Trump touts relentless start to term

A triumphant President Donald Trump told Congress on Tuesday that "America is back" after he reshaped US foreign policy, ignited a trade war and ousted tens of thousands of government workers in six tumultuous weeks since returning to power, drawing jeers from some Democrats who walked out in protest.

The primetime speech, his first to Congress since taking office on January 20, followed a second day of market turmoil after he imposed sweeping new tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China.

At 100 minutes, the speech was the longest presidential address to Congress in modern US history, according to The American Presidency Project.

World leaders were watching Trump's speech closely, a day after he paused all military aid to Ukraine in a stark reversal of US policy. The suspension followed an Oval Office blowup in which Trump angrily upbraided Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in front of TV cameras.

Trump vowed to balance the federal budget, even as he urged lawmakers to enact a sweeping tax cut agenda that analysts say could add more than $5 trillion to the federal government's $36 trillion debt load. Congress needs to raise the nation's debt ceiling later this year or risk a devastating default.

The speech shared some of the hallmarks of Trump's campaign rallies. Trump repeatedly assailed his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, attacked immigrant criminals as "savages" and promised to ban what he called "transgender ideology," all while peppering his remarks with exaggerated or false claims.

Democratic protests

"To my fellow citizens, America is back," Trump began to a standing ovation from fellow Republicans. "Our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed, and perhaps will never witness again."

Democrats held up signs with messages like "No King!" and "This Is NOT Normal," and about half the Democrats had walked out by the end of the speech.

One Texas congressman, Al Green, was ordered removed after he refused to sit down.

Trump, a political brawler by nature, reveled in the disagreements. "I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud," he said after Green's ejection.