President Trump’s first address to Congress since taking office highlighted the deepening divisions within the United States, with a tense atmosphere and stark contrasts between Republican and Democratic responses.
The first speech by President Donald Trump to a joint session of Congress since taking office this term highlighted the deepening divisions within the United States. The 47th US president praised himself for his accomplishments in just 43 days, stating that ‘we have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years, or eight years.’
Born on June 14, 1946, Donald Trump is an American businessman and politician.
He served as the 45th President of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Before his presidency, 'Trump was a real estate developer and entrepreneur,' he built a business empire through his company, The Trump Organization.
As president, he implemented policies such as tax cuts and deregulation, but his tenure was marked by controversy and polarization.
Donald Trump has also been known for his outspoken personality and use of social media.
The atmosphere during Trump’s speech was tense, with the Republican half of the hall standing up and chanting ‘USA! USA!’ while the Democratic members remained seated in icy silence. Many Democrats held up protest signs reading ‘False!’ or ‘Musk steals!’, and some wore pink clothing to signal their opposition to the new president.
Trump’s defense of his tariff policy was met with criticism from economists, who warn that tariffs could boost consumer prices in the US. The President hinted at further measures being imposed on the European and Indian car industry, which has sparked concerns about the potential impact on trade relations.
In a surprising move, Trump also mentioned Elon Musk‘s DOGE agency, claiming that it had saved 105 billion dollars in just six weeks. However, this figure cannot be independently verified, as it came from ‘Musk’s agency itself’.
Born in Pretoria, South Africa, 'computing and programming' at a young age was where Elon Musk developed an interest.
He moved to Canada to attend college and later transferred to the University of Pennsylvania.
After graduating, he co-founded Zip2, which was acquired by Compaq in 1999 for $307 million.
Musk then founded X.com, which later became PayPal.
In 2002, he sold PayPal to eBay for $1.5 billion.
He went on to found SpaceX and Tesla, Inc., revolutionizing the electric car industry and private space exploration.
Musk has also co-founded Neuralink and The Boring Company.
Trump barely touched on foreign policy during his speech, dedicating only six minutes to discussing the world’s trouble spots. He spent just under five minutes on Ukraine and 49 seconds on Gaza. Trump announced that he had received a letter from Volodymyr Zelenskyy, stating that the latter was willing to ‘come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.’
However, this statement seems to be at odds with previous scenes in the White House when Zelenskyy was reprimanded by Trump over his request for security guarantees. It remains to be seen whether the two sides can rebuild their trust.
The speech has sparked concerns about the direction of American politics, with many experts warning that Trump’s policies could lead to problems and animosity internationally. As one expert noted, ‘the uncertainty and animosity that this would create internationally would be enormous.’
