‘America is back,’ Trump says in speech marred by partisan rancour

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on March 4 told Congress “America is back”, as he touted the flurry of drastic changes his administration has made amid jeers and hostility from Democrats.

“To my fellow citizens, America is back,” Mr Trump said in the longest address to Congress in modern presidential history.

“Our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again,” he said. “We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in four years or eight years – and we are just getting started.”

Speaking for roughly an hour and 40 minutes, Mr Trump reprised many of the themes that animated his campaign for president and spent little time unveiling new policies, as presidents traditionally have done on these occasions.

Republicans loudly applauded almost every line, giving him standing ovations and chants of “USA! USA!”.

But from Democrats, he faced

a mix of heckling, silent protests and walkouts

.

One Democratic lawmaker, Representative Al Green of Texas, stood up and started heckling Mr Trump as he began his speech.

Mr Green

was removed from the chamber

after he ignored multiple warnings from House Speaker Mike Johnson.

While dozens of Democratic lawmakers arrived for the address sporting pink blazers and ties, carrying on a years-long tradition of a silent sartorial protest, other members opted for a less subtle approach.

Representative Delia Ramirez, of Illinois., revealed a T-shirt under her black blazer reading “NO KING. NO COUP.”

The largest coordinated display of disapproval was in the form of round auction paddle-style signs held by dozens of Democrats with phrases including “Save Medicaid” and “Musk Steals.”

Many of the signs had the message “False” on the reverse side. Democrats raised them throughout the speech to register nonverbal objections to specific claims by Mr Trump without risking removal from the chamber.

More than a dozen Democratic lawmakers left before Mr Trump finished speaking.

“I could not stand one more second, tolerate one more second,” Representative Ayanna Presser, of Massachusetts, said in a video she recorded outside the chamber after exiting, adding that Mr Trump’s remarks were full of “lies” and “propaganda.”

The partisan rancour was reflective of the tumult that has accompanied Mr Trump’s first six weeks in office upending US foreign policy, igniting a trade war with close allies, and slashing the federal workforce.

Mr Trump set out his vision on the economy, even as the

trade war he launched against Canada, China and Mexico

is prompting jitters on world markets and threatening to raise prices at home.

He reiterated his intention to impose additional reciprocal tariffs on April 2 on nations that charge “tremendously higher tariffs than what we charge them”.

“This system is not fair to us… So on April 2, reciprocal tariffs will kick in, and whatever they tariff us, we will tariff them,” he said.

“If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their markets, then we will raise non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our markets,” he said.

He pointed to South Korea as a country with more unfair tariffs against US products than China.

“China’s average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them, and South Korea’s average tariff is four times higher,” he said.

“Think of that, four times higher, and we give so much help militarily and in so many other ways to South Korea, but that’s what happens. This is happening by friend or foe.”

Mr Trump said among his “very highest priority is to rescue the (US) economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families”.

“We inherited an economic catastrophe and inflation nightmare,” he said. “We suffered the worst inflation in 48 years.”

He said his policies now are directed at “making America affordable again”.

“Joe Biden especially let the price of egg out of control, and we are working hard to get it back,” he said.

Mr Trump praised billionaire Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) for identifying “hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud”.

“Thank you, Elon. He’s working very hard,” he said.

Yet, he did not detail the savings from the

widespread layoffs and mass dismissals

across the federal government that have also been orchestrated by Mr Musk’s efforts.

The personnel cuts have caused chaos, faced legal challenges, threatened critical services and disproportionately impacted parts of Mr Trump’s base – like veterans – that Republicans did not anticipate.

Mr Trump said lawmakers should get rid of a landmark 2022 bipartisan law to give US$52.7 billion (S$70 billion) in subsidies for semiconductor chips manufacturing and production and use the proceeds to pay debt.

“The Chips act is a horrible, horrible thing. We give hundreds of billions of dollars and it doesn’t mean a thing. They take our money and they don’t spend it,” he said. “You should get rid of the Chips Act and whatever is left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt.”

Mr Trump’s speech was also heavy on the culture wars that animated his campaign rallies.

“Our country will be woke no longer,” he said, as he attacked immigrants with crime records as “savages” and promised to ban what he called “transgender ideology”.

“Wokeness is trouble. It’s gone, and we feel so much better for it,” he said, as he backed efforts within the US military to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion programmes.

Mr Trump also doubled down on his controversial vows on

“taking back” the Panama Canal

and getting Greenland from Denmark by “one way or another”.

“The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others... It was built at tremendous cost to Americans,” he said.

On Greenland, he said: “We need it really for international world security... Together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.”

Turning to another concern abroad, Mr Trump sent a conciliatory message to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, days after trashing him and

freezing US aid to Ukraine

.

He said he received a letter from Mr Zelensky, who said he was ready to come to the negotiating table and sign a minerals deal with the US.

“Ukraine is coming to the negotiating table to bring lasting peace closer,” Mr Trump quoted Mr Zelensky as saying in the letter.

He said Mr Zelensky told him: “We value what America has done to help Ukraine maintain sovereignty”.

“I appreciate that he sent this letter,” said Mr Trump. REUTERS