100 minutes of the world according to Trump
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President Trump wants to will the country back into the "golden age" he promised on the campaign trail, the headlines be damned.
- "America's momentum is back. Our spirit is back. Our pride is back. Our confidence is back," Trump said in his first address to Congress of his second term.
Why it matters: This was a record-breaking 100 minutes of the world according to Trump — an address largely indistinguishable from a campaign-style speech. He recited the historic number of executive orders, touching every aspect of American life from immigration to sports.
- 🚢 To thunderous applause from his party, Trump announced a new office of shipbuilding in the White House, to help "resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding," with "special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America, where it belongs."
- 💰Trump pledged to fulfill his "no tax on tips" campaign trail promise to service-sector workers, and called for car loan interest payments to be tax deductible — if the car was made in America.
- 🕊️ Trump declared peace in Ukraine was closer than ever now that its president, Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote him a letter that said he was ready to negotiate.
Reality check: Trump will have a nearly impossible time balancing the budget, as he promised, and cutting taxes. And the economy shows troubling signs: Trump was unmoored from plummeting stock prices, sagging consumer confidence and the specter of rising prices due to tariffs.
- "There'll be a little disturbance," Trump seemingly ad-libbed about 50 minutes into the speech. It was his clearest acknowledgement that times might be tough.
📜 Flashback: The contrast with Trump's first address to Congress, in 2017, was notable.
- Trump in 2017: "The stock market has gained almost $3 trillion in value since the election on Nov. 8, a record."
- Trump gave no similar stat this time. As of Monday, the stock market had shed all of its $3.4 trillion in post-election gains.
Staying largely on-script, Trump made a few jokes and took a few swipes at Democrats. But for a politician who has a tendency to give dark and grievance-filled speeches, this was his version of the positive future he promised.
- "This will be our greatest era," Trump promised. "My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future because the golden age of America has only just begun."
Democrats seldom applauded, including when Trump announced the arrest of the mastermind behind the deadly Abbey Gate attack in Afghanistan in 2021.
- Some Democrats walked out on Trump during the speech. And one, Rep. Al Green of Texas, was forcibly removed from the House chamber for repeatedly interrupting Trump.
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