United States President Donald Trump has addressed a joint session of Congress for the first time during his second term, taking a victory lap after 43 days back in office.
But Democrats greeted his speech with heckling from the audience, with Representative Al Green escorted from the chamber at Speaker Mike Johnson’s order.
Trump’s speech comes on the first day of sweeping 25-percent tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico, prompting Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to accuse Trump of launching a “trade war that will first and foremost harm American families”.
Trump read aloud a conciliatory letter from Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, after he paused all military aid for Ukraine on Monday, following an Oval Office spat last week.
5 Mar 2025 - 05:50
(05:50 GMT)
That’s a wrap from us
Thank you for joining Al Jazeera for coverage of the first speech Donald Trump has given to Congress during his second term as president.
For more information about Trump’s latest interactions with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy, please check out our coverage.
And for insight into how Trump’s tariffs stand to affect the Canadian economy, take a look at our overview and our editor’s analysis.
We hope to see you again soon.
President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on March 4 [Ben Curtis/AP Photo]
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 05:45
(05:45 GMT)
Here’s what happened today
We will be closing this live page soon. Here’s a recap of today’s major events:
US President Donald Trump delivered a speech to Congress touting his achievements and stressing the need to end the war in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it is “time to make things right” after last week’s contentious meeting with Trump and emphasised Kyiv’s “commitment to peace”.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced 25-percent tariffs on US products in response to Trump’s imposition of burdensome trade duties.
Trump’s Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested the US may meet Canada and Mexico in the “middle” – as soon as Wednesday – to provide some tariff relief.
The US president threatened to withhold federal funds from universities that allow “illegal” protests, in a message aimed at pro-Palestine student activists.
Russian state media reported that the Kremlin has agreed to mediate possible nuclear talks between the US and Iran.
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 05:40
(05:40 GMT)
Mexico’s Sheinbaum says she will announce tariff response over the weekend
In a social media post, the Mexican president has invited supporters to an assembly in Mexico City’s main plaza, the Zocalo, for an address on the government’s response to US tariffs on Sunday.
“We will present our actions against the unilateral decision of the United States government to raise tariffs on Mexican exports by 25 percent,” Sheinbaum said.
Les invito el domingo 9 de marzo a las 12 del día al Zócalo de la Ciudad de México a una asamblea en la que presentaremos las acciones frente a la decisión unilateral del gobierno de los Estados Unidos de subir 25 por ciento los aranceles a las exportaciones de México.
— Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (@Claudiashein) March 5, 2025
Translation: I invite you on Sunday, March 9 at 12 noon to the Zocalo in Mexico City for an assembly where we will present the actions in response to the unilateral decision by the United States government to raise tariffs on Mexico’s exports by 25 percent. Our strength is the people; together, we always move forward.
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 05:30
(05:30 GMT)
White House lists Trump’s pro-Israel moves to promote foreign policy record
Coinciding with Trump’s speech in Congress, the White House has released a fact sheet promoting the president’s foreign policy record.
The statement, titled “President Trump is Leading with Peace Through Strength”, was dominated by Trump’s pro-Israel proposals, including his plans for ethnic cleansing in Gaza.
“President Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a visit where he proposed a bold vision for securing lasting peace in Gaza,” it reads.
The statement also cites Trump’s sanctions on International Criminal Court officials over the court’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu on the basis of alleged war crimes in Gaza.
“President Trump cracked down on anti-Semitism by canceling visas for foreign students who are Hamas sympathizers,” it added.
President Donald Trump arrives to address a joint session of Congress [Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo]
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 05:20
(05:20 GMT)
FBI director says person responsible for Abbey Gate bombing being extradited
In a social media post, FBI Director Kash Patel has confirmed Trump’s announcement that a person allegedly responsible for the 2021 Abbey Gate bombing near the Kabul airport is being brought to the US.
The bombing took place as US troops were withdrawing from Afghanistan, and Afghan civilians crowded the gates in the hopes of being evacuated, in advance of a Taliban takeover.
“As President Trump just announced, I can report that tonight the FBI, DOJ, and CIA have extradited one of the terrorists responsible for the murder of the 13 American soldiers at Abbey Gate during the disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal,” Patel said. “One step closer to justice for these American heroes and their families.”
Trump said there has been an increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism and noted that means there is “something wrong”. This is partly true.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says the current estimate is 1 in 36 children in the United States are diagnosed and that rates have increased, driven both by advances in diagnostic screening as well as an increase in prevalence of the condition.
Researchers in the 1960s estimated that about two to four children in 10,000 were autistic.
The overall prevalence of autism spectrum disorder was one in 36 children aged 8 years, and almost four times as prevalent in boys than in girls, according to the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report in March 2023.
The increase comes in part because of a broadened definition of the condition, more parental awareness of autism, and improved screening. Other risk factors include premature birth and genetics.
Trump made the comment about autism rates after praising Robert F Kennedy Jr, his health and human services secretary. Kennedy, who is heading a task force to study childhood chronic diseases, has championed vaccine scepticism and baseless theories about autism.
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 05:00
(05:00 GMT)
Elissa Slotkin delivers Democratic rebuttal
As per tradition after a major presidential speech, the opposing party has delivered a rebuttal.
This time, it was Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan doing the honours for Democrats, blasting Trump as falling short of the ideals of his Republican forebearers like Ronald Reagan.
She also pressed Trump on so-called kitchen-table issues like the price of groceries, which Trump pledged on the campaign trail to lower.
“America wants change, but there’s a responsible way to make change and a reckless way,” Slotkin said.
“The president talked a big game on the economy, but it’s always important to read the fine print. So, do his plans actually help Americans get ahead? Not even close. President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends.”
Slotkin also highlighted Trump’s actions at an Oval Office meeting last Friday, where he berated Volodymyr Zelenskyy – the president of war-torn Ukraine – as insufficiently grateful for US support.
“That scene in the Oval Office wasn’t just a bad episode of reality TV,” Slotkin said, with a reference to Trump’s days as a TV host.
“It summed up Trump’s whole approach to the world. He believes in cosying up to dictators like Vladimir Putin and kicking our friends like the Canadians in the teeth. He sees American leadership as merely a series of real estate transactions.”
Senator Elissa Slotkin [Paul Sancya/AP Photo, pool]
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 04:50
(04:50 GMT)
Democrats hit out at ‘unelected bureaucrat’ Elon Musk
Several Democratic lawmakers have pounced on Trump’s assertion that he is taking on “unelected bureaucrats” to rebuke the US president’s ally, Musk.
“Trump said, ‘The days of being ruled by unelected bureaucrats is over,'” Congressman Brendan Boyle wrote in a social media post.
“Meanwhile, shadow president and unelected billionaire Elon Musk watches from above, making sure Trump sticks to the script.”
I agree with Donald Trump that an unelected bureaucrat should be fired.
First of all, obviously Ukraine. We were expecting him to say something on that. The fact that [Ukrainian] President Zelenskyy has said that he wants to get around the negotiating table — he wants to sign the deal — perhaps suggests that what happened on Friday didn’t go the way that he wanted.
There was pressure on him to do a deal. And he’s willing to accept what Donald Trump is ready to offer at this point, which includes access to rare-earth minerals in his country, in exchange for some level of American support.
There was also the breaking news in that Donald Trump revealed that the man behind the Abbey Gate bombing, as the United States was pulling out of Afghanistan, had been apprehended. He thanked the Pakistani government for doing that as well.
Also in foreign policy, there was very little said, if anything, about Gaza. I’m just checking my notes. I don’t think he actually said anything at all about Gaza, other than a passing mention talking about the release of captives there and how he wanted to see an end to the war. And he talked about his success with the Abraham Accords during his first term.
And then there was a change of tone when talking about Greenland. We’ve heard Donald Trump say that he would like to take over Greenland. He suggested, at one point, he may actually do it by force.
This time, it was an appeal to the people of Greenland to come on board – to say that they wanted to be part of the United States.
And then that slightly jokey – some may call it sinister – thing he said, that if it doesn’t happen, we’ll look at other ways, which could suggest some sort of action is still on the table.
Republican members of Congress applaud as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 04:29
(04:29 GMT)
‘Racism and xenophobia at the centre of everything’
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, a prominent progressive, calls for fighting back against Trump’s agenda and delivering for working people across the US.
“I went there because I was insistent that I wanted to hear directly from him what he had to say,” Jayapal said in a video message. “But after hearing him – lie after lie after lie, racism and xenophobia at the centre of everything – I walked out.”
After hearing Trump spew lie after lie, I had to walk out of tonight’s address.
I’ll continue standing up for working people and against this hatred, racism, and xenophobia. pic.twitter.com/aKzw0QnNIm
Trump has spoken for nearly an hour and a half, addressing a range of domestic and international issues. Here are a few takeaways from the speech.
Stressing social issues: Throughout the speech, the US president kept returning to culture war issues, including his crackdown on transgender rights, elimination of diversity programmes and calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America.
Dehumanising immigrants: Trump kicked off his first presidential campaign in 2015 by calling undocumented Mexican immigrants “rapists”. The issue has always been central to his political rhetoric, and tonight was no different. The US president described the US as suffering a migrant “occupation” and promised to implement the largest deportation programme in American history.
Putting Canada and Mexico in his crosshairs: In a world full of actual adversaries, Trump has pushed on with his fight against the US’s immediate neighbours and largest trading partners: Mexico and Canada. He described the trade deficit with the two countries as “subsidies” and pledged to right perceived injustices at the hands of US allies.
Brushing over Gaza: In the early weeks of Trump’s second term, he reiterated almost daily his plan to drive Palestinians out of Gaza and “own” the territory. But tonight, there was no promotion of the ethnic cleansing proposal. Trump did not even mention the fragile ceasefire in Gaza that is at risk of collapsing. Instead, he made a passing reference lauding his efforts to release captives taken from Israel.
Making argument for ending Ukraine war: Outside of tariffs and trade policy, the war in Ukraine is the only foreign policy issue that Trump significantly addressed tonight. The US president suggested that both Russia and Ukraine are willing to engage with him to resolve the conflict.
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 04:21
(04:21 GMT)
Trump delivers a record-breaking, campaign-style speech
In an hour and 40 minutes, it’s the longest speech of its kind in modern history. It surpasses Bill Clinton’s 1-hour-30-minute speech back in 2000.
It was more a campaign speech, and you saw that reflected in the chamber. On one side, Republicans were cheering wildly at almost everything he said.
The Democrats sat there impassively. And in fact, at one point, several of them walked out while holding up their signs that said “false”. There was that protest, very early on, from a congressman from Texas who was decrying Donald Trump suggesting he had a mandate.
An important thing to point out is that Donald Trump’s margin of victory is still the lowest since anyone who won the popular vote since 1968.
In his speech, Trump has said the US has “spent perhaps $350bn” on Ukraine.
This is incorrect. The amount the US has spent on Ukraine varies depending on what’s being counted, but most estimates are in the $175bn to $185bn range, Mark Cancian, a senior defence and security adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies previously told PolitiFact.
Ukraine Oversight – the website of the special inspector general for Operation Atlantic Resolve, which the government created in 2014 to coordinate its military aid to Ukraine – said that, as of September 30, the US had spent $183bn to help Ukraine.
A member of Congress holds up the Ukrainian flag as President Donald Trump speaks [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 04:01
(04:01 GMT)
Trump ends speech on poetic, patriotic note
The US president sings the praises of the US with poetic, patriotic lines about the country’s virtues and historic highs.
“My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future because the golden age of America has only just begun. It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before,” he said in conclusion.
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 03:59
(03:59 GMT)
Trump surpasses record for longest presidential speech to Congress
Trump’s speech appears to have broken a previous record for the longest presidential address to Congress, passing former President Bill Clinton’s 1 hour and 28 minute State of the Union address in January 2000.
He also broke his own record: His State of the Union speech in February 2019 was 1 hour and 22 minutes.
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 03:58
(03:58 GMT)
Trump says he was ‘saved by God’
The US president says he believes he survived an assassination attempt last year by divine intervention.
A gunman’s bullet had grazed Trump’s ear during a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, in July, as he campaigned for re-election in the 2024 race.
“I was saved by God to make America great again. I believe that,” Trump told lawmakers.
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 03:55
(03:55 GMT)
US received ‘strong signals’ that Russia ‘ready for peace’
Trump says Washington has been in touch with Moscow about ending the war in Ukraine.
“We’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace,” he said. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”
Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 – an offensive that rights experts say breached the UN Charter and its prohibition against aggression.
After fending off the initial invasion, Ukrainian forces have been battling Russian troops in the east of the country in what has become a protracted conflict.
Trump said it was time to “stop this madness” and end the war.
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 03:51
(03:51 GMT)
Trump says he received positive letter from Ukraine’s Zelenskyy
The US president says his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, sent him a letter today stating that Kyiv is willing to end the conflict with Russia under US leadership.
“Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,” Trump said, quoting from the letter.
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 03:48
(03:48 GMT)
Trump brushes over Gaza
The US president barely addressed the conflict in Gaza before moving on to Ukraine.
Trump took credit for releasing “our hostages”, in a reference to captives taken from Israel who have been freed from Gaza as part of the ceasefire deal.
He then talked up the agreements to establish formal relations between Israel and Arab states, suggesting that more deals may be on the way.
“A lot of things are happening in the Middle East,” he said.
President Donald Trump shows off an executive order he signed while delivering his speech [Alex Brandon/AP Photo]
Link copied!
5 Mar 2025 - 03:45
(03:45 GMT)
Trump eyes Greenland too
In addition to threatening to take over the Panama Canal, Trump has also appealed to make Greenland part of the US.
Trump said he respects the right of the people of Greenland to determine their own future, but he went on to add that the US is working to acquire the massive island.
“I think we’re going to get it one way or the other. We’re going to get it. We will keep you safe. We will make you rich,” Trump said.
