Denmark "America is back" - Trump goes on the attack before Congress
Just over six weeks after taking office, US President Donald Trump struck an irreconcilable tone in his speech to the US Congress and committed the country to his confrontational course. "We've only just begun", predicted the Republican in the longest presidential speech to parliament in modern US history. Trump's speech was peppered with attacks on his predecessor in office, Joe Biden, and the Democrats. The latter held up signs to protest against Trump's policies.
05.03.2025, 07:20
SDA
Trump: "America is back"
Trump's speech, which lasted around 100 minutes, was reminiscent of an election campaign appearance. US presidents often use their first speech to Congress after taking office to reach out to their political opponents. Not so Trump. Unlike so many other Republican appearances, the 78-year-old seemed to stick to the script and largely read the prepared speech from the teleprompter. Important international issues such as the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine or the tariff dispute with neighboring countries Canada and Mexico were only mentioned in passing.
"America is back", Trump said at the beginning of his speech. His Republicans shouted "USA, USA" and applauded enthusiastically. In an unusual move, Democratic Congressman Al Green was escorted out of the chamber for heckling just minutes after Trump began speaking. Trump praised his own work in his first weeks in office as unprecedentedly successful and was not sparing with superlatives. "Our country is on the verge of a comeback like the world has never seen before and may never see again," he said.
He boasted that there were "many" who described the first month of his presidency as the most successful in the country's history. George Washington, the first president of the USA, was only in second place. "How's that?" he proudly asked his supporters. As usual, the Republican was not always very precise with the truth.
Favorite opponent remains Joe Biden
He lashed out at his predecessor Biden at several points in his speech. The Democrat was the "worst president in American history", Trump complained. Biden had pursued a "crazy and very dangerous" migration policy. He also complained that Biden was to blame for the fact that egg prices in the USA were now "out of control". Eggs are currently in short supply in the USA - and therefore significantly more expensive than usual. The background to this is the recent outbreak of bird flu.
Trump used the appearance to - as usual - attack migrants and minorities such as trans people. He praised tech billionaire Elon Musk for his leadership of the cost-cutting body Doge. The wealthy entrepreneur is driving forward the restructuring of the state apparatus, including mass redundancies. Like many presidents before Trump, the Republican focused primarily on domestic policy in the traditional address. "America's golden age has only just begun. It will be unlike anything that has ever come before," he said.
Foreign policy more of a side note
The scandal in the White House during the visit of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has also dominated the headlines in the USA in recent days. However, Trump largely avoided the topic. He welcomed Zelensky's attempt at rapprochement. He had received a letter from the Ukrainian president in which he had stated that Ukraine was ready for peace negotiations. "I appreciate that," said Trump. The US President did not have a message for Europe.
At the same time, he defended his tariff policy, which, according to economists, is likely to drive up consumer prices in the US and has already caused the stock markets to plummet. "Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again," said the Republican. "And that's happening, and it's going to happen pretty quickly. There's going to be a little bit of turmoil, but that's fine with us." At the beginning of the week, far-reaching tariffs on goods from neighboring Canada and Mexico came into force. Trump has now sent no conciliatory signals to his neighbors, although his trade minister had previously hinted at an agreement.
Trump targets Greenland again
Trump also repeated his threat to annex Greenland and once again verbally backed an expansionist foreign policy. "I think we're going to get it one way or another, we're going to get it", said the Republican with regard to the world's largest island. He cited national and international security as the reason. The Greenlandic government has repeatedly emphasized that it is working towards possible independence from the Kingdom of Denmark, but does not want to become part of the USA. Trump made similar comments with regard to the Panama Canal.
Trump produced little significant news in his speech. However, he did say that the USA had caught the mastermind of the devastating attack at Kabul airport during the withdrawal of American troops in August 2021. The man was on his way to the USA, the president said. At the time, 170 Afghan civilians and 13 US soldiers were killed in the bomb attack.
First Lady Melania also in Congress
Trump was sworn in as the 47th President of the United States on January 20. Since then, he has broken with countless political conventions and kept America and the world on tenterhooks with a number of highly controversial decisions. Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin from Michigan gave the official rebuttal speech for the Democrats after Trump's address. She accused Trump of trying to ingratiate himself with dictators such as Russian President Vladimir Putin and of offending friends of the USA such as the Canadians.
Trump was accompanied to the speech by his wife Melania. She has only occasionally appeared at Trump's side since his return to the White House. The 54-year-old First Lady had traditionally invited numerous guests. Among them was Marc Fogel, who had been sentenced to a long prison term in Russia for drug smuggling. He had been flown out of Moscow by one of Trump's envoys in mid-February. Also present was the family of firefighter Corey Comperatore, who was killed in the failed attack on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July 2024.
