Takeaways from Donald Trump's address to joint session of United States Congress

Scores of female lawmakers, including Pelosi, donned pink outfits for the Republican president's speech, creating a show of unity and solidarity in a room otherwise dominated by blue and gray suits.

Washington: President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress in a televised speech on Tuesday, six weeks into a tumultuous term during which he has upended decades of US foreign and domestic policy and stretched the limits of the presidency.

Here are some takeaways from Trump’s speech:

Protest...in Pink

Before Trump's speech on Tuesday, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi advised her fellow Democrats not to become part of the story.

That didn't work out so much.

Shortly after Trump began his remarks, Democratic Representative Al Green from Texas stood up and shouted that the president did not have a mandate.

"Sit your ass down!" Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican, yelled back at Green, who remained standing.

The ruckus did not end, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson directed the sergeant at arms, in charge of maintaining order in the chamber, to escort Green out.

Some other Democratic lawmakers found an unobtrusive way to show protest with a collective fashion choice: pink clothing.

Scores of female lawmakers, including Pelosi, donned outfits in that hue for the Republican president's speech, creating a show of unity and solidarity in a room otherwise dominated by blue and gray suits.

The color choice was different but the aim was similar to Trump's 2019 State of the Union address, when Democratic women wore white to celebrate 100 years of women having the right to vote, projecting a picture of calm displeasure during the president's remarks.

Egging Them On

The No. 1 issue that helped get Trump elected was inflation and the cost of basic goods like groceries. On Tuesday, it was a subject the president was not eager to discuss.

When he did, he kept the blame on former President Joe Biden’s administration while providing little detail on how he would bring down, for example, the cost of eggs.

“Joe Biden, especially, let the price of eggs get out of control," Trump said.

Egg prices are indeed at an

all-time high

, but largely because bird flu outbreaks have led to shortages by wiping out millions of hens.

“Secretary, do a good job on that,” Trump said, presumably to Brooke Rollins, the new secretary of agriculture.

Beyond that, Trump didn’t have much to propose in terms of bringing down costs other than what he said during the election campaign: increased energy production and cutting what he calls fraud and waste in the federal government, both of which may impact inflation indirectly over time.

Trump introduced Elon Musk as the spearhead of that effort to cheers in the room. Trump credited Musk with identifying "hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud," an assertion that far exceeds even what the administration has claimed so far.

Trump spent more time discussing his actions on hot-button social issues, each of which earned him rousing applause from the Republicans in the chamber.

They included renaming the Gulf of Mexico and a mountain in Alaska, making English the official language of the country, ending government diversity programs and preventing transgender girls and women from playing in female sports teams.

All of those were a result of Trump's executive orders and came at a stroke of his sharpie.

The price of eggs, that’s harder.

Still Off Track

Trump began his address in an expansive and celebratory mode, suggesting that he has turned voter attitudes around since taking office on January 20. But he still may have real work to do to win over skeptical viewers at home.

“For the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong direction — an astonishing record 27-point swing, the most ever,” Trump said.

Trump may have his own polls he can point to, but Reuters/Ipsos polling does not support the president’s boast. In fact, the most recent poll, taken over the two days ahead of the speech, had 49 per cent of Americans saying the country was on the wrong track compared to just 34 per cent of those who said it was on the right one.

With Trump levying steep tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico and inflation still not tamed, the president is getting low marks on economic concerns, with only 1 in 3 Americans approving of his handling of cost of living issues, the poll found. Only 36 per cent approved of his handling of international trade.

Overall, Trump’s approval rating is holding steady at 44 per cent. That’s only slightly higher than Biden’s peak during the second half of his term in office.

That didn't stop Trump from calling Biden the "worst president in American history." If Trump believes that, then, according to polls, he isn't faring all that much better.