some of the projects funded to date.
Repealing it may be a hard sell in Congress, where many Republicans have new semiconductor factories planned in their districts funded in part by subsidies from that bill.
Trump also nudged Congress to pass new border security funding. He touted his administration’s attempts to crack down on border crossings and paid tribute to guests in the crowd who had relatives killed by migrants.
Tax talk
House Speaker Mike Johnson smiled, nodded and applauded through the speech but Trump’s tax wish list will be no small feat to pass in the narrowly divided House.
Trump reiterated his call to not tax tipped income, overtime pay and Social Security benefits – and also cited a desire to make interest payments on American-made cars tax deductible.
As Republicans grapple with extending his first-term cuts and adding new ones — plans which will cost upward of $5 trillion — he also set another lofty goal: balancing the budget “in the near future.”
Foreign frenemies
Trump spent little time on some of the thorniest issues facing the US abroad. He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote him and said Ukraine is ready to sign a mineral deal — the fate of which has been unclear since a disastrous meeting between the two last week.
But Trump also reiterated his call for an end to the conflict and emphasised his unease with American aid to Ukraine – two positions that bolster Russia’s bargaining position.
He made only a glancing reference to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Speech tone
Trump’s speech landed in uncharted territory for the president – much less spirited than a typical rally speech but largely bereft of any bipartisan messaging. He touched on several lightning rod issues in the conservative movement, including his push to ban transgender women from women’s sports and Elon Musk’s push to shrink the US government through cutting costs and dismissing federal workers
The speech had flourishes of the reality show roots of the president – Trump announced an honorary appointment of a 13-year-old with cancer, who dreams of being a police officer, to the Secret Service and surprised another attendee by announcing that he had granted the student admission to the US Military Academy at West Point.
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