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CNN Live Event/Special
President Trump's Address to Congress. Aired 10-11p ET
Aired March 04, 2025 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[22:00:00]
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They couldn't do anything about it.
We have been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on Earth, and we will not let that happen any longer.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Much has been said over the last three months about Mexico and Canada, but we have very large deficits with both of them.
But, even more importantly, they have allowed fentanyl to come into our country at levels never seen before, killing hundreds of thousands of our citizens, and many very young, beautiful people, destroying families. Nobody's ever seen anything like it.
They are, in effect, receiving subsidies of hundreds of billions of dollars. We pay subsidies to Canada and to Mexico of hundreds of billions of dollars, and the United States will not be doing that any longer. We're not going to do it any longer.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Thanks to our America first policies we're putting into place, we have had $1.7 trillion of new investment in America in just the past few weeks...
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: ... the combination of the election and our economic policies that people love. SoftBank, one of the most brilliant anywhere in the world, announced a $200 billion investment.
OpenAI and Oracle, Larry Ellison, announced $500 billion investment, which they wouldn't have done if Kamala had won.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right!
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Apple announced $500 billion investment. Tim Cook called me. He said: "I cannot spend it fast enough." It's going to be much higher than that, I believe. They will be building their plants here, instead of in China. And, just yesterday, Taiwan Semiconductor, the biggest in the world,
most powerful in the world, has a tremendous amount, 97 percent of the market, announced a $165 billion investment to build the most powerful chips on Earth right here in the USA.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And we're not giving them any money. Your CHIPS Act is a horrible, horrible thing. We give hundreds of billions of dollars, and it doesn't mean a thing.
They take our money and they don't spend it. All that meant to them -- we're giving them no money. All that was important to them was, they didn't want to pay the tariffs. So they came and they're building. And many other companies are coming. We don't have to give them money. We just want to protect our businesses and our people.
And they will come because they won't have to pay tariffs if they build in America. So it's very amazing. You should get rid of the CHIP (sic) Act.
And whatever's left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt or any other reason you want to.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Our new trade policy will also be great for the American farmer. I love the farmer...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes!
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: ... who will now be selling into our home market, the USA, because nobody is going to be able to compete with you, because those goods that come in from other company -- countries and companies, they're un -- really, really in a bad position in so many different ways.
They're uninspected. They may be very dirty and disgusting. And they come in and they pour in, and they hurt our American farmers. The tariffs will go on agricultural product coming into America. And our farmers, starting on April 2, it may be a little bit of an adjustment period.
We had that before when I made the deal with China, $50 billion of purchases. And I said, just bear with me. And they did. They did. Probably have to bear with me again. And this will be even better. That was great. The problem with it was that Biden didn't enforce it. He didn't enforce it, $50 billion of purchases.
And we were doing great, but Biden did not enforce it. And it hurt our farmers. But our farmers are going to have a field day right now. So, to our farmers, have a lot of fun. I love you too. I love you too.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: It's all going to happen.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And I have also imposed a 25 percent tariff on foreign aluminum, copper, lumber, and steel, because, if we don't have, as an example, steel, and lots of other things, we don't have a military and, frankly, won't have -- we just won't have a country very long.
[22:05:12]
Here today is a proud American steelworker, fantastic person from Decatur, Alabama.
Jeff Denard has been working at the same steel plant for 27 years, in a job that has allowed him to serve as the captain of his local volunteer fire department, raised seven children with his beautiful wife, Nicole, and over the years provide a loving home for more than 40 foster children. So, great job.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Thank you, Jeff. Thank you, Jeff.
Stories like Jeff's remind us that tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs, they're about protecting the soul of our country. Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it's happening. And it will happen rather quickly.
There will be a little disturbance. But we're okay with that. It won't be much. No, you're not all.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And look -- and look where Biden took us, very low. The lowest we've ever been.
Jeff, I want to thank you very much.
And I also want to recognize another person who has devoted herself to foster care community. She worked so hard on it, a very loving person -- our magnificent first lady of the United States.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE) TRUMP: Melania's work has yielded incredible results, helping prepare our nation's future leaders as they enter the workforce.
Our first lady is joined by two impressive young women, very impressive -- Haley Ferguson who benefited from the first lady's Fostering the Future Initiative, and is poised to complete her education and become a teacher. And Elliston Berry, who became a victim of an illicit deepfake image produced by a peer.
With Elliston's help, the Senate just passed the Take It Down Act.
And this is so important. Thank you very much, John. John Thune, thank you. Stand up, John. Thank you, John.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Thank you all very much. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And thank you to John Thune and the Senate. Great job -- to criminalize the publication of such images online. It's terrible, terrible thing.
And once it passes the House, I look forward to signing that bill into law. Thank you. And I'm going to use that bill for myself, too, if you don't mind, because nobody gets treated worse than I do online.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Nobody.
That's great. Thank you very much to the Senate. Thank you.
But if we truly care about protecting America's children, no step is more crucial than securing America's borders.
Over the past four years, 21 million people poured into the United States. Many of them were murderers, human traffickers, gang members, and other criminals from the streets of dangerous cities all throughout the world. Because of Joe Biden's insane and very dangerous open border policies, they are now strongly embedded in our country, but we are getting them out and getting them out fast.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And I want to thank Tom Homan and Kristi -- I want to thank you and Paul of Border Patrol. I want to thank you.
