Screaming and yelling from the crowd. Blaming and barbs from the podium.
It’s the Era of Pettiness. The trolling has become the focal point.
The annual presidential address to Congress – once a dignified event that was the height of American political pomp and circumstance – has devolved into a tired display of pettiness and hyper-partisanship. We’re not sure what the average American – or anyone — gets out of this anymore.
President Donald Trump, back in the House chamber for the first time since 2020, opened his Tuesday night speech by declaring that “America is back!” to loud applause from GOP lawmakers.
It was part of a record-breaking 100-minute speech that was sometimes more campaign rally than presidential address, full of rhetorical red meat for Republicans and Trump supporters on DEI, DOGE, immigration and America First-isms. Trump offered no concessions to anyone and wasn’t looking for any.
Trump bashed Democrats over not applauding for him or recognizing any of his triumphs, as if Republicans did that for his predecessors. Trump claimed voters had delivered him a mandate, although they didn’t. Trump called Joe Biden “the worst president in American history,” while also asserting that Oracle and OpenAI wouldn’t have invested $500 billion in the United States if Kamala Harris had won.
“Our country will be woke no longer,” Trump said, slamming diversity, equity and inclusion as useless policies from the left.
Trump at one point insulted Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) by calling her “Pocahontas,” a remark that elicited boos and groans from Democrats.
But Democrats showed they can be just as bad as Republicans, even as Trump plumbed levels of disrespect and scorn for his political opponents that no other president has ever reached – at least not in public.
Democratic leaders declined to join the escort committee to bring Trump into the House chamber. And despite pleas from House Democratic leaders against in-speech disruptions, dozens of rank-and-file Democrats spent much of the speech protesting Trump by holding up signs or walking out in disgust. A Republican ripped a sign out of Rep. Melanie Stansbury’s (D-N.M.) hands.
Within minutes of Trump starting his speech, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) stood up, cane in hand, and yelled at the president that he doesn’t have a mandate – precisely the kind of disruption Democratic leaders wanted to avoid. Speaker Mike Johnson had Green removed from the chamber after the Texas Democrat ignored several warnings, in a shocking scene. Green told reporters as he was leaving the Capitol that “It’s worth it to let people know that there’s some of us who are going to stand up against this president’s desire to cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.”
Throughout the speech, Democrats held signs that said “Save Medicaid,” “Musk Steals” and “False.” These were coordinated by the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
A few Democratic lawmakers wearing “Resist” t-shirts left the chamber in the middle of Trump’s speech. Others yelled “Liar!” and “False!” when Trump went on about disparities in Social Security records.
Trump did talk about policy but only after mocking Democrats, saying they should vote for his tax-cut plan.
The president reiterated he wants to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime pay and seniors’ Social Security benefits. Trump once again pitched a tax cut for companies that manufacture in the United States.
Trump called for “permanent income tax cuts all across the board,” giving a boost to Senate Republicans’ push to make his 2017 tax cuts permanent in Republicans’ reconciliation bill. But his tax wish list also grew.
Trump tacked on extra tax priorities: making interest payments on U.S.-made cars tax deductible, a campaign pitch; tax incentives for ship building; and reviving full, upfront deductions for businesses buying short-term assets like equipment and machinery. Trump called for making “full expensing” retroactive back to Inauguration Day, though it’s been phased down for longer than that.
At one point, Trump called on lawmakers to eliminate the CHIPS Act, a bipartisan bill that was approved last Congress with the help of dozens of Republicans and signed into law by Biden. Paging Sens. John Cornyn (R-Texas) and Todd Young (R-Ind.).
And Trump thumbed his nose at the wide array of Republicans who spent the day expressing deep unease with his new tariffs on Canada and Mexico. Multiple GOP senators and members, including party leaders, said they don’t want to see a prolonged trade war because of how it could hurt American consumers.
But Trump railroaded them, saying there will be another wave of reciprocal tariffs next month, adding: “There may be a little bit of an adjustment period.”
On foreign policy, Trump announced that the mastermind of the Abbey Gate bombing in Afghanistan, which killed 13 U.S. servicemembers, had been captured and was en route to the United States.
Trump spent only a few minutes talking about Ukraine, but he made several false claims, including that the United States has spent $350 billion on the conflict. Trump misrepresented how much money European nations have contributed to the war effort. And he accused Democrats of wanting to prolong the war, which is when he called Warren “Pocahontas.”
The president mused that the U.S. has spent “hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine’s defense with no security, no anything,” though it’s unclear what he was referring to. Trump then claimed that Russia was ready for “peace,” even though Moscow has continued to bombard Ukraine with drone attacks.
Toward the end, Trump spoke movingly about the assassination attempt against him last July 13 at a rally in Butler, Pa.. The incident left one spectator and the shooter dead while Trump was struck on the ear.
“I believe I was saved by God to make America great again,” Trump declared.
