Six weeks into a presidency marked by mass firings in the federal government, attacks on DEI, the demonization of immigrants and the severing of ties with global allies, President Donald Trump delivered his first Congressional address. At 1 hour and 29 minutes, it was the longest joint address to congress speech ever recorded—a marathon of self-congratulation, partisan jabs and sweeping promises.
However, even as Trump laid out his vision for America, resistance was already underway. While some Democrats protested inside the chamber, outside, Black civil rights leaders, journalists and politicians staged their own response with the inaugural State of The People, a 24-hour livestream designed to counter Trump’s rhetoric and disinformation.
Former MSNBC anchor and co-creator of State of the People, Joy Reid, set the tone for the event, invoking Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1967 speech on dismantling the “triple evils” of racism, economic exploitation, and war. She framed Trump’s presidency as a moment of destruction—but also an opportunity to build something new. “I think that we understand that there’s going to be rubble in the road. And the question is not, how do we build back what we had before?… Where we go from here is starting to think about what we build from that rubble.”
Inside the chamber, Democrats found their own ways to push back. Some opted for silent protest, holding up black signs emblazoned with words like “False” and “Musk Steals.” Others took a more vocal approach—including Representative Al Green(D-TX), whose fiery confrontation with Trump became one of the night’s defining moments.
The moment was sparked by Trump’s claim of a mandate with his popular vote and electoral college win; as Democrats booed, Rep. Green stood up and repeatedly shouted that Trump had “no mandate to cut Medicaid.” Republican Speaker of the House Mike Johnson ordered Rep. Green to sit down and when he refused, he was forced to leave the chamber. The 77-year-old Congressman vowed to keep fighting. In comments made to C-Span, he said he was introducing articles of impeachment against Donald Trump.
Several other Democrats also chose not to stay for the remainder of Trump’s speech. Representative Jasmine Crockett, known for her sharp critiques of GOP misinformation, led a walkout mid-speech in protest. Crockett and other members exited the chamber wearing shirts emblazoned with the word “RESIST,” making a powerful statement against Trump’s rhetoric and policies.
In a highly partisan address where Trump threw several jabs at former President Joe Biden, called Senator Elizabeth Warren “Pocahontas,” and decried Democrats as unfairly booing him, Trump’s one overture to the other side of the chamber was asking them to join him for one night in celebrating all he’s accomplished—which was met with stony silence from the Democrats attendance. Here are some other notable moments from the longest joint address to Congress ever recorded:
TRUMP DOUBLED DOWN ON DIVISIVENESS AND ATTACKS ON DEI
Doubling down on his attacks on DEI, Trump said abolishing it from the government reflected his belief that people should be hired based on “skill and competence, not race or gender,” once again falsely casting DEI as the opposite of merit.” He also gave extensive speech time to attacks on transgender identity and transgender athletes, describing his executive order as banning “men from playing in women’s sports” to “protect the integrity of women’s athletics.”
DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (DOGE) GOT A SPECIAL SHOUTOUT
Trump applauded Elon Musk and his elimination of multiple programs cut by DOGE; many of those he mentioned were programs in Africa or Latin America. He claimed that 8 million dollars was spent to support LGBTQI people in Lesotho—which he said that no one had ever heard of—and that millions of dollars had been spent on making mice transgender. The president also falsely claimed that there was rampant fraud in social security, with 4.7 million people over the age of 100 receiving social security benefits. In reality, roughly 89,000 people over the age of 99 claim social security benefits, which aligns with demographic data. At that point in his speech, Democrats held up signs that said FALSE.
TRUMP VILLIFIED POOR IMMIGRANTS WHILE TOUTING A NEW $5 MILLION GOLD CARD FOR WEALTHY ONES
Trump promised that as he’s kicking out “criminal immigrants”, he’ll be inviting in “brilliant, hard-working, job creating” immigrants with a $5 million gold card which will serve as a path to US citizenship (to be clear, wealthy people can also be criminals).
He also boasted of record-low illegal border crossings and dismissed the need for legislation to control immigration, saying, “Our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed new legislation, we must have legislation to secure the border, but it turned out that all we really needed was a new President.” Left out of this statement was the fact that he purposely scuttled the bipartisan border deal drafted under President Biden so he could paint the Democrats as doing nothing on border control and have a better chance of being elected.
RECIPROCAL TARIFFS WORLDWIDE STARTING IN APRIL WERE ANNOUNCED
Economists say that we should prepare for the price of goods to get more expensive. He also promised permanent tax cuts. Aside from that, however, Trump didn’t say much else about how he’ll lower prices on anything, including eggs (which have only become more expensive since he took office).
THE RETRIBUTION TRUMP VOWED IS HERE WITH PROMISES OF SWEEPING CHANGES AT THE DOJ AND FBI
Still stinging from the six court cases launched against him, Trump condemned law enforcement that he claimed had been “weaponized” against “political opponents” like him and vowed to “restore fair equal and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law” He also promised to give “police officers the support, protection and respect they so dearly deserve.” He has already signed an executive order to enact a mandatory death penalty for anyone who kills a police officer. Ironically, he pardoned all the people charged with crimes related to January 6th, including those accused of violent crimes against police officers.
With Trump outlining an aggressive agenda—including sweeping cuts to DEI, attacks on transgender rights and a promise to remake law enforcement—the next major test for Democratic resistance is just days away. On March 14th, Congress must pass a new funding bill, a fight that will determine whether Trump’s power grab goes unchecked. NAACP President Derrick Johnson, speaking during “State of the People”, called on Democrats to hold the line no matter what “This is about saving and protecting our democracy and progress made.”
