Trump: America Is Back

WASHINGTON, WEDNESDAY — United States President Donald Trump promised that all his work programs would be implemented very quickly. He emphasized that he would not stop until all his goals were achieved. All of this is being done to realize his dream of making the United States powerful and respected by all parties once again.

The desire and determination were expressed by Trump during a speech at the Capitol Building, Washington, U.S., on Tuesday (4/3/2025). This speech was delivered by Trump in the same room used by hundreds of U.S. legislators—including members of the Republican Party—to take shelter from the attack by Trump supporters on January 6, four years ago, when they opposed the certification of Joe Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential election.

"I return to this courtroom tonight to report that America's momentum has returned. Our spirit has returned. Our pride has returned. Our confidence has returned. And the American dream is rising—greater and better than ever before. The American dream cannot be stopped, and our nation is on the brink of a revival that the world has never seen before, and perhaps will never see again. It has never been like this before," said Trump.

Trump's speech, which lasted nearly 100 minutes, was delivered following various controversial policies initiated shortly after he took office. These controversial policies included plans for the evacuation and expulsion of Palestinian people from the Gaza Strip, the deportation of nearly 10,000 immigrants from U.S. territory, the cessation of the Ukraine-Russia war without involving the Ukrainian government, as well as tariff wars with his main trading partners, namely China, Mexico, and Canada. In addition to the tariff wars, Trump's latest policy to halt all military aid to Ukraine has strained his relations with Ukraine and European countries supporting Ukraine.

In his speech, Trump praised Elon Musk's efforts, who is entrusted with leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to reduce budgets he considers burdensome, including shutting down USAID and cutting the number of federal employees by approximately 100,000. Trump described Musk's efficiency measures as nothing less than an effort to expose fraud amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars, a move he views as an attempt to reclaim democracy from irresponsible bureaucracy. For federal workers who do not align with his administration's agenda, dismissal becomes the option.

Trump delivered his speech with enthusiasm after enduring what he referred to as an era of "harassment or witch hunt" carried out by the Democratic Party and the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris administration. Trump stated that one of his highest priorities is to save the U.S. economy, including policies to increase import tariffs on goods, such as those imposed on products from China, Canada, and Mexico.

"Other countries have been imposing tariffs on us for decades, and now it is our turn to start using them against those countries," he said.

At the same time, he tried to allay concerns about potential price increases caused by the U.S. trade war with the three countries, saying, “There will be a little bit of disruption, but we’re OK with that. It won’t be much.”

On the podium, Trump also reiterated his desire to promote peace in Ukraine and the Middle East through a series of policies that, in the view of many, reverse the attitudes and policies of previous administrations. In the case of Ukraine, Trump's attitude, which seemed to understand the Kremlin's decision to invade Ukraine, was contrary to the attitudes of its allies, the European Union countries, NATO, and also positioned Ukraine as the victim.

Trump has appeared to blame Ukraine for starting the war, a departure from the general attitude of Americans. A recent Reuters/Ipsos poll found that 70 percent of Americans - including two-thirds of Republicans - said Russia was more to blame.

Still, Trump stood by his position. "We have had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace," Trump said. "Isn't that wonderful?"

On the Middle East, Trump reiterated his pledge to push for peace in the region, including expanding the number of countries that have signed the Abraham Accords. However, he did not elaborate on his plans for peace in the Middle East.

Nearly every statement Trump made was met with applause from Republicans, but protests also emerged from Democratic lawmakers.

A Democratic congressman, Al Green, was escorted out of the chamber after refusing to stop protesting Trump's policies. Other Democrats held up signs that read "Fake" and "Musk stole" and "That's a lie!"

And at one point, many Democrats chanted “January 6!” at Trump, referring to his supporters’ attack on the Capitol in 2021. They refused to acknowledge Trump’s defeat in the election.

Trump was unmoved and responded to every statement made by Democrats with insults. “I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there’s nothing I can say to make them happy or make them stand up or smile or applaud,” Trump said.

Democratic lawmakers chose to comment after Trump's speech.

“As a young person born in the Cold War, I was grateful that Reagan and not Trump was in power in the 1980s. Trump would have lost us the Cold War,” said U.S. senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst. “Donald Trump’s actions show that, in his heart, he doesn’t believe we are an exceptional country.”

Tensions between Democrats and Republicans began the moment Trump entered the chamber. The tensions began when Trump passed Democratic Sen. Melanie Stansbury, the New Mexico congresswoman holding up a piece of paper that read “This is not normal.” A Republican snatched the paper from her hand.

In contrast, Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Trump-supporting politician and right-wing group, wore a red hat that read “Trump is right about everything.” Greene’s act of wearing the hat violated a ban on head coverings that was introduced almost two centuries ago.

Trump's statement calling Biden the worst US president in history also angered Democrats. Some of them denounced it as a lie.

Some Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives even left the chamber before Trump stepped forward. Texas Democrat Jasmine Crockett took off her jacket, revealing a T-shirt with the word "Resist." The gesture signaled that Democrats would fight all of Trump's policies throughout his administration. (AP/AFP/Reuters)