Welcome to a special edition of From the Politics Desk, where our reporters who were inside the House chamber tonight bring you the highlights from President Donald Trump’s first speech to Congress of his second term. 

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— am Wollner

Key takeaways from Trump’s speech to Congress: A focus on culture wars and GOP unity

By Sahil Kapur

President Donald Trump touted his newly imposed tariffs and basked in Republican applause for his administration’s swift early actions, while he drew a wave of protests from Democrats as he spoke to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

Leaning into culture wars, Trump inveighed against transgender rights, “they/them” pronouns and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. He celebrated his crackdown on migration. He repeatedly taunted his predecessor, Joe Biden, saying the former president imposed “insane and very dangerous open border policies” and offered little in the way of olive branches to Democrats, instead touting his 2024 victory as a mandate to reshape the nation.

Here are our takeaways from the speech — and how it sets up the rest of Trump’s 2025.

Trump defends his tariff moves: Trump said the 25% tariffs on products from Canada and Mexico “are about protecting the soul of our country” as scores of Republicans applauded. 

It’s a sign of how Trump has transformed the traditionally pro-free trade GOP, though there is some unease in the party about the tariffs’ effects on prices and the broader economy.

“There’ll be a little disturbance,” Trump added. “But we’re OK with that. It won’t be much.”

Outlining the agenda for the “big, beautiful bill”: Trump spent significant time on issues ranging from transgender athletes to the work of the Department of Government Efficiency. But the biggest thing Congress may work on this year will be a massive tax and spending bill, and Trump outlined his priorities.

Trump reiterated his calls to cut taxes and include several campaign trail tax promises in a bill later this year — specifically killing taxes on tips and overtime. Congressional Republicans are wrestling with the feasibility of those proposals. 

What was missing: A few thorny issues were mostly or entirely missing from the speech, reflecting the broad goal of rallying Republicans. 

The return of Israeli and American hostages held by Hamas in Gaza earned a mention, but Trump did not delve much deeper into the broader issues facing the Middle East. And as the GOP’s budget and spending plans take shape, there was no mention of Medicaid — a major portion of the federal budget that could be a target for changes. And Trump did not delve into the federal worker cuts that have sparked anxiety among some congressional Republicans and pushback from the public. 

Read the rest of the takeaways here →

Democrats’ silent protests of Trump speech overshadowed by one outburst

By Scott Wong and Frank Thorp V

House and Senate Democrats silently protested Trump — refusing to applaud, holding up signs calling him “king” and “liar” and, for some, walking out of the address altogether. 

Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, didn’t get the memo. 

After Trump told lawmakers he had won a mandate, the progressive rabble-rouser rose, began waving his cane at Trump and yelled out repeatedly: “You have no mandate!” The sergeant at arms promptly removed Green from the chamber — a first during modern-day presidential addresses to Congress.  

It was not what Democratic leaders had wanted. They had warned their rank-and-file members before the joint address not to bring props and to stay on message — the focus should stay on the federal workers fired by Trump and his billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, as well as the everyday Americans harmed by their policies and cuts.

But it’s hard to keep every congressional Democrat in line. From the moment Trump walked onto the House floor, it was clear this would not be the usual speech to Congress. Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the new DOGE subcommittee, silently held a sign behind Trump reading: “This is NOT normal.”

After he greeted Trump, Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, reached across the aisle, ripped the sign away from Stansbury and tossed it in the air — all on live TV.

Senate Democrats, meanwhile, stood when Trump walked down the center aisle but did not applaud. 

Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., brought an erasable whiteboard into the chamber and scribbled various messages to Trump throughout the night: “NO KING,” “THAT’S A LIE” and “You’re cutting Medicaid,” for instance.

Read more from inside the House chamber here →

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That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com

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