Trump's speech covered everything from tariffs to DOGE. What did you think? Tell us. | Opinion
Trump addressed a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. What did you think of it?
You can call it a comeback, just don't call it a State of the Union. President Donald Trump gave the first congressional address of his second term Tuesday evening, spending nearly two hours detailing the dizzying tsunami of change his administration has ushered in these past 43 days.
As expected, Trump took this time in front of a captive Congress (and television audience) to tout an array of accomplishments domestically and internationally. His "America is back" message focused largely on the economy and his newly imposed tariffs on Canada and Mexico, reiterating his pledge to start reciprocal tariffs on April 2.
But he also touted his more controversial directives, including the removal of diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives ("Our country will be woke no longer," he said), and highlighting freezes of foreign aid and federal hiring amid government layoffs. This presidential peacocking was peppered with Trump's usual smattering of lies and misinformation, including rattling off debunked claims of impossibly old alleged Social Security recipients and blaming former President Joe Biden for the current price of eggs. The contentious speech was met with chants of "USA! USA!" from Republicans, while at least one Democrat, Rep. Al Green of Texas, was ordered removed from the chamber for standing and heckling Trump.
In short: It was exactly what we’ve come to expect from a Trump speech.
You’ve already heard what our columnists were looking for from Trump’s address, and you can count on more commentary from Paste BN in the coming hours. But we want to hear from you. Because if your group chats are anything like ours, you have a lot of thoughts.
Trump's speech focused on tariffs, Ukraine. Did he say what you wanted?
Did Trump address the issues you care about most? How do you think he did: Was he clear and confident or meandering and mean? Did Trump’s speech change any perceptions you had about him? What do you want to see next from the Trump administration?
Tell us your answers using the survey below. The Paste BN Network may publish your responses in an upcoming column.