
Donald Trump declared “America is back” on Tuesday in his first address to Congress since returning to power, touting his radical policies in the face of raucous Democratic hostility while proclaiming a breakthrough in Ukraine.
In the longest presidential speech to lawmakers on record, the Republican repeatedly hailed billionaire advisor Elon Musk’s controversial assault on the federal bureaucracy and said his administration was “just getting started”.“The American Dream is unstoppable,” said Trump in a speech lasting over one hour and 40 minutes, which beat Bill Clinton’s record for his State of the Union speech in 2000.Almost every line got loud applause from Republican Party members, including on two occasions when Trump singled out SpaceX and Tesla tycoon Musk, who stood up to salute Congress.
But protests also began within minutes.One Democratic congressman, Al Green, was ejected because he refused to stop heckling Trump over healthcare programs and shaking his walking stick at the president.Other Democrats silently held up placards including “False,” “Musk steals,” and “That’s a lie!”
At one moment, numerous Democrats yelled “January 6!” at Trump, referring to his supporters’ violent attack on the Capitol in 2021 after he refused to concede his election loss.The 78-year-old president was undeterred, hailing his first six weeks and vowing to press on with his polarizing bid to reshape the US government and end the Ukraine war — whatever the cost.