Trump Delivers Red Meat For MAGA Loyalists During Congressional Address, But Fact Checkers Find Numerous Falsehoods In Speech

On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump delivered his second administration’s first address to a joint session of Congress. He declared that “the American Dream is unstoppable” and that his administration was “just getting started.” From chanting and thunderous Republican applause to signs of protest from Democrats and an interruption from Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) that ended with him being escorted from the chamber, the President’s address was a rowdy affair.

Trump’s partisan speech, now the longest speech to lawmakers on record, was met with an uproar from Republicans chanting “U-S-A” while Democrats sat in silence. In footage from CSPAN, Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-New Mexico) could be seen holding a sign that read, “This is not normal” as the President walked into the House chamber right before Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) snatched the sign from her hands.

Reflecting on the first weeks of his second term, the President has moved to slash the federal workforce and crack down on immigration, imposing steep tariffs on America’s biggest trading partners and shaking up the transatlantic alliance over the war in Ukraine. 

Here are some of the key takeaways:

Resetting Relationship with Ukraine

Days after Trump’s explosive Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which resulted in the Ukrainian leader departing the White House without signing the minerals deal with the United States, Trump signaled a willingness to reset the relationship. On Tuesday, Zelensky posted a message to Trump on social media that read, “his country was “ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.”

Praise for Musk

Trump did not miss the opportunity to brag about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) efforts, spearheaded by tech billionaire Elon Musk, to reduce government spending by reducing the size of the federal workforce.

“Thank you, Elon,” the President said. “He’s working very hard. He didn’t need this.”

In the chamber, Democratic lawmakers held up signs saying “Musk steals” and “false.”

DOGE claims to have saved $105 billion already, but that figure can’t be independently verified. Receipts for $18.6 billion worth of savings have been published, but numerous media outlets that have analyzed the figures have reported accounting errors.

Bumpy Road For Tariffs

“Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again,” Trump said, downplaying the risk that tariffs pose to the market. “And it’s happening. And it will happen rather quickly. There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re OK with that. It won’t be much.”

Trump delivered his speech on the day steep tariffs against Mexico and Canada took effect. In the address, he defended them, describing tariffs as saving the country’s “soul,” a line that echoed one from former President Joe Biden. Trump added that reciprocal tariffs tailored to U.S. trading partners would “kick in” on April 2.

International Influence & False Statements

Trump said there are places in the world where he wants to expand U.S. influence and others where he wants to withdraw. Repeating his desire for the U.S. to acquire Greenland, he vowed, “We’re going to get it—one way or the other.” He also repeated that his administration would “reclaim” the Panama Canal.

Trump made numerous inaccurate statements. He claimed that the U.S. military has had “among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our services,” and that the Army had its “single-best recruiting month in 15 years” in January.

He added that “just a few months ago,” the U.S. “couldn’t recruit anywhere.” In context, the Defense Department reported that military recruitment was already up over 10% in fiscal year 2024 compared with the previous year, and the active-duty military’s delayed entry program was up 10% in fiscal year 2025.

Trump claimed that the country has spent $350 billion on the war in Ukraine, something Trump has continued to repeat. The U.S. government has spent around $115 billion over the last three years — and not all of that has gone directly to Ukraine in aid. Much of the money has been spent in the U.S. to build arms for the country.