"Americans have given us a mandate for bold and deep change. In the last 100 years, the federal bureaucracy has grown to crush our freedoms, inflate our deficits, and hinder the potential of the United States in every possible way. The nation founded by pioneers and risk-takers is now drowning under millions and millions of pages of regulations. There are procedures that should take 10 days instead of 10, 15, and even 20 years before being rejected. Meanwhile, we have hundreds of thousands of federal employees who have not shown up for work. My administration will take power back from this irresponsible bureaucracy and restore true democracy in the United States. We are just getting started."
This Tuesday, Donald Trump boasted about votes, measures, tax cuts, and tariffs. He pointed out that the "great victory of November 5th will go down in history as one of the most important dates in our country's history," bragged about his protectionist orders to enrich the domestic market, and assured that he will create millions of jobs.
But his highly anticipated address to Congress, the longest in history, tumultuous at the beginning, full of reproaches and boos, was above all a statement of intentions, a step-by-step dissection of the transformation he hopes to achieve with populist undertones. "We are draining the swamp," he said using a metaphor about the swampy capital, Washington DC. "It's very simple: the days of unelected bureaucrats' government are over," he stated as cameras and the opposition, ironically, pointed to Elon Musk, smiling in a suit in the guest gallery.
The beginning was the speech that Republicans wanted, the classic of the party and its voters. Without surprises or novelties, with hardly any foreign policy, promising balanced budgets, cuts, order, and progress. Promising a "new golden age," wealth.
But it quickly turned into something else, the spectacle that he and his followers adore. A complete show taking advantage of the country's attention, the specialty of a man capable of turning everything into "good television," from a quarrel with Volodimir Zelenski to a one-and-a-half-hour speech in the Capitol. He clashed and mocked the opposition, parading his top officials, signing executive orders, bringing in half a dozen victims of murderers, especially foreigners. Naming live a "member of the Secret Service" a 13-year-old boy with brain cancer. Giving recognitions to victims of sexual abuse or "gender ideologies." Or informing a young supporter to applause that he has been admitted to West Point, the military academy par excellence. Worthy of a chapter of his series.
Trump, true to his style, exploited his virtues and created something new, ensuring that attention shifted in favor of entertainment after an hour without interruptions or even a sip of water. The show overshadowed an intervention that was purely for domestic consumption, denouncing "left-wing lunatics" to reconcile with his base, listing one by one all the usual campaign points. Focusing on the fear of immigrants and presenting his program as the only possible solution, as numbers show that illegal border crossings in February were the lowest according to records. "We didn't need a new law, just a new president," probably his best line of the night.
The key of the first half and the end was to repeat the idea of "independence," of security, the word "protect" over and over again, at the borders, in sports, and in the economy. But admitting on several occasions that decisions, starting with tariffs and public sector cuts, will have consequences for citizens' wallets. "Tariffs will be applied to agricultural products entering the United States and to our farmers starting April 2. There may be a short adjustment period," he said first. "Tariffs not only serve to protect American jobs but also to protect the soul of our country. Tariffs serve to make America rich and great again. And that is happening, and it will happen quite quickly. There will be some turbulence, but we will accept it. It won't be much," he promised to a country increasingly concerned about inflation and a possible unexpected contraction in the first quarter of the year.
Only at the end did he talk about the rest of the world. Insisting that he will reclaim the Panama Canal. Inviting Greenland to join the US. "We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we are working with all those involved to try to get it," stated the US president, adding: "I think we will get it one way or another."
He also boasted of capturing the terrorist responsible for an attack that killed 13 soldiers in Afghanistan a few years ago. And mentioned Ukraine, but without news. He insisted that he will end "that senseless war," criticized the EU for "spending more buying gas from Russia than they have given in aid to Ukraine" and explained that he had received a letter from Zelenski on the same day saying that he "is ready for peace," a gesture that he simply "appreciated," without going further or discussing his decision to cut military aid. "We have received signals that he is ready for peace. Wouldn't that be beautiful," he summarized.
Today's was Trump's first address to Congress in the legislature. Trump arrives after his victory in November and an overwhelming first month and a half, with unprecedented measures in national, economic, and foreign policy. Taking a protectionist, nationalist, and proto-expansionist turn. Pressuring and threatening allies and courting the country's historical enemies. Republicans have a majority in both chambers, but Trump is trying to give the Executive many more powers, bypassing the legislature in virtually everything except the essential.
His speech, long and very similar to any of his rallies or daily press briefings, was enthusiastically received by his party, which he completely dominates. And with shouts and rejection from the opposition, still lost, disoriented, and without a defined strategy on how to respond. Blurred and only capable of actively protesting with their attire. A group of women in pink, members of the Black Caucus in black, and a few in blue and yellow to show support for Ukraine. With signs saying "this is not normal," "Elon Musk steals," or "save healthcare." Or standing up to tell the Executive branch that they do not have a "mandate to cut Medicaid," as Texas veteran congressman Al Green did before being expelled from the chamber.
They appeared overwhelmed, unable to counteract an overwhelming, sometimes tearful spectacle, but visually effective. The images of congressmen and senators not applauding the families of victims will not do them any favors, no matter how populist Trump's intentions were.
With markets in turmoil after a trade war that no one understands and changing and contradictory messages about tariffs every day, in the first half-hour, the president listed all the measures he considers unprecedented successes, categorizing his first month as the most momentous in the country's history, just above George Washington's start. Executive orders to make English the official language, establishing that there are only two sexes, freezing public hiring and programs. Withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement, the "corrupt WHO," or the UN Human Rights Council. Ending the "madness of environmental policies" or about reducing car emissions. Restoring freedom of speech, although he did not explain how or in what way it was threatened before. Changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico. Ending diversity and equality policies. "Common sense is becoming the most common again, and we will never go back. The country will not go woke again."
After over an hour and a half of speaking, the president who campaigned describing a country sunk, ruined, dangerous, and bankrupt, promised citizens an unparalleled "new era." "We will rediscover the unstoppable power of the American spirit and we will renew the unlimited promise of the American dream. Every day we will rise and fight, fight, fight for the country our citizens believe in and the country our people deserve. My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future, because the golden age of the United States is beginning and it will be like nothing seen before."