#TrumpCongressSpeech Seven takeaways from Donald Trump’s speech to US Congress

1.Trump declares war on the federal workforce

Touting the work of Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Trump rattled off a list of statistics purporting to show cases of government waste and fraud.

2.Return to nativist themes and attacks on immigrants

Trump leaned into rhetoric that portrays immigrants as vectors for crime, disease and disorder.

3.Ukraine and Gaza get brief mention

He said he had helped secure the release of US citizens held captive by Hamas in Gaza.

4.Democrats struggle to muster a response

While the early minutes of Trump’s speech were met with a chorus of boos from Democratic members of Congress and the expulsion of Democratic Representative Al Green, the opposition’s response was mostly tepid.

5.Trump continues his love affair with ‘beautiful’ tariffs

Trump doubled down on his faith in what he previously called “tariff”. This, even as new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

6.Trump claims he is tackling inflation

Trump said one of his top priorities was to fix the economy and help working families.

7.US has caught person behind 2021 Kabul airport bombing

Trump announced that the US has captured “the top terrorist” that killed 13 soldiers during the 2021 withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan.