Sen. Elissa Slotkin delivered the Democratic response to Trump's address.
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.
Trump has been speaking for one hour. His remarks so far resemble the tone of his 2024 campaign speeches, as he weaves from one topic to another. He is currently railing against illegal immigration, the southern border and criminal cartels, which were some of his favorite topics to talk about on the trail.
Democratic Reps. Sydney Kamlager-Dove and Maxwell Frost released statements after they left the speech.
"Through walking out, my message to Donald Trump is simple: stop the lies, stop the cheating, and stop the stealing -- enough is enough. The American people deserve better," Kamlager-Dove said.
"Donald Trump is many things -- a liar, a grifter, a wanna-be-dictator -- but no matter how hard he tries and how many Republicans in Congress bend the knee and kiss the ring: he will never be king," Frost said.
-ABC News' John Parkinson
Trump once again bashed former President Joe Biden for his immigration policy, arguing that a new president was needed to resolve the issue of illegal border crossings.
“Friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed new legislation, we must have legislation to secure the border,” Trump said, before arguing that "turns out, all we really needed" was a new president.
Trump highlighted the tragic killing of nursing student Laken Riley. Her case reignited the national debate over immigration and crime during the 2024 election. The Laken Riley Act, series of initiatives meant to tackle his key goal of curbing illegal immigration, was symbolically the first law Trump signed of his second administration.
Laken Riley's mother and sister are guests of first lady Melania Trump and stood as Trump spoke. Her mother, Allyson Phillips, appeared emotional as the two received applause from Republicans in the chamber.
