Watch live: Trump addresses joint session of Congress as tariffs, DOGE and Ukraine fuel uncertainty
President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night amid stock market turmoil driven by his stiff new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, and the controversy over Elon Musk’s DOGE campaign to slash federal spending and workforce levels.
The speech comes on the heels of Trump’s stunning verbal clash with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office Friday, and Trump’s subsequent decision to pause U.S. military assistance to Ukraine for its war against Russia.
Trump’s speech is structured around the theme of “the renewal of the American dream,” according to early excerpts from the White House.
As he spoke, nearly two dozen House Democrats held black-and-white signs that said, “Save Medicaid,” and “Musk Steals.”
Trump began, saying, “Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the Golden Age of America.”
“From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country,” Trump said. “We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in 4 years or 8 years — and we are just getting started.”
“The American dream is surging bigger and better than before.”
The president also is expected to say, “Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families,” by working to bring inflation down.
Trump is expected to blame his immediate predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for letting the price of eggs “get out of control.”
“The American Dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again.”
Trump will highlight his immigration policies, energy plans and his administration’s efforts to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs in the government.
He also is set to tout his tariff policy, which on Tuesday imposed tariffs of 25% on imported goods from Canada and Mexico, and 20% on goods from China.
“Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them,” Trump is scheduled to say.
The president’s guests for the annual event include Marc Fogel, a schoolteacher who was released from prison in Russia in February, and the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the attempted assassination of Trump in western Pennsylvania last July.
Musk is attending the speech as a special guest.
Both political parties have traditionally used their guest lists for this annual speech to highlight their policy priorities and draw attention to specific issues.
Democrats’ guests include a number of military veterans and others who were fired in the ongoing reduction of federal jobs that is being overseen by Musk and his so-called Department of Government Efficiency.
Democrats also have invited people who could be affected by Republican cuts to Medicaid or other government programs.
The last time Trump addressed a joint session of Congress was Feb. 4, 2020, when he delivered the final State of the Union address of his first term in office. The following day, the Senate voted to acquit Trump in his first impeachment trial.
The 2020 speech is best remembered as the night then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., dramatically ripped up a copy of Trump’s speech as soon as he had finished delivering it. The moment went viral online, a dramatic example of the disdain that many Democrats felt for Trump.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is set to deliver the Democratic response to Trump’s speech Tuesday night.
This is developing news. Check back for updates.
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Donald Trump gives speech to Congress but don’t call it a State of the Union address
President Donald Trump will speak before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night for his first address since 2020. However, he won’t technically be giving a State of the Union speech.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, invited the president to make the address in January to share his “America First vision for our legislative future.”
Since George Washington’s address in 1790, presidents have long updated Congress annually on the state of play in the U.S. from expressing goals and celebrating accomplishments to conveying upcoming plans. These speeches traditionally take place within the first few months of the year and are broadcast for all Americans to watch.
Here’s what to you need to know about his upcoming speech and why it’s called a joint congressional address instead of a State of the Union address.
The State of the Union is an annual speech given by the president to Congress at the start of most calendar years, providing information on the current status and conditions in the United States. Typically, it is delivered to a joint session of Congress inside the House of Representatives chamber.
The address is written into the U.S. Constitution but did not become a tradition until 1913 when former President Woodrow Wilson brought the practice back and shifted its direction to focus on the nation’s priorities, achievements and future legislative plans.
America’s first two presidents, George Washington and John Adams, gave annual addresses to Congress, but the tradition stopped when Thomas Jefferson chose to provide the report in writing, according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Jefferson felt a formal speech too closely resembled addresses delivered by the British monarchy.
In the years since, most State of the Unions have been delivered orally, but some have been done in writing, akin to Jefferson’s practice. The first televised address was Truman’s in 1947.
The Republican president’s speech will not be an official State of the Union address because he was sworn into office less than two months ago.
Starting with former President Ronald Reagan, several recent presidents have delivered speeches in the months after being inaugurated that serve the same purpose as the State of the Union, even without formally being one, according to the American Presidency Project, a non-profit and non-partisan website created and managed by the University of California in 1999.
In 1981, Reagan’s address to Congress was called the “Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the Program for Economic Recovery.” Bush and Clinton both gave “Administration Goal” speeches, respectively, in 1989 and 1993.
So far, there have been seven occasions where new presidents have delivered an “unofficial” address, according to APP.
Trump is set to address Congress on Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET.
Multiple media outlets including USA TODAY, ABC, Fox News, NPR, NewsNation, PBS and more, have announced plans to start live coverage of the event.
Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr. and Mary Walrath-Holdridge
