Trump airs familiar grievances, charts MAGA plan in address before bitterly divided Congress

Sen. Elissa Slotkin delivered the Democratic response to Trump's address.

Last Updated: March 5, 2025, 12:09 AM EST

President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, six weeks into his historic return to the White House.

During the speech, Trump said "America is back" and defended the tariffs on key U.S. trading partners. He touched on immigration and the mineral deal with Ukraine, but neglected to go into detail on his economic plan. The speech was also met with protests and disruptions from Democrats.

Mar 04, 2025, 10:05 PM EST

Fact-checking Trump's claim on egg prices

Though egg prices did increase under President Joe Biden, they have recently surged under Trump too — and that's because of bird flu, which has led to the deaths of 136 million birds since 2022, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

While the price of eggs was consistently rising due to inflation under Biden's administration, the first significant price hike occurred in 2022, when bird flu began infecting flocks of birds in the U.S. Egg prices rose from $1.93 per dozen to $4.82 per dozen over the course of just that one year, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The prices moderated again, back down to the $2-$3 range during the rest of Biden's presidency — but have shot back up to a record-high $4.95 this January, again due to bird flu.

Mar 04, 2025, 10:05 PM EST

A disjointed response from the Democrats

An incredibly disjointed response from the Democratic party.

Is the plan to protest in silence? Walk out of the speech? Or cause a massive disruption?

If you're watching, it's all of the above.

PHOTO: Representative Tlaib (D-MI) holds up a white board reading "What about the immigrants that worked for you?" as President Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025.
Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) holds up a white board reading "What about the immigrants that worked for you?" as US President Donald Trump speaks during an address to a joint session of Congress in the House Chamber of the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on March 4, 2025.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

It didn't take 10 minutes for Rep. Al Green to cause so much of a disruption, the president was forced to stop his speech. Green was escorted out.

Several minutes later, we saw a handful of Democrats stand up, remove their blazers and turn their backs toward the president. Some of their shirts reading "RESIST" and "NO MORE KINGS."

But for the most part, all other Democrats are sitting silently and using their paddles to protest, trying to fact check the president in real time and holding up signs that read "FALSE."

Rep. Rashida Tlaib has a whiteboard with her writing, "LIES" and "THAT'S A LIE" as the president moves through his speech, then holding it up.

Not so long ago, it was Democrats who were condemning outbursts from Republicans who interrupted President Joe Biden. The lack of decorum is now becoming part of the norm here on Capitol Hill.

-ABC News' Rachel Scott

Mar 04, 2025, 10:02 PM EST

Trump defends his new tariffs and says more are coming

Trump defended his the tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico that went into effect earlier today -- despite the negative fallout, including U.S. stocks tumbling. He said on April 2, he'll go further and implement "reciprocal tariffs."

Trump defended his tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico that went into effect earlier today. He said on April 2, he'll go further and implement "reciprocal tariffs."
3:10
Trump defends his new tariffs and says more are comingTrump defended his tariffs against China, Canada and Mexico that went into effect earlier today. He said on April 2, he'll go further and implement "reciprocal tariffs."
ABCNews.com

Mar 04, 2025, 10:01 PM EST

Claim: 'Gold cards' don’t need congressional approval

FACT CHECK: Misleading.

Immigration experts say Trump can neither create a new green card program nor shut down an existing one without congressional action.

Trump announced a plan to give people legal permanent residency in the U.S. if they pay $5 million. The so-called “gold card” would be similar to a green card in that it would let people live and work in the U.S. permanently and provide a pathway to citizenship.

Trump has described the program as a way to cut the U.S. deficit and has said it would replace the EB-5 immigrant investor visa program. But he hasn't provided an official document creating the program.

Trump touted his "gold card" immigration plan which would give citizenship status to foreign applicants who pay $5 million.
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Trump claims 'gold card' for immigrants will be ready soonTrump touted his "gold card" immigration plan which would give citizenship status to foreign applicants who pay $5 million.
ABCNews.com

— Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact

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