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6 Mar 2025 10:28
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  •   Home > News > International

    Donald Trump's speech to congress featured hecklers, Elon Musk and a combative president

    In a fiery speech filled with heckling and recriminations, Donald Trump defended his second term agenda and urged Americans to bear with "a little disturbance" from his economic policies. These were the big moments of his address to a joint session of congress.


    Donald Trump has moved at warp speed as he's set about changing America, and the world, in his first six weeks back in the White House.

    In his first address to congress since returning to office, he defended his second term agenda, scolded Democrats, and battled hecklers.

    Tradition dictates that a president's first congressional address after their inauguration isn't labelled a State of the Union, but Trump's speech still carried a similar level of pomp and ceremony.

    And the president used the occasion, with millions of people expected to be watching on from home, to declare he was "just getting started".

    Here are the key moments from the roughly 100-minute-long address — the longest in US history.

    Democrats disrupt the address

    Trump had only just started delivering his speech when it came to a sudden halt.

    Al Green, a Democratic representative from Texas, stood up and yelled at the president as he was touting his election victory.

    The speaker of the house of representatives, Mike Johnson, issued a warning about maintaining decorum in the chamber, before directing the sergeant-at-arms to eject Green.

    The long-time Trump critic later told reporters that his removal was "worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up" to the president.

    The acrimony didn't end there. A number of Democrats wearing T-shirts with the word "Resist" printed on the back walked out of the chamber as Trump was speaking.

    Others held up signs reading "False" and made a point of remaining in their seats as Republicans got up to applaud at regular intervals.

    Trump publicly criticised the Democratic side of the chamber, telling members and senators they "shouldn't be this way."

    "There is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud," he said.

    "It's very sad."

    Presidential addresses to congress have become highly partisan affairs over the years, but this one was particularly heated.

    Some Democrats chose to skip the speech altogether, with Connecticut senator Chris Murphy arguing it would amount to a "MAGA pep rally" that he didn't want to be a part of.

    Someone who was in the crowd was Nancy Pelosi, who famously ripped up Trump's speech last time he gave a congressional address.

    The former speaker was among a number of Democrats who came to the Capitol wearing pink as a form of protest against what they argue are policies that negatively affect women.

    Trump says Russia is sending signals that it's 'ready for peace'

    Days after his Oval Office blow up with Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Trump used his speech to read from a letter he received from the Ukrainian leader.

    It sounded very similar to a social media post from Zelenskyy earlier today, in which he said he was thankful for US support and stood ready "to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts."

    Zelenskyy also said he was ready to sign a critical minerals deal between Ukraine and the US that the two leaders had been expected to ink on the day of their White House clash.

    "I appreciate that he sent this letter, just got it a little while ago," Trump said.

    "Simultaneously, we've had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldn't that be beautiful?"

    The president didn't elaborate on the discussions or mention yesterday's pausing of military aid to Ukraine — a move widely interpreted as an attempt to increase pressure on Zelenskyy.

    In the Democrats' formal reply to the address, first term senator Elissa Slotkin criticised Trump's adoption of former president Ronald Reagan's "peace through strength" doctrine.

    "Reagan must be rolling in his grave," she said.

    "That scene in the Oval Office wasn't just a bad episode of reality TV, it summed up Trump's whole approach to the world.

    "He believes in cosying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and kicking our friends like the Canadians in the teeth."

    Trump wants the Panama Canal and Greenland

    The focus of Trump's speech was largely on domestic issues.

    The war in the Gaza received only a passing mention, and he did not expand on his earlier proposal to develop the territory into what he's called the "Riviera of the Middle East". 

    The president revealed that a senior ISIS commander who the US says plotted the deadly Abbey Gate bombing during the chaotic evacuation from Afghanistan in 2021 has been arrested and extradited.

    After vowing that the US will "reclaim" the Panama Canal, Trump then moved onto one of his favourite topics: Greenland.

    The island is an autonomous territory of Denmark, but Trump has been vocal about his desire for the US to take control of it.

    "We strongly support your right to determine your own future," he said to the people of Greenland.

    "If you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America.

    "I think we're going to get it — one way or the other, we're going to get it … We will keep you safe. We will make you rich and together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before."

    Trump defends tariffs, argues a 'little disturbance' will be worth it

    Trump campaigned on a promise of lowering the cost of living and he used his speech to reiterate his pledge to "make America affordable again."

    He blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the rising cost of eggs, and defended his policy of imposing tariffs amid accusations they'll increase costs for American consumers.

    Stock markets tumbled after the president slapped new tariffs on the United States' biggest trading partners, Canada, Mexico and China, hours before his address.

    All three countries have since announced retaliatory action or their intention to do so.

    But the president defended his economic policies, arguing tariffs would "make America rich again" in the longer term.

    "There will be a little disturbance, but we're OK with that," he said. 

    "It won't be much."

    The president also referenced his plan to impose 25 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium imports, calling out an Alabama steelworker in the audience to argue that tariffs were about "protecting the soul of our country."

    Australia secured a carve out on steel and aluminium tariffs in Trump's first term, and is now trying to win another exemption.

    The president has previously said he'd give "great consideration" to Australia's request.

    But with the new round of tariffs due to come into effect mid next week, there's still no word on whether the push will be successful.

    A shout-out for Trump's 'first buddy'

    Elon Musk's close proximity to the president extended to this address, with the billionaire travelling in Trump's motorcade from the White House to the Capitol.

    Musk was dressed more formally than he usually is in Washington, days after the Trump administration complained about the Ukrainian leader's attire for his meeting in the Oval Office.

    Trump has tasked the Tesla CEO with slashing federal government spending through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

    Thousands of federal government workers have been laid off, and the US Agency for International Development (USAID) has been effectively dismantled, as Musk tries to identify at least a trillion dollars in cuts.

    The changes have sparked protests in Washington, and a series of lawsuits alleging Trump is overstepping his authority.

    But the president gave Musk a personal shout-out during his speech, prompting Republicans to applaud the 53-year-old as he nodded from the gallery.

    Trump then listed a series of international programs that he criticised as "appalling waste" and claimed "nobody has ever heard" of the African nation of Lesotho.

    "We are draining the swamp," Trump said.

    "And the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over."

    'Woke no longer'

    Trump's speech was the longest delivered by a president to congress in American history.

    At nearly an hour and 40 minutes, he blew past former President Bill Clinton's former record in 2000 of one hour and 28 minutes.

    A significant portion of his address was dedicated to American culture war issues that have energised many of his supporters.

    He heralded his administration's efforts to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs across federal agencies, and argued he was "getting wokeness out of our schools and out of our military".

    Trump also pointed to his directives for the US government to recognise only two genders, and to ban transgender athletes from competing in womens' sports.

    "Wokeness is trouble, wokeness is bad," he said. 

    "It's gone."

    Six weeks into his second term, Trump claims he's delivered "swift and unrelenting action" for the American people.

    While his critics are alarmed by what they're seeing, the president argues he's been elected to deliver major change.

    "We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years," he said. 

    "And we are just getting started."


    ABC




    © 2025 ABC Australian Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved

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