Trump Says ‘America Is Back’ and Taunts Rivals in Speech to Congress

President Trump boasted about his first weeks in office and doubled down on his agenda. Al Green, a Democratic lawmaker from Texas, repeatedly yelled “you don’t have a mandate” and was escorted out.

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President Trump boasted about his first weeks in office and doubled down on his agenda. Al Green, a Democratic lawmaker from Texas, repeatedly yelled “you don’t have a mandate” and was escorted out.

President Trump delivered a contentious speech to Congress on Tuesday.Credit...Doug Mills/The New York TimesMarch 5, 2025Updated 12:44 a.m. ET

President Trump vowed not to lift tariffs on America’s biggest trading partners in his first address to Congress on Tuesday, but appeared ready to reduce tensions with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine just days after an Oval Office blowup in which he threatened to abandon a key ally fighting an invasion.

During the 100-minute speech — the longest presidential address to Congress in modern history — Mr. Trump read aloud a message of gratitude that Mr. Zelensky had posted on social media earlier in the day. Mr. Trump said he appreciated the message, and had received “strong signals” from Russia that the country was eager for peace.

“Wouldn’t that be beautiful?” Mr. Trump said.

He was less conciliatory toward Canada, Mexico and China after imposing tariffs earlier in the day that roiled global markets and drew rebukes from the countries’ leaders. The president said nothing in his speech Tuesday night to suggest that an extended trade war might yet be averted.

“Whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them,” he said. “Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market.”

Together, the president’s remarks underscored the chaotic, whiplash nature of the opening weeks of Mr. Trump’s second term. Much of the lengthy speech was filled with grievances about his treatment by Democrats and exaggerations about his accomplishments. It capped a six-week blitz of actions since Mr. Trump took office, a period in which he has fired government workers, frozen foreign aid, upended international alliances, pardoned rioters and issued a flood of executive orders.

“Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the Golden Age of America,” Mr. Trump said, repeatedly appearing to veer from his prepared remarks. “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.”

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