What a job they've all done. Everybody, Border Patrol, ICE. Law enforcement in general is incredible.
We have to take care of our law enforcement. We have to.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Last year, a brilliant 22-year-old nursing student named Laken Riley, the best in her class, admired by everybody, went out for a jog on the campus of the University of Georgia.
[22:10:09]
That morning, Laken was viciously attacked, assaulted, beaten, brutalized, and horrifically murdered. Laken was stolen from us by a savage, illegal alien gang member who was arrested while trespassing across Biden's open southern border and then set loose into the United States under the heartless policies of that failed administration. It was indeed a failed administration.
He had then been arrested and released in a Democrat run sanctuary city, a disaster before ending the life of this beautiful young angel. With us this evening are Laken's beloved mother, Allyson, and her sister, Lauren.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Last year, I told Laken's grieving parents that we would ensure their daughter would not have died in vain. That's why the very first bill I signed into law as your 47th president mandates the detention of all dangerous criminal aliens who threaten public safety. It's a very strong, powerful act.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: It's called the Laken Riley Act. So, Allyson and Lauren, America will never ever forget our beautiful Laken Hope Riley.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Thank you very much. Since taking office, my administration has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history, and we quickly achieved the lowest numbers of illegal border crosses ever recorded. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: The media and 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.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Thank you. Joe Biden didn't just open our borders, he flew illegal aliens over them to overwhelm our schools, hospitals, and communities throughout the country. Entire towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like nobody's ever seen before. Beautiful towns destroyed.
Now, just as I promised in my inaugural address, we are achieving the great liberation of America.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But there still is much work to be done. Here tonight is a woman I have gotten to know, Alexis Nungaray, from Houston. Wonderful woman. Last June, Alexis' 12-year-old daughter, her precious Jocelyn, walk to a nearby convenience store. She was kidnapped, tied up, assaulted for two hours under a bridge, and horrifically murdered.
Arrested and charged with this heinous crime are two illegal alien monsters from Venezuela, released into America by the last administration through their ridiculous open border. The death of this beautiful 12-year-old girl and the agony of her mother and family touched our entire nation greatly.
[22:15:08]
Alexis, I promised that we would always remember your daughter, your magnificent daughter. And earlier tonight, I signed an order keeping my word to you. One thing I have learned about Jocelyn is that she loved animals so much. She loved nature. Across Galveston Bay, from where Jocelyn lived in Houston, you will find a magnificent national wildlife refuge, a pristine, peaceful, 34,000-acre sanctuary for all of God's creatures on the edge of the Gulf of America.
Alexis, moments ago, I formally renamed that refuge in loving memory of your beautiful daughter, Jocelyn.
So, Mr. Vice President, if you would, may I have the order?
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you very much.
All three savages charged with Jocelyn and Laken's murders were members of the Venezuelan prison gang, the toughest gang, they say, in the world, known as Tren de Aragua. Two weeks ago, I officially designated this gang, along with MS-13 and the bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.
(APPLAUSE)
They are now officially in the same category as ISIS, and that's not good for them. Countless thousands of these terrorists were welcomed into the U.S. by the Biden administration, but now every last one will be rounded up and forcibly removed from our country, or if they're too dangerous, put in jails, standing trial in this country because we don't want them to come back ever.
With us this evening is a warrior on the front lines of that battle, Border Patrol Agent Roberto Ortiz, great guy. (APPLAUSE)
In January, Roberto and another agent were patrolling by the Rio Grande near an area known as "Cartel Island," doesn't sound too nice to me, when heavily armed gunmen started shooting at them. Roberto saw that his partner was totally exposed at great danger, and he leapt into action, returning fire and providing crucial seconds for his fellow agent to seek safety just -- and just barely. I have some of the prints of that event, and it was not good.
Agent Ortiz, we salute you for your great courage and for your line of fire that you took and for the bravery that you showed. We honor you, and we will always honor you. Thank you, Roberto, very much.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you. Roberto.
TRUMP: And I actually got to know him on my many calls to the border. He's a great, great gentleman.
The territory to the immediate south of our border is now dominated entirely by criminal cartels that murder, rape, torture, and exercise total control. They have total control over a whole nation, posing a grave threat to our national security. The cartels are waging war on America, and it's time for America to wage war on the cartels, which we are doing.
(APPLAUSE)
[22:20:11]
TRUMP: Five nights ago, Mexican authorities, because of our tariff policies being imposed on them, think of this, handed over to us 29 of the biggest cartel leaders in their country. That has never happened before. They want to make us happy. First time ever.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: But we need Mexico and Canada to do much more than they've done. And they have to stop the fentanyl and drugs pouring into the USA. They're going to stop it. I have sent Congress a detailed funding request laying out exactly how we will eliminate these threats to protect our homeland and complete the largest deportation operation in American history. Larger even than current record holder President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a moderate man, but someone who believed very strongly in borders.
Americans expect Congress to send me this funding without delay so I can sign it into law. So, Mr. Speaker, John Thune, both of you, I hope you're going to be able to do that, Mr. Speaker. Thank you. Mr. Leader, thank you. Thank you very much.
And let's get it to me. I'll sign it so fast. You won't even believe it.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And as we reclaim our sovereignty, we must also bring back law and order to our cities and towns.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: In recent years, our justice system has been turned upside down by radical left lunatics. Many jurisdictions virtually seized enforcing the law against dangerous repeