Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night was filled with lies, exaggerations, and demeaning rhetoric.
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In the nearly two-hour presidential address (it’s not called State of the Union in a president’s first year in office), he boasted about winning the popular vote “by big numbers,” which he didn’t; exaggerated the amount of fraud uncovered and savings generated by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency; bragged about the popularity of tariffs, which are opposed by many, including U.S. automakers; claimed he inherited an economic catastrophe from President Joe Biden when the U.S. had the strongest economy in the world when Biden left office; demonized immigrants; and played the victim about prosecutions he has faced.
He also denounced “wokeness” and “gender ideology,” including the social transition of transgender children in schools without outing them to parents who may not be supportive. He bragged of banning the “sexual mutilation” of children, by which he means gender-affirming care (which is not mutilation), when his order to withhold federal funds from institutions that provide this care has been blocked by two courts. He called on Congress to pass a law criminalizing parents who allow their children to undergo gender-affirming care, but that’s unlikely to happen. He condemned the presence of “men” in women’s sports, meaning transgender women, who make up a minuscule proportion of participants in female sports. He defended his "two genders" executive order as "common sense."
He talked about standing up for free speech when he wants to punish students who participate in protests at colleges and universities — and punish the schools for allowing them. He boasted of ending "the tyranny of diversity, equity, and inclusion," adding, "the country will be woke no longer."
He further claimed that in an assassination attempt, he was “saved by God to make America great again.” That led Democratic U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi to mouth “Oh, my God” to colleague Steny Hoyer.
He honored a 13-year-old brain cancer survivor DJ Daniel, making the youth an honorary Secret Service agent, and said Daniel probably developed cancer because of exposure to a toxic chemical. But Trump wants to cut environmental protections, and DOGE has cut off funding for medical research, and both moves bode ill for fighting cancer.
He called Democratic U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren "Pocahontas" because of her claim to Native American ancestry. Several Democrats walked out on his speech, and U.S. Rep. Al Green of Texas was removed when he taunted Trump. Some Democrats carried anti-Trump signs, including U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (pictured); Republican U.S. Rep. Lance Gooden soon ripped it from her hands. Several Dems were accompanied by federal workers fired by Musk.
Trump had bragged that "the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over," when Musk himself was elected by no one to have a role in the federal government.
Freshman U.S. Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan delivered the Democratic rebuttal to Trump. She slammed the mass firing of federal workers, only to have some called back quickly. "No CEO in America could do that without being summarily fired," she said. She wondered aloud if anyone was comfortable with Musk and his team of 20-year-olds having access to personal data. She noted that the election indicated Americans wanted change when it comes to the economy, but said, "There’s a responsible way to make change and a reckless way."
She further slammed Trump for his coziness with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his ill-treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during last week's Oval Office meeting, as Russia was the aggressor in the war with Ukraine. She praised a Republican's handling of the Cold War — 1980s President Ronald Reagan. "After the spectacle that took place in the Oval Office last week, Reagan must be rolling in his grave," she said, adding, "Trump would have lost us the Cold War."
Slotkin also denounced Trump because he "ignores court orders and the Constitution itself" and "pits Americans against each other."
She urged Americans to stand up for what's right but not to be overwhelmed by bad news. "Don’t tune out — it’s easy to be exhausted," she said. She encouraged people to "organize — pick just one issue you’re passionate about and engage." Doomscrolling, she noted, doesn't count.
This "isn’t the first time we’ve experienced tumultuous change…but each time we're chosen to change country for the better," she concluded.
Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson issued this statement on Trump's speech: “Tonight, Donald Trump stood sbefore the American people and tried to rewrite history, painting himself as a leader when in reality, his legacy is chaos, cruelty, and corruption. If Trump’s lips are moving, he’s lying — and recklessly harming American families of all kinds. But he isn’t a king, he can’t erase the LGBTQ+ community, and the American people are sick of him using us to distract from his failures. We’re here, we’re queer, and we will never cower to a bully.”
Lambda Legal CEO Kevin Jennings denounced Trump's rhetoric as well. “President Trump’s remarks were, frankly, pathetic and ignorant," Jennings said in a statement. "His rhetoric attacked the identities and lives of the LGBTQ+ community, particularly trans and nonbinary people and youth, by falsely insinuating they don’t even exist. It is an affront to the very core of what this nation should stand for: respect, equality, and humanity."
"Lambda Legal is committed to fearlessly fighting back against these harmful and discriminatory policies, and we will continue to defeat them in the courts," he added. "We have already sued this administration four times, challenging unlawful executive orders banning gender affirming care for trans people and youth, banning transgender people from serving in the military, imposing a definition of gender that attempts to erase trans, intersex, and nonbinary people, as well as banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs or discussion. We won’t stand by while this administration tries to turn this country backwards."
