# LIZ PEEK: Top takeaways from Trump's speech to Congress. Start with making America optimistic again

## The theme of President Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night was the renewal of the American dream

### President Donald Trump’s speech to Congress and to the American people was a strong reaffirmation of his campaign promises to make America great again, make American healthy again and so much more. Befitting the dramatic energy of his first six weeks, the president spoke at length, recounting not only his administration’s many accomplishments but also laying out an agenda for the next four years.

It was a powerful, uplifting and timely message. Timely, because in recent days the country has been buffeted by concerns about a trade war and spats with foreign allies; the president’s forceful arguments in favor of his agenda were reassuring.

The biggest takeaway: Donald Trump is the most extraordinary president of this generation and one of the most singular, authentic political leaders this country has ever seen. Like him or hate him, no one can dispute that his imprint on our country has already been and will continue to be significant.



Republicans cheered his address on too many occasions to count, while Democrats were sullen and disruptive. Early in the speech, Texas Democrat Rep. Al Green tried to shut down the president, waving his cane and shouting; House Speaker Mike Johnson had the Sergeant at Arms remove the disruptor.

## During the rest of the evening, Democrats contented themselves mainly with occasionally booing the president, as when he recounted his election win. It was an odd choice since there is no disputing his victory. Otherwise, they occasionally held up little signs that read "FALSE," disputing some of the president’s claims. Their protests seemed little more than sour grapes and pointless, emblematic of their current disarray.

Trump’s speech was at turns humorous, at times combative and in some instances touching. Most heartwarming were the stories about some of the guests who attended, including one young boy who always wanted to be a police officer but who was diagnosed with  several years ago. The 13-year-old has outlived his doctor’s severe prognosis, and meanwhile, has been made an honorary member of various police organizations. The president instructed the Secret Service to designate him an honorary agent, bringing the House down, except for Democrats who were unmoved.

### President Donald Trump recognizes Devarjaye 'DJ' Daniels during the joint address to Congress.



As expected, the president took a victory lap, recounting the dizzying activity of the past six weeks, including his 100 executive orders and 400 executive actions. He noted especially the successful efforts to drive down illegal crossings at the southern border, which are at the lowest level ever recorded. As he put it, "The media and our friends in the  kept saying we needed new LEGISLATION to secure the border—but it turned out that all we really needed was a new PRESIDENT."



Trump spent much time listing a bucketload of wasteful spending that had so far been eliminated by DOGE, and thanked Elon Musk for leading that effort. Some of the items listed were preposterous, like "$45 million for diversity, equity, and inclusion scholarships in Burma," "$47 million for better ‘learning outcomes’ in Asia" and "$14 million for "social cohesion in Mali." He also noted the millions of people over the age of 110 who are receiving social security payments. He joked to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that "We have a healthier country than I thought, Bobby!" If he was trying to build support for DOGE’s work, he made his case.



Part of his plan to reduce costs is to , after Biden "cut the number of new oil and gas leases by 95%," slowed pipeline construction to a halt, and closed more than 100 power plants. Trump recounted that on Day One he had declared an energy emergency, and that he will push to "Drill, baby, drill."

Another key element in his economic agenda is to cut taxes, with the help of Congress, and to reduce regulations. He has directed that for every new rule put in place, 10 must be eliminated. That will help.



### President Donald Trump lays out his vision for the auto industry and the use of tariffs in a joint address to Congress.

The theme of Trump’s speech was the renewal of the American dream. &nbsp;He is off to a good start, but Americans will want to see results and, in particular, want to see inflation subside. Tuesday night’s speech will not bring down the , but it may boost confidence that his policies will ultimately pay off.

That will be a win, for Trump and the country.


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