Trump airs familiar grievances, charts MAGA plan in address before bitterly divided Congress
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.
Key headlines:
- Slotkin encourages concerned Americans not to despair and organize
- Slotkin: Reagan 'rolling in his grave' over Trump's foreign policy approach
- Slotkin slams DOGE, Trump over mass firings of federal workers
- Slotkin criticizes Musk's power in government
- Slotkin starts with economy, says Trump talked a 'big game'
Former Trump adviser weighs in on what to expect in his speech
Danielle Alvarez, a former Trump campaign senior adviser, predicts Trump's speech will be a mix of touting the actions of his first 45 days in office and looking ahead to the future.
"I think he is going to flex his muscles a little bit to Congress and apply some pressure on them because they have to pass legislation and bills have to come across his desk in order to deliver on the mandate that Americans gave in November," she said on ABC News Live.
House Freedom Caucus says Dems will be 'censured' if they disrupt Trump's speech
The House Freedom Caucus warned Tuesday they will move to censure any Democrats who disrupt or protest Trump’s speech tonight.
"We expect the Sergeant at Arms and Capitol Police to take appropriate action against any Members of Congress or other persons violating House rule," the caucus said in an X post.
At President Joe Biden’s 2022 State of the Union, Republicans including Georgia GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Colorado GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert repeatedly interrupted the speech. Neither were censured.
-ABC News' Lauren Peller and Lalee Ibssa
Pelosi ripping Trump's speech and other memorable moments from past addresses
The annual presidential speeches have produced some memorable moments.
During President Joe Biden's last State of the Union in 2024, he came face to face with Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene dressed in "Make America Great Again" regalia.
In 2020, Nancy Pelosi, from her perch behind the president, dramatically ripped Trump's speech in half just after he finished.
In 2010, during President Barack Obama's second State of the Union address, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was seen mouthing the words "not true" after Obama criticized the court's "Citizens United" decision on corporate political contributions.
How do Americans feel about Trump’s support for Israel?
Addressing the ongoing war in Gaza, now entering its 17th month, has been a key component of Trump’s foreign policy so far. As Trump has doubled down on his support for Israel in the conflict and even called for a forced relocation of Palestinians and acquisition of Gaza by the U.S., a ceasefire deal reached at the end of Biden’s presidency appears to be falling apart, and last week Israel sent tanks into the West Bank for the first time in 20 years. So, do Americans back Trump on this?
We dug into recent polling to see how Americans feel about U.S. involvement in the conflict, and found that polls suggest a plurality of Americans still support Israel in the conflict with Hamas, as they have throughout the war: A Fox News poll from Jan. 10-13 found that 54 percent of registered voters sided more with the Israelis than the Palestinians, while 32 percent sided with the Palestinians. Another late January poll from Echelon Insights found that 43 percent sided with Israel in the conflict, while 18 percent sided with the Palestinians and 39 percent were unsure.
However, an increasing share of Americans over the course of the war have thought Israel’s response to the October 2023 terrorist attacks were too harsh, while American sympathy for Palestinians has grown. In a YouGov/The Economist poll from Feb. 9-11, 21 percent said they sympathized more with the Palestinians over the Israelis in the conflict, the highest percentage at any point since 2017. While that’s still fewer than those who sympathized more with the Israelis (31 percent), it represents a continued shift in opinion since the start of the conflict.
As for what policies Americans want to see, the YouGov/The Economist survey found that a plurality, 35 percent, supported decreasing military aid to Israel, while 27 percent supported maintaining the same amount of aid and only 15 percent supported increasing aid (a new low since the start of the conflict). And Americans are fairly united in disagreeing with Trump that the U.S. should take over Gaza. In a YouGov poll from Feb. 4-6, 54 percent of American adults opposed the U.S. taking control of Gaza, while 24 percent said they would support the move (only 7 percent if it involved using military force). A Data for Progress poll from Feb. 8-9 found that 62 percent of likely voters opposed the idea and 23 percent supported it.
Overall, Americans may be worried about global stability under Trump. In a YouGov/CBS News poll from Feb. 5-7, 45 percent of Americans thought Trump’s policies would decrease peace and stability in the world, while 40 percent thought he would increase it and the rest thought he would have no effect either way. We’ll see if Trump’s speech tonight does anything to allay or inflame those concerns.
—Monica Potts, 538