Washington: President Donald Trump took credit for “swift and unrelenting action” in reorienting the nation’s economy, immigration and foreign policy Tuesday in an address to Congress and the American people about his turbulent first weeks in office.
Trump sets record for longest address to a joint session of Congress
Trump has set a record for the longest address to a joint session of Congress. And it wasn’t even close.
He talked for more than an hour and 40 minutes, breaking the previous record set by President Bill Clinton’s 2000 State of the Union address, which ran 1 hour, 28 minutes and 49 seconds.
That’s according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California at Santa Barbara, which has tracked speech length since President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.
Trump’s speech is not technically a State of the Union since he only took office about six weeks ago. But his lengthy address is nonetheless the longest offered to a joint session of Congress.
Trump concludes his speech
“The golden age of America has only just begun,” he told Congress as he finished his speech after speaking for nearly 100 minutes.
Republican lawmakers rose to their feet and cheered the conclusion of Trump’s address, pumping their hands in the air while chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!”
Democrats quickly streamed from the chamber while GOP lawmakers tallied to shake hands with the president.
Trump wants to reduce childhood cancer
Trump said that driving down childhood cancer rates and studying autism cases in the US will be a top priority for his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine and environmental advocate who is lobbying to redesign the US food supply.
“Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply and keep our children healthy and strong,” Trump said.
Childhood cancer remains rare in the US, with about 15,000 children diagnosed with the disease every year. Cases of pediatric cancer have risen in recent years, but treatments have improved, leading to a decline in deaths from the disease.
Among 8-year-olds in the US, about 1 in 36 were diagnosed with autism in 2020.
‘I received important letter’
Trump recited a letter he received earlier Tuesday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that the wartime president wants to come back to the table after an explosive Oval Office meeting last week broke down negotiations for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.
“We’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace,” Trump said. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”
Arrest, extradition in connection with Afghanistan attack
Trump says the US government is extraditing a suspect in the deadly Abbey Gate bombing in the final days of the Afghanistan withdrawal that killed 13 American service members.
The White House identified the man as Muhammed Sharifullah and said he was on his way to the US to face charges.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the extradition was the result of work by the FBI, Justice Department and CIA.
Trump claims responsibility for rise in Army recruitment that preceded his presidency
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Army had its best recruiting in January, suggesting that the turnaround is tied to his time in office.
In fact, according to Army data, recruiting numbers have been increasing steadily over the past year, with the highest total coming in August 2024 — before the November election. Army officials closely track recruiting numbers.
A significant driver of the recruiting success was the Army’s decision to launch the Future Soldier Prep Course at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August 2022. That program gives lower-performing recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness instruction to help them meet military standards and move on to basic training.
Trump wants to reclaim Panama Canal
Trump gave a shoutout to Marco Rubio, his secretary of state, as the president detailed his plans to “reclaim” the Panama Canal. But Trump’s comments appeared to also be a veiled warning for his Cabinet official, who is under immense pressure to execute massive cuts to US foreign policy efforts abroad.
“Good luck, Marco,” he said. “Now we know who to blame if anything goes wrong.”
He comment resulted in some laughter from Republicans. He quickly pivoted to point out that Rubio was confirmed unanimously in the Senate and that “he’s going to do a fantastic job.”
Democrats applaud Trump’s acknowledgement of US aid for Ukraine
It was the only line from Trump’s speech that drew more applause from Democrats than Republicans, yet Democrats applauded as Trump acknowledged that the US has sent billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine.
A few Republicans also applauded but were more subdued. However, GOP lawmakers rose in a standing ovation when Trump told them that Ukraine was showing it was ready to negotiate a peace deal.
And seated Democrats joined Republicans’ standing applause for Americans recently released from Russia through a deal brokered by the Trump administration.
Trump says, ‘We need Greenland’
Trump said the US supports Greenland’s right to determine its own future but would “welcome” the country into the United States for national security — and to make them rich, he claims.
“I think we’re going to get it,” he said of Greenland. “One way or another, we’re going to get it.”
Since his first term in office, Trump has expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime US ally and a founding member of NATO. It is also home to a large US military base.
Democrats continue to leave chamber
Democratic lawmakers are continuing to duck out of President Trump’s speech.
The Democratic side of the chamber now has plenty of open seats as lawmakers leave. Some made shows of their exit to protest the president’s remarks, while others appeared to be simply ducking out as Trump’s speech goes on.
Trump wants office of shipbuilding, but he gave few details
“I am announcing tonight that we will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America,” he said.
Trump wants the United States to start building more large ocean-going vessels. It’s a push also being made by labor unions who see job gains in shipyards. But it’s unclear just what Trump’s move would accomplish.
Trump signs executive order renaming wildlife refuge for Houston girl killed
Trump signed an executive order renaming a wildlife refuge for a young girl who prosecutors say was killed by two Venezuelan men in the country illegally.
“The death of this beautiful 12-year-old girl and the agony of her mother and family touched our entire nation greatly,” Trump said.
Jocelyn Nungaray ‘s death was one of several cases last year that became flashpoints in the immigration debate. Prosecutors have charged two Venezuelan men who entered the US illegally with capital murder. Nungaray’s mother campaigned for Trump. She was in the audience Tuesday as Trump gave his address.
Speaking of Jocelyn’s love of animals, Trump said he decided to rename the wildlife refuge near her Houston home for her.
Trump’s address hits 80-minute mark
His campaign speeches often went above 90 minutes. His inaugural address in January, however, was about 30 minutes long.
Trump calls on Congress to criminalise gender-affirming surgeries for children
“I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalising sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body,” Trump said.
Trump has already used executive actions to roll back a series of Biden administration policies promoting transgender rights, and he has vowed to stamp out “gender ideology.”
During his speech, the president asked Congress to limit gender-affirming surgeries performed on minors, though he offered few details. Some of Trump’s executive actions, meanwhile, have already been met by legal challenges.
Trump again invokes Springfield and Aurora
“Beautiful towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like no one’s ever seen before,” Trump said. “Beautiful towns, destroyed.”
Both Springfield and Aurora — still standing, of course — figured in Trump’s campaign. At the time, he amplified false conspiracy theories that legal Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating dogs and cats.
Aurora had a more serious issue: a series of incidents at rundown apartment complexes, one of which was captured on video that showed heavily armed men going door to door. But the buildings have since been closed and Aurora, with a population 400,000, is the size of Tampa. It never buckled.
Child who overcame cancer sworn in as honorary Secret Service member
More than a dozen Democrats joined Republicans in a standing ovation for a guest of Trump, a child diagnosed with cancer who Trump said aspires to become a police officer. The child, named DJ, was held up by his father as Republicans and attendees in the House gallery chanted “DJ.”
Trump announced DJ would be sworn in by his new Secret Service director as a member of the force. DJ was held up by his father as he received a Secret Service badge by Director Sean Curran.
Democrats then went largely silent as Trump discussed his health policies. Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib held up a whiteboard that read, “You cut cancer research.
AP
