“Our country will be woke no longer,” President Donald Trump stated during his address to Congress.
Donald Trump delivered his first address to Congress since being reelected, on Tuesday night just after 9 p.m. Usually this address would be the “Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union,” but since the United States Constitution does not directly state when that needs to be held, Tuesday night’s speech is considered “a joint address to Congress.”
Trump started his speech, or rather his statement, by listing the many executive orders, more than 100, that he’s signed to “restore common sense.” Some of these include; designating English as the Official Language of the United States, adjusting the imports of timber, steel, and aluminum, keeping men out of women’s sports, removing critical race theory from public schools, ruling that there are only two genders; men and women, and many, many more.
Who knew that being “woke” meant being inclusive?
Trump continued his address by explaining the new tariff policy he plans to put in place on April 2, 2025. Further explaining that he wishes that he could’ve done it April 1st, but he is an “extremely superstitious person.” He plans to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, with an additional 10% on Chinese goods, adding to the previous 10% he put in place earlier this year. He claims that these tariffs will bring in trillions of dollars and create countless jobs. Yet, last year U.S. imports were at $3.3 trillion, meaning that tariffs would need to be incredibly high to generate revenue of “trillions and trillions of dollars.”
Another statement made by Trump during his speech was, “I’ve stopped government censorship and brought back free speech in America.” Though how true is this? Just recently the White House has banned The Associated Press from the Oval Office, due to the refusal of using the term, “Gulf of America.” He also recently threatened to remove federal funding from schools that allow “illegal protests,” which infringes on the first amendment. None of this sounds like freedom of speech to me.
This is especially concerning for journalists, and student journalists who are taught to speak their mind. How is it possible for a journalist, or any citizen really, to freely speak their mind if our own government is controlling who can cover what?
The raucous law members in the audience made this entire address feel more like a rally than an official address to Congress. Democratic Rep. Al Green was ejected from the audience after repeatedly interrupting the president. Democrat Melanie Stansbury held up a sheet of paper reading, “This is not normal,” which was then ripped from her hands by a Republican politician. Politician, Marjorie Taylor Greene, wore a red hat stating, “Trump was right about everything,” which violates the two-century long ban on headwear. The Republican half of the chamber shouted “USA!,” upon Trump’s arrival, as the Democratic side remained seated. The Democratic Women’s Caucus wore pink blazers as a form of protest towards Trump’s policies. Democrats held up protest signs and continued to walk out throughout Trump’s address, while the majority of the Republican chamber cheered him on.
Not only did the rowdy crowd make this address feel more like a rally, but also the lack of depth in everything that came from Trump’s mouth. It was as if we were watching president-elect Donald Trump from November, not president Donald Trump. The majority of his statement was filled with slogan rather than substance.
After speaking again on his assassination attempt from last year, Trump claimed that he was “Saved by God to Make America Great Again,” the exact statement that he made during his inauguration speech in January. The repetition throughout his speeches and rallies, whether it be for policies or personals, does not bode well for his gaining of support from Democrats, who mostly want to see real change and are not interested in the same things being repeated over and over. Multiple jabs at former president Joe Biden, inaccurate numbers when it comes to undocumented immigrants, children with autism, and Panama Canal deaths, and claiming that D.O.G.E identified government spending of $8 million on transgender mice, are all examples of exactly the opposite of what we were looking for during this address.
His address on Tuesday night is now officially the longest address to Congress in American history. Ending his speech with, “The Golden Age of America has only just begun. It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before.” I’m sure Trump didn’t have the same history books as I did throughout school, but I’ve only ever known “The Golden Age” to be the 1950s, a time of prosperity, yes, but also a time of conflict and conformity. That seems to be the route we are on, again. The Gilded Age could also be considered “The Golden Age,” or more so a time covered by a thin layer of gold but truly filled with political corruption and inequality. If it is his goal to go back to that, he is on the right track.