Trump to tout new 'American dream' to Congress despite Ukraine, tariff tensions / Photo: © AFP
Trump to tout new 'American dream' to Congress despite Ukraine, tariff tensions
Donald Trump will tout his high-octane start to his second term in an address to Congress Tuesday, in the face of a nation roiled by his aggressive extension of presidential power and a world unsettled by his shifts on Ukraine and tariffs.
The White House said the theme of Trump's televised speech at 9:00 pm (0200 GMT Wednesday) will be "the renewal of the American dream" -- but it promises to be a rowdy and divisive evening inside the US Capitol.
Democratic lawmakers will bring federal workers targeted by the blizzard of cuts to the US bureaucracy made by Trump's advisor Elon Musk -- the world's richest person -- and his Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Republicans are however expected to cheer Trump on loudly while the president and First Lady Melania Trump will invite guests who reflect his speech's priorities on the economy and migration.
Trump said the address "will be big" and promised to "tell it like it is," in a post on his Truth Social network on Monday.
"We're so excited -- it's a big day and it's a big night for President Trump and we know he's going to give a fantastic speech," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News on Tuesday.
She said the speech would cover his accomplishments in his first term, his plans for the economy, a push for Congress to pass border funding, and "dive into foreign policy" on Ukraine and Gaza.
The final section will be closely watched given the fresh global turmoil triggered by Trump's actions in the last 24 hours as he pursues his "America First" policy.
Tariffs on US allies Mexico and Canada and rival China came into effect on Tuesday, while Trump halted aid to Ukraine on the eve of the speech after a blazing Oval Office row with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Trump's pivot towards Russia's Vladimir Putin on the Ukraine war has particularly alarmed US allies.
- 'Unprecedented achievements' -
On the home front Trump is expected to play up the record blitz of executive orders he has signed in his first six weeks back in the White House.
Abetted by Musk, who will attend the speech, Trump has moved to unilaterally dismantle federal agencies and fired thousands of government workers.
He has also ended diversity programs and begun holding undocumented migrants at the US military base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba as part of his crackdown on foreigners without papers.
The speech will be Trump's first to both houses of Congress for five years, and also his first since his supporters stormed the building following his 2020 election defeat.
But this time he will be making a triumphant appearance in front of a fully Republican-controlled Congress.
"It's an opportunity for President Trump, as only he can, to lay out the last month of record-setting, record-breaking unprecedented achievements and accomplishments that have made this the most successful opening to any presidency," his Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told reporters on Monday.
Trump is also determined this time around to exert more power than any president in decades, which at times could put him on a collision course with Congress and the US courts.
Democrats have so far however struggled to counter Trump's "flood the zone" strategy and his hogging of the news cycle with constant Oval Office news conferences.
But with his poll numbers softening, Trump will also know he faces pressure to deal with stubborn issues facing Americans -- most importantly inflation.
Trump's tariffs also threaten to weigh on the economy, with stock markets sliding around the world as his tariffs took effect.
B.Scott--TNT
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