Trump's speech to US Congress Trump on Greenland: Will get the island one way or another +++ Tariffs only cause "a little bit of unrest"

The US President speaks to Congress for the first time since taking office and justifies his agenda. "America is back", Trump said at the start of his speech on Tuesday evening (local time). All developments in the ticker.

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5.09 pm

Trump on Greenland: Will get the island one way or another

Now Trump is talking about Greenland. He confirms that he wants to take control of Greenland. "We need Greenland for national security and even for international security, and we're working with all parties to try to get it," the Republican says about the island, which belongs to the Kingdom of Denmark. "I think we're going to get it one way or another, we're going to get it." Although very few people live there, Greenland is a "very large piece of land and very, very important for military security".

In recent months, Trump has repeatedly stated that he wants to take control of the largest island on earth. He has also not ruled out military or economic coercion. In response, the Greenlandic government has repeatedly emphasized that it is working towards independence from the Kingdom of Denmark, but does not want to become part of the USA.

5 o'clock

Egg prices "out of control" - Biden is to blame

Trump also complains that Biden is to blame for the fact that egg prices in the USA are 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.

4.50 am

Trump blasphemes about Biden

Trump now uses his speech to once again lash out at his predecessor Joe Biden. The Democrat was the "worst president in American history", says Trump.

At several points in his speech, the 78-year-old lashed out at the former president and criticized, among other things, that Biden had pursued a "crazy and very dangerous" migration policy and opened America's borders to migrants from all over the world. The ex-president is to blame for the fact that the USA has been virtually overrun by criminal and insane immigrants, Trump claims.

4.38 pm

Trump makes fun of Lesotho

Trump is now denouncing the alleged wastefulness of previous foreign aid. As an example, he cited eight million dollars that had been paid to support LGBTQ+ programs in the African state of Lesotho, "which nobody has ever heard of". The abbreviation LGBTQ stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer people

Lesotho is a state in the south of the African continent with around 2.3 million inhabitants. The kingdom is surrounded by its large neighbor South Africa and is economically heavily dependent on it.

4.37 am

Trump: Tariffs only cause "a little bit of unrest"

Trump defends the introduction of far-reaching tariffs against long-standing economic partners such as Canada and Mexico. "Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again," the Republican rants.

"And that's happening, and it's going to happen pretty quickly. There will be a little bit of unrest, but that's fine with us" - because it won't be a big unrest. Trump repeated his announcement that new far-reaching tariffs would be imposed at the beginning of April.

Tariffs announced by Trump on goods from China, Mexico and Canada came into force on Tuesday night (local time). Punitive tariffs of 25 percent now apply to goods from Canada and Mexico that are imported into the USA. Trump had also announced that he would double the import duties on goods from China imposed in February to 20 percent. China, Mexico and Canada are resisting the punitive measures. Economists assume that the tariff dispute will also cost consumers in the USA dearly and drive up inflation.

4.24 am

Trump: reciprocal tariffs to come into force in April

Trump specifies his plans for "reciprocal tariffs". These are to come into force on April 2, the president announces. He does not want to implement the announcement on April 1 so that there are no misunderstandings and the tariffs are not perceived as a joke. "Other countries have levied tariffs against us for decades, and now it's our turn to apply them against these other countries," he says. He continued: "However they tax us, we will tax them."

Trump had been announcing the so-called "reciprocal tariffs" for weeks. This means that the United States will impose import tariffs on products as soon as another country imposes tariffs on US products.

4.12 am

Trump thanks Musk for leading austerity panel doge

Trump praises tech billionaire Elon Musk for leading his cost-cutting panel Doge. "Doge, you may have heard, is run by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight," Trump said.

With this statement, the Republican contradicts recent statements by his own government team. Trump's spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt had let it be known at the end of February that Amy Gleason had been "head of Doge for some time".

In his speech, Trump continued to address Musk: "Thank you for working so hard."

Trump has announced a massive reduction in government spending and tasked Musk with implementing this plan. The wealthy entrepreneur is now driving forward the restructuring of the state apparatus, including mass redundancies, with the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), which is affiliated with the White House. To this end, Trump has apparently granted Musk far-reaching powers for measures whose legality is unclear. With the Doge Committee, the richest person in the world according to estimates has been influencing the work of numerous US authorities for weeks - and has probably also gained access to important data.

Doge and Musk's role are now the subject of several lawsuits. As the boss of companies such as Tesla, SpaceX and X, Musk has far-reaching economic interests of his own. It is quite possible that the White House has tried to get him out of the legal line of fire by naming Gleason as Doge's boss. Court documents recently even stated that Musk was not even an employee of Doge.

4.04 am

Trump announces Alaska pipeline and mining of rare earths

Trump announces the construction of a "gigantic" gas pipeline in Alaska. According to the president, it will be one of the largest in the world. Japan, South Korea and other nations want to contribute trillions of dollars, he claims.

He also wants to take historic measures this week to dramatically expand the mining of rare earths and critical minerals in the USA. Negotiations with Ukraine have repeatedly centered on an agreement to mine rare earths in the country under attack from Russia.

Ukraine tickerSelensky promotes European peacekeeping force +++ Hungary criticizes peace summit in Paris

3.52 pm

Democrat congressman escorted from the chamber

A Democrat MP is escorted out of the chamber after just a few minutes due to heckling. After Trump says that he received a mandate from the voters for far-reaching change in the November election, Al Green from the state of Texas intervenes: Trump has no mandate, he shouts repeatedly - and is eventually escorted out of the chamber.

Green later emphasizes that he was referring to the fact that Trump has no mandate for cuts to the US healthcare system Medicaid. People should know that there are people who oppose the Republican.

Trump then complained that no achievement of his could make the Democrats "smile or applaud". This would be true even if he were to cure the worst disease in the world or reduce crime to its lowest level ever, he complains. "That's very sad and it shouldn't be that way."

While Republicans in the hall celebrate Trump's speech with applause and chants of "USA", Democrats hold back and hold up signs calling for, among other things, defending the US healthcare system Medicaid and supporting former military personnel.

3.27 pm

Trump: America is back

US President Donald Trump praises his own work in his first weeks in office as unprecedentedly successful. "America is back", says the Republican in a speech to both chambers of the US Congress. Since being sworn in six weeks ago, he has acted quickly and relentlessly "to usher in the greatest and most successful era in our country's history", the 78-year-old explains. "We've accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations do in four or eight years - and we're just getting started."

America's pride and self-confidence are back, Trump enthuses. The American dream is coming back - "bigger and better than ever before". And the American dream is unstoppable. "Our country is on the verge of a comeback like the world has never seen before and may never see again," he says. However, many people in America see things very differently and fear the dismantling of the state apparatus and the effects of the trade war that Trump is instigating.

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.

3.13 am

Media: Minister for Veterans' Affairs must stay away from Trump's speech

The US Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Douglas Collins, will have to stay away from President Donald Trump's speech to Congress, according to media reports. The 58-year-old is supposed to ensure that the government remains capable of acting in the event of a disaster or attack. According to tradition, the chosen cabinet member is placed in a secret location and is supposed to take over government business in the event of a disaster. This year, Collins was chosen, as reported by several US media outlets.

The principle is called "Designated Survivor" and is also known from the TV series of the same name starring actor Kiefer Sutherland. In it, Sutherland plays a housing minister who survives an attack on the evening of the State of the Union address and becomes president as a result.

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