Greenland, Panama Canal, and letter from Zelenskyy: Trump's key statements in Congress
Photo: Donald Trump during a speech in Congress (screenshot from video)
US President Donald Trump's speech to a joint session of Congress, which began in the early morning hours of March 5, lasted almost two hours. The issue of the Russia-Ukraine war was raised only at the end of the speech.
The main statements made by Trump during his speech in Congress are summarized in the RBC-Ukraine report.
About Ukraine and possible peace with Russia
In his speech, Trump mentioned Ukraine very briefly, in particular, he did not comment at all on the suspension of US aid to Ukraine. The US President also did not give any details about his peace plan for Ukraine.
Here are some of the points made by the US President regarding Russia's war against Ukraine and possible peace talks.
- During his speech, US President Donald Trump revealed that he had received an important letter from President Zelenskyy, stating that Ukraine is ready to sit down for peace talks to achieve lasting peace. "I appreciate that he sent this,” Trump said.
- The American leader also said in Congress that "we’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace," adding, "Wouldn`t that be beautiful?"
- Trump emphasized that if “If you want to end the war, you have to talk to both sides.”
- The American President said that the United States had sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine's defense. He asked the congressmen a question: “Do you want to keep it going for another five years?”
- Trump also reiterated that millions of Russians and Ukrainians have already died in the war.
Trump names his achievements in Congress
Trump began his speech to Congress by listing his accomplishments as president of the United States in the month and a half since his inauguration on January 20. In particular, he spoke about:
- renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America,
- introduction of English as an official language in the United States,
- a ban on remote work for employees,
- deregulation,
- approval of two genders - male and female,
- and claimed as a victory a sharp reduction in illegal border crossings.
At the same time, Republicans interrupted Trump's speech with applause every minute, while representatives of the Democratic Party held signs like “Lies.”
During the speech, the US President also announced the capture of one of the terrorists who organized the explosion at the Gate Abbey in Afghanistan, which killed 13 US soldiers.
Trump's plans announced
- Trump said that the US will soon regain control of the Panama Canal and that his administration has already started working on this.
- In an address to the Greenlanders, he said that “We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America".
- According to the US President, the country will increase tariffs on imported goods, and China, India, and the EU should be prepared for retaliatory duties from the United States. He added that the new duties would come into effect on April 2.
- Trump also said that he had signed an executive order to introduce the death penalty for killing police officers and asked Congress to approve it as a separate law.
- He said that later this week he plans to take historic action to dramatically increase the production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the United States.
- Trump said that he was fighting every day to lower prices for consumers despite the outbreak of a trade war, and promised to impose tariffs on other countries the same as on the United States.
- The US President also promised to expand energy production.
- Trump called on Congress to allocate funding for the creation of an advanced Golden Dome missile defense system in the United States.
- He reaffirmed his intention to conduct the largest deportation operation in US history.
- Trump also promised to plant the American flag on Mars and beyond.
Incident during Trump's speech
Some congressmen tried to disrupt Trump's speech in Congress at the very beginning of his speech. They were warned.
In addition, on the instructions of House Speaker Mike Johnson, Democratic Congressman Al Green was kicked out of the meeting room for disorderly conduct because he was loudly indignant at Trump's first statements from the podium.
US President Donald Trump has warned federal employees that they will be fired if they resist his administration's policies. He also noted that the reign of unelected bureaucrats is over.
According to the US media, Democratic progressives could disrupt Trump's speech in Congress.
