President Trump delivered the first congressional address of his second term on Tuesday evening.
It was a chance for the president to underscore the sweeping changes he has wrought in the six weeks since he returned to the White House – and to defend those moves from his many critics.
The days preceding the address were dominated by two issues – Ukraine and the economy.
The first topic is in a state of flux amid reverberations from last week’s fractious meeting between Trump, Vice President Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
On the economy, stock markets swooned Tuesday amid concerns about Trump’s newest tariffs, aimed at Mexico, Canada and China.
On Tuesday night, there was much other news too.
Here are the big takeaways.
A defense of big change, in a taunting tone
Trump set out his case from the speech’s opening moments, characterizing his first weeks back in office as being marked by “swift and unrelenting action.”
In the roughly 100 minutes that followed, he put flesh on that argument, referencing his restrictions on illegal immigration, his executive orders assailing “wokeness,” the work of billionaire ally Elon Musk and Trump’s own assault on what he calls Washington’s bureaucratic “swamp.”
Musk was present for the address – dressed, uncharacteristically, in a suit – while some Democrats held signs proclaiming “Musk steals.”
Trump claimed popular opinion is the wind at his back: “Americans have given us a mandate for bold and profound change,” he said.
But have they?
Trump defeated Vice President Harris by just 1.5 points in the popular vote last November, polls show Americans closely split on his performance thus far, and Musk, a central figure, seems to grow more divisive by the day.
Trump adopted a taunting tone toward Democrats during much of the address.
The president called former President Biden “the worst president in American history,” referenced the criminal cases that he had faced adding, “How did that work out?” and resurrected an old derogatory nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) when she applauded in support of continued aid for Ukraine.
“Do you want to keep it going for another five years? Yeah? You would say – Pocahontas says yes,” Trump said, nodding in Warren’s direction.
Warren, asked a short time later if she was surprised by the jab, said, “No. The whole speech was a fantasy that Donald Trump tries to construct.”
A slight softening on Ukraine
Trump took a less hostile tone toward Zelensky than he has during the past week. But it remains unclear exactly how the president sees the path forward.
The president said he had received a letter from Zelensky earlier on Tuesday, though he appeared to be referencing the same message the Ukrainian president had posted on social media.
Nonetheless, Trump characterized the message as “important” — especially with respect to the Ukrainian willingness to make peace and to sign on to the mineral rights deal the U.S. has sought.
But the president made no promises of security guarantees, which the Ukrainians regard as vital.
Trump contended that his administration had held “serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace.”
“Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” he added.
He provided no specificity on what those “signals” might be, nor on what, if anything, Russian President Vladimir Putin might be prepared to concede to end the war that his Feb. 2022 invasion started.
Trump’s pause of military aid to Ukraine, which has caused tremors across Europe, remains in place.
Leaning into immigration
Immigration was Trump’s single strongest issue during last year’s election campaign, with polls showing voters preferred his harder line over the Democrats’ approach by a wide margin.
It was, therefore, no surprise that Trump leaned hard into the issue on Tuesday night.
One of his loudest applause lines came when he mocked those who had suggested that significant reductions in unauthorized migration could only come through the passage of major legislation.
“It turned out all we really needed was a new president,” he said, sparking a roar of approval from Republicans in the chamber.
Trump also emphasized the most emotive elements of the issue, paying tribute to Laken Riley, the 22-year-old student killed by an unauthorized migrant in Georgia in 2024, and to Jocelyn Nungaray, a 12-year-old girl killed in Texas, also in 2024. Two unauthorized migrants have been charged with Nungaray’s murder.
Riley’s sister and mother attended the speech, as did Nungaray’s mother. All three were acknowledged directly by Trump.
More broadly, Trump contended that his “most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history” was helping to achieve “the great liberation of America.”
Defense of tariffs – “a little disturbance” – gets lukewarm reception
One of the most telling passages in the address came with Trump’s defense of his tariffs – and the notably tepid response it received even from Republicans.
Trump’s rationale for the tariffs appeared rather meandering at times.
He contended that they were necessary to stop the United States being taken advantage of by other nations, would help American farmers stave off foreign competition, and would boost the nation’s finances.
But the fact that his speech took place on a second day of steep stock market falls – and amid consternation from some conservatives – took the luster off those arguments.
“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s happening and it will happen rather quickly,” Trump said.
“There’ll be a little disturbance but we’re okay with that. It won’t be much,” Trump insisted.
Republicans duly applauded but with notably less zest than when Trump was on safer ground, defending his immigration restrictions or weighing in on the culture wars.
Democratic Rep. Al Green protests, gets removed
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) interrupted Trump with heckling early in the speech.
Green was hitting back at Trump’s assertion that he had a broad mandate, protesting instead that the president had no “mandate to cut Medicaid.”
After a warning from Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that Green was engaging in a “breach of decorum,” the Texas congressman – who filed articles of impeachment against Trump several times during his first term, and said he would do so again last month – continued to voice his objections.
Green was ultimately escorted from the chamber without resistance.
Soon after, Green told reporters that he had launched his protest because it was the most effective method to “get across to a person who uses…his incivility against our civility.”
Green also acknowledged that he might face some form of sanction for his protest.
“Whatever the punishment is, I’m not fighting the punishment,” Green said.
Additional reporting: Alexander Bolton, Jared Gans.
