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Donald Trump will deliver the first joint congressional address of his second term on Tuesday evening after a whirlwind 43 days in office.
The president is expected to speak around 9 p.m. inside a packed House chamber, before senators and representatives, the same day as tariffs against Mexico and Canada go into effect and a day after the White House began suspending military aid to Ukraine.
Fired civil servants, small business owners and Medicaid recipients who risk losing their healthcare have been invited to an assembly room by Democrats in an attempt to challenge Trump’s narrative of a “historic transformation” of the federal government.
The White House said Monday that the theme of Trump’s address – which is not technically considered a State of the Union message – will promise “the renewal of the American Dream.”
“Tomorrow night will be big,” blared Trump’s Truth Social on Monday in block capitals. “I will tell it like it is.”
Previous presidents have typically used these speeches to list their accomplishments and lay out future plans.
Trump is expected to focus on four areas: his second term’s achievements domestically and internationally, the economy, a push for Congress to pass border funding and his plans for “peace around the globe,” reports Fox News.
The president will likely continue pushing congressional Republicans – who hold a narrow margin – to turn his America First agenda into law.
Within his first six weeks, the president has signed a raft of executive orders, initiated widespread layoffs, imposed sweeping tariffs, promised mass deportations, redefined U.S. foreign policy – including testing the country’s tight alliance with Kyiv, and floated turning war-torn Gaza into the “Riviera of the Middle East.”
The president will also focus on immigration, new tariffs and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency’s efforts to cut budgets and fire federal workers, a senior administration official told NBC News last week.
Trump will have the opportunity to explain his reasoning behind pausing military aid to Ukraine and his vision for peace with Russia just days after an explosive row in the White House with President Volodymyr Zelenksy, accusing him of “gambling with World War III.”
He will also discuss his administration’s efforts to release hostages from Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas conflict, a White House official told the network.
Democrats will have a part to play too, and will have to decide when to applaud and how to voice their disapproval.
Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin will deliver the Democrats’ reaction to Trump’s remarks – an almost 60-year-old tradition, normally done after the formal State of the Union.
“She will lay out the fight to tackle the deep challenges we face and chart a path forward,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt touted the speech as “must-see TV.”
“President Trump has accomplished more in one month than any president in four years, and the renewal of the American Dream is well underway,” she added.
Trump’s Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller told reporters Monday that the joint session of Congress is “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.”
