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President Donald Trump on Tuesday delivered his first joint address to Congress since returning to power, telling lawmakers that “America is back” and touting the flurry of actions he has taken over the first six weeks of his second term, including the deportations of migrants and imposing tariffs against major trading partners.
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Throughout the 100-minute speech, Trump repeatedly assailed the Biden Administration and blamed his predecessor for high prices and illegal border crossings. He also praised the work of billionaire Elon Musk, who was tapped to slash federal spending with his Department of Government Efficiency and was in attendance at the Capitol.
But Trump’s speech will perhaps best be remembered for the numerous disruptions that underscored the deep partisan tensions in the chamber, as Democratic lawmakers vocally protested, some ultimately being removed or walking out in defiance. Shortly after Trump began, he was interrupted by Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas, who was sitting only a few rows in front of the dais. Green shouted: “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid,” a reference to a budget resolution adopted by House Republicans and endorsed by Trump that could jeopardize the health insurance coverage of millions who rely on the program. House Speaker Mike Johnson asked the sergeant at arms to eject Green from the floor.
Trump’s speech largely covered the same themes of his campaign: economic revitalization, a crackdown on illegal immigration, and a shift in America’s foreign policy posture. The speech was a moment for Trump to solidify his agenda and push back against early resistance within his party. With Republicans holding slim majorities in the House and Senate, Trump framed the speech as an opportunity to rally his party behind his policies, even as tensions simmered within GOP ranks over recent moves on trade and foreign aid.
These are the key moments from Trump’s 2025 Joint Address to Congress.
Trump points the finger at Biden
Trump repeatedly name-checked former President Joe Biden, calling him “the worst president in American history” and claiming that Biden used his office to “viciously” prosecute him.
He went on to blame his predecessor for the uptick in prices of everyday goods, which he promised to lower on his first day in office. “Joe Biden especially let the prices of eggs get out of control,” he said, prompting boos from Democrats. “The egg prices are out of control and we’re working hard to get it down. Secretary [Brooke Rollins], do a good job on that.”
Trump’s assertion was clearly aimed at exploiting the frustration many voters feel about rising prices. Inflation accelerated last month as the cost of groceries, gasoline and rents rose, and polling shows inflation and high prices remain the top issue for voters. A recent Reuters-Ipsos poll found that 52% of respondents don’t think Trump is doing enough to bring down prices.
Trump also blamed Biden for illegal border crossings and violent incidents involving migrants, including the death of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old student from Georgia who was killed by a Venezuelan immigrant who was unlawfully in the U.S. and had been previously apprehended and released by authorities. “Laken was stolen from us by a savage illegal alien gang member who was arrested while trespassing across Biden’s open southern border and then set loose into the United States under the heartless policies of that failed administration,” Trump said.
Trump also railed against the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, a sweeping Biden Administration-era law that sought to boost domestic semiconductor production. “Your CHIPS Act is a horrible, horrible thing,” Trump said before many of the lawmakers who passed it. “We give hundreds of billions of dollars (to semiconductor manufacturers) and it doesn’t mean a thing. They take our money and they don’t spend it,” he said, claiming that overseas chip manufacturers didn’t want to pay tariffs.
“You should get rid of the CHIPS Act and whatever is left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt or any other reason you want to,” Trump added.
Democrats shout, walk out, hold signs
More than a half dozen Democrats walked out of Trump’s speech, while others held up signs and wore t-shirts in protest of his aggressive actions since returning to power. When Trump called Biden the “worst president in American history,” Democrats made a flurry of audible comments: “Lie after lie after lie after lie,” one said. “Tell the truth,” another shouted.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib, a Michigan Democrat, held up a whiteboard that she wrote messages on throughout the speech. At one point, it read “No King!” Rep. Maxwell Frost, a Florida Democrat, walked off the floor after he stood up in a black t-shirt that said, “No Kings Live Here.”
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During one viral moment, Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas shouted that Trump has “no mandate” to cut Medicaid, before he was expelled from the floor. Green told the White House press pool afterwards that he doesn’t know whether he will face any formal punishment. “It’s worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up” to Trump, he said.
Prior to the speech, the House Freedom Caucus, a group of far-right Republicans, said it would censure any Democrats who disrupted Trump’s remarks. “Our colleagues are on notice that the heckler’s veto will not be tolerated. You will be censured,” the group posted on X, a sharp reversal after some Republicans repeatedly heckled Biden during his State of the Union addresses.
It was unclear how Democrats would respond to Trump’s address. Several Democratic congresswomen were dressed in pink to protest Trump’s policies that “are negatively impacting women and families,” as TIME first reported. Others wore blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine’s flag. But the interruptions and pointed displays of discontent signaled a broader, if fragmented, resistance to Trump’s rhetoric and policies among Democrats. Several Democrats, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and a handful of Senators, chose not to attend the speech.
Trump later addressed his detractors head on: “I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud, nothing I can do,” Trump said. “These people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements.”
Trump pushes for more border security funding
Trump once again painted a grim picture of the state of the U.S. border, blaming the Biden Administration for what he described as “less safe” immigration policy. He called on Congress to increase border security funding, particularly for his mass deportations agenda—a campaign promise that remains at the forefront of his policy goals.
“I have sent Congress a detailed funding request laying out exactly how we will eliminate these threats, protect our Homeland, and complete the largest deportation operation in American history, larger even than current record holder President Dwight D. Eisenhower—a moderate man but someone who believed very strongly in borders,” Trump said.
In attendance in the chamber as guests of the First Lady were the families of two young women who were murdered by Venezuelan immigrants in the U.S. unlawfully that had been previously apprehended and released by authorities.
Trump defends his tariffs amid trade war
Trump vowed to impose reciprocal tariffs on the nation’s trading partners, arguing that countries such as China, India, and South Korea have long imposed unfair trade barriers on American goods.
He said the new levies—set to take effect on April 2—would match the tariffs and trade restrictions other nations place on U.S. exports, marking a sharp escalation in his protectionist trade agenda. “Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn,” he declared.
“Whatever they tariff us, we tariff them,” he added. “Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s happening, and it will happen rather quickly. There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re okay with that. It won’t be much.”
The announcement follows a directive Trump issued last month ordering federal agencies to study the feasibility of the plan. It also comes after Trump imposed controversial tariffs against three of the nation’s biggest trading partners, which amounted to 25% tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports and 20% on Chinese products. The measure launched a trade war as China retaliated with tariffs of up to 15% on U.S. farm exports and Canada announced it would plaster tariffs on more than $100 billion of American goods in the next three weeks.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
