Trump speech to Congress: Trump airs familiar grievances in address before Congress

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Last updated: Wednesday, March 5, 2025 4:56AM GMT
Trump defends tariffs, government cuts in address to divided Congress
The president touted the moves his administration has made in his first weeks in office, touching on tariffs, the war in Ukraine and the border.

President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, six weeks into his historic return to the White House.

During the speech, Trump said "America is back" and defended the tariffs on key U.S. trading partners. He touched on immigration and the mineral deal with Ukraine, but neglected to go into detail on his economic plan. The speech was also met with protests and disruptions from Democrats.

Mar 05, 2025, 4:48 AM

Fact-checking Pres. Trump's speech to Congress

ABC News, along with PolitiFact, is live fact-checking Trump's speech statements that are exaggerated, need more context or are false.

READ MORE | Fact-checking Pres. Trump's speech to Congress

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
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Mar 05, 2025, 4:10 AM GMT

Trump talks about Butler assassination attempt

Trump, who survived two assassination attempts during the 2024 campaign, talked about the shooting at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally.

"A sick and deranged assassin unloaded eight bullets from his sniper's perch into a crowd of many. My life was saved by a fraction of an inch. But some were not so lucky," he said. He then shared a few words about Corey Comperatore, whose family is in the room for the speech.

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Mar 05, 2025, 4:08 AM GMT

Marc Fogel, American teacher released from Russian prison, attends speech

Marc Fogel, an American history teacher who was released from a Russian prison last month after four years detainment, is in attendance at tonight's speech.

Trump said he promised Fogel's mother "that we would bring her boy safely back home."

Former hostage Marc Fogel points as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.
Former hostage Marc Fogel points as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025.

"After 22 days in office, I did just that," he said.

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Mar 05, 2025, 4:02 AM GMT

Trump brings back 'Pocahontas' taunt against Elizabeth Warren

As Trump finally turned to talking about Russia and Ukraine, Democrats clapped when he said the U.S. has sent billions of dollars to support Ukraine's defense.

"Do you want to keep it going for another five years? Yeah, yeah, you would say, Pocahontas says 'yes,'" he said. The reference is a callback to his 2018 taunt of Sen. Elizabeth Warren as she ran for president.

The camera then panned to Warren, who was wearing her signature blue suit. Warren clapped throughout Trump's jab.

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Mar 05, 2025, 3:57 AM GMT

Trump claims Zelenskyy wrote him a letter agreeing to sign minerals deal

Ukraine came up 90 minutes into the speech and Trump provided an update following last week's blow up in the Oval Office.

He claimed Zelenskyy sent him a letter today indicating that he was ready to come back to the negotiating table and was willing to sign the agreement to give the U.S. Ukraine's rare materials.

"Wouldn't that be beautiful? Wouldn't that be beautiful? It's time to stop this madness," Trump said.