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.
'At some point, we're all going to have to stand up': Al Green
Rep. Al Green spoke with ABC News after he was escorted out of the chamber and said he'd welcome any consequences that come from his disruption.
"I was following the wishes of conscious, there are times when it is better to stand alone than not stand at all," he said.
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'At some point, we're all going to have to stand up': Al GreenRep. Al Green spoke with ABC News after he was escorted out of the chamber and said he'd welcome any consequences that come from his disruption.
ABCNews.com
Green added that he believes Trump is "disrupting the healthcare system" and "all but defying court orders."
"At some point, we're all going to have to stand up," the congressman said.
-ABC News' Jay O'Brien
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.
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."
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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."