"America is back," Trump began his address, which lasted just under one hour and forty minutes—the longest speech by any U.S. president at a joint session of Congress.
On Tuesday night (local time), U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a speech before both houses of Congress. U.S. presidents often use such addresses to call for unity and highlight challenges facing the nation. But not Trump. In his world, everything is rosy—except the politics of defeated American Democrats.
"America is back," Trump began his speech, which lasted just under one hour and forty minutes, the longest by any U.S. president at a joint session of Congress. His addresses during his first term averaged around eighty minutes, suggesting he was particularly inspired for this performance.
Trump was frequently interrupted by applause from politicians and dignitaries, as well as his applause directed at individuals he mentioned who were present in the chamber. The hall, often synonymous with serious politics, resembled a sports arena where the crowd cheers and applauds their favorites.
To complete the sports arena atmosphere, Democratic Congressman Al Green, who was escorted out of the chamber just minutes after Trump began speaking, shouted and heckled Trump, claiming he "has no mandate" and refusing to sit down. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Trump ally, stated that Green had "terribly made history."
Some Democrats held signs reading "False" and "Musk Steals," targeting the world’s richest man, whom Trump’s critics call the "real president" of the United States, highlighting his influence in the White House. Elon Musk was in the audience and received strong applause after Trump praised his work in the "Office of Government Efficiency."
Trump Against All Odds
Trump remained undeterred by the behavior of some Democrats. From start to finish, he maintained the same energy, never relenting in proclaiming himself and his policies as the greatest in U.S. history while portraying his political opponents as the exact opposite. He presented arbitrary and false data, made threats...
Some media outlets fact-checked Trump’s claims and concluded he had uttered many falsehoods. Some statements were difficult to assess. "We’ve achieved more in 43 days than some administrations have in four or eight years, and we’re just getting started," he said, touting his administration’s successes.
For those outside the U.S., however, this was the least of the issues with Trump’s speech. He threatened certain countries, repeating that he would "take the Panama Canal back from Panama" and that Greenland would "one way or another" belong to Washington.
Trump’s remarks about other nations often sounded like a call for submission, disregarding their positions. Nearly every mention of foreign countries or international agreements was framed as "cheating" the U.S., even as he spoke of a "golden age" under his presidency. As proof of success, he cited executive orders signed since returning to the White House.
Ideological Warfare
The most critical part of Trump’s address was his continued feud with the minority Democrats in Congress and former President Joseph Biden, whose political career appears to have ended with his term.
Targeting Biden was no accident and likely signals the revenge many feared when Trump returned to the White House. Undoubtedly, Trump used the congressional address to legally and legitimately dismantle Biden administration policies. From the same podium, Biden had targeted Trump long before the November presidential elections.
Trump’s spin doctors framed LGBTQ+ issues and ‘woke culture’ as symbols of America’s decline. He pinned these policies—some even backed by Republicans and parts of their base—on Democrats. Such easy targets, Trump attacked by citing U.S. funds funneled to Lesotho, Serbia, Moldova, Uganda, and others—tens of millions wasted, he claimed.
Many voters will support this. It’s easy to argue that an over-indebted nation like the U.S. should not send millions abroad for programs voters wouldn’t support in their neighborhoods. To Americans struggling to feed themselves, the idea of sending U.S. funds for social inclusion programs in Peru or Colombia sounds absurd. Support for Trump’s stance will grow, especially if economic hardships persist and his narrative dominates. This is how Trump aims to bury the policies he defeated in the presidential election.
This ideological battle, spanning various spheres of life, will be Trump’s trump card on the domestic political scene. Regardless of results in other areas, his administration will leverage its elimination of all genders except male and female, its protection of women’s sports from transgender athletes, and its removal of gender-inclusive language.
Trump will "export" this worldview to regions where his political allies and followers of so-called conservatism—claiming to "save ordinary people from the evil left"—still exist, despite the left having largely abandoned such rhetoric decades ago. Through this framework, Trump will garner global sympathy and strengthen U.S. influence in certain regions.
However, this won’t change the fact that the U.S. and the West need change, as problems pile up. Divisions among Western nations are growing, and Trump fuels them. In Biden’s speeches, there was at least hope for cooperation and the need for allies. In Trump’s worldview, even the closest ally can become an enemy. During his congressional speech, he reinforced this by implying that Democrats and U.S. allies have only done wrong.
Some Republicans, aware of this, will likely push Trump toward positions held by past administrations, regardless of party affiliation. Otherwise, talk of the United States "we once knew" will resurface quickly.
The article was previously published on nap.ba.
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