Washington (AFP) – Donald Trump declared that the “American dream is unstoppable” Tuesday, in an address to Congress met with Democratic hostility that hailed his plans for radical change that are roiling the nation. With his close advisor Elon Musk among those attending the primetime televised address, the 78-year-old Republican billionaire said that after less than two months back in power he is “just getting started.” “America is back,” he declared. Almost every line got loud applause from the Republican Party members. But within minutes, protest began. One Democratic congressman, Al Green, was ordered ejected because he refused to stop heckling and shaking his walking stick at the president. Other Democrats silently held up placards, including two reading “False” and “Musk steals.”
The president hailed the achievements of his first six weeks, vowing to press on with his polarizing bid to reshape the US government and end the Ukraine war — whatever the cost. He got big cheers from supporters on pronouncing that his war on diversity programs meant “our country will be woke no longer.” “We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in four years or eight years,” Trump claimed. “The American Dream is surging — bigger and better than ever before. The American Dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again.”
Trump was also setting out his vision on the economy — even as the trade war he launched against Canada, China, and Mexico is prompting jitters on world markets and threatening to raise prices at home. The event marked a triumphant comeback to the US Capitol for Trump — just four years after his supporters stormed the building to protest his 2020 election loss, which in an unprecedented act of defiance he still refuses to fully accept.
Trump is pushing to extend presidential power to its limits, with the popular vote behind him and a Republican-controlled House and Senate doing his bidding. Aided by tech tycoon Musk, Trump has cracked down on the federal bureaucracy, firing thousands of workers, shuttering entire agencies, and decimating foreign aid. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the theme was the “renewal of the American dream and the renewal of the American dream is underway already.” “Look at all that President Trump has accomplished in his first month as president,” she told Fox News.
But there are early signs in the polls that Trump’s sweeping cuts and his failure to tackle inflation are hitting his popularity. Trump is also upending US foreign policy with his pivot to Moscow over the Ukraine war, which has stunned Kyiv and allies alike. Days after a televised row in the Oval Office with Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump will then lay out his plans to end the grueling three-year conflict — despite fears that he is giving Russia what it wants. “He’s going to dive into foreign policy, talk about his intention to end the war in Ukraine,” Leavitt said. Trump had said on Monday that he would “let you know” during the speech about the fate of a minerals deal with Ukraine that remains unsigned after Volodymyr Zelensky’s disastrous visit.
Leavitt said Trump would also discuss his “plan to bring all the hostages out of Gaza” — the Palestinian territory he has proposed that the United States should take over, sparking outrage across the Middle East. The US president will finally ask Congress for funds to support his plan for mass deportations of undocumented migrants, some of whom his administration has already dispatched to Guantanamo Bay. Democrats have so far struggled to counter Trump’s flood-the-zone strategy and his hogging of the news cycle with constant press conferences.
But the speech promises to be rowdy, with Democratic lawmakers bringing as guests a number of federal workers targeted by Musk’s so-called Department for Government Efficiency (DOGE). The Democratic rebuttal to Trump’s address will be provided by new Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin, a 48-year-old former CIA analyst and rising star in the party.
© 2024 AFP
