How Trump addressed Congress and what his statements on Ukraine mean
On 4 March, US President Donald Trump delivered a major speech to Congress, one that both his supporters and opponents had been eagerly anticipating.
During his nearly 100-minute address, surpassing the typical length of similar speeches by past US presidents, Trump predictably spent a lot of time praising himself and discussing important domestic issues for his voters.
However, he also mentioned the Russia-Ukraine war, and it seems that the scandal at the White House last week has not entirely burned bridges between Kyiv and Washington.
Read more in the detailed analysis by Oleh Pavliuk, a European Pravda journalist – The 'Golden Age' of Trump: what the US President told congress and the message he sent to Ukraine.
Ahead of Trump's speech, there was much speculation in the White House that it would be a televised spectacle. And, in part, these expectations were met.
The scene was telling: Republicans, who fully supported their US president, stood up and applauded nearly after every word he spoke, while Democrats not only refused to greet Trump with applause but even walked out in the middle of his speech.
At the very beginning of Trump’s address, the Democrats nearly interrupted him with whistles and shouts.
The overwhelming majority of Trump’s speech, as expected, focused on domestic politics. In this respect, it also made for a pretty effective television presentation.
Trump dedicated a large portion of his speech to ordinary people, those who, metaphorically speaking, inspired him to push for changes in the first weeks of his presidency. This segment had a very effective visual impact.
When it came to the substantive part of Trump’s speech, there were few new policy announcements. He mostly reviewed (sometimes in great detail) the executive orders he had signed on issues like countering immigration, "restoring free speech," eliminating diversity programmes in federal agencies, and developing the US energy sector.
Trump also focused attention on the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has generated some of the most controversial decisions in his administration.
The US president not only congratulated Elon Musk, whom, despite White House claims, he referred to as the head of DOGE, but also spent about 10 minutes listing federal contracts worth millions of dollars that he deemed "absurd" (though some of these were presented inaccurately by Trump).
Also mentioned were the 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, which went into effect the day of Trump’s speech and prompted a reciprocal response.
Trump declared that there would be a mirror response to all foreign tariffs, meaning even more tariffs. "We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before," he said.
Though he didn’t mention the stock market crash just before his announcement on tariffs, he did warn American farmers about a "possible brief period of adjustment."
Of course, Trump also addressed some of the problems in America, attributing them to the failed policies of his predecessors.
Foreign policy received little attention in Trump’s speech, as expected. Most of his foreign policy remarks were focused on the full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine.
Fortunately, there were no statements from Trump that could be seen as harmful to Ukraine.
Given the current circumstances, this can be considered a significant positive.
And although, contrary to media reports, Trump did not mention the deal regarding subsoil resources, his recent statements give reason to hope that the situation may revert to the unfortunate events of 28 February.
The only question remains: what price will the White House demand from Ukraine for such a return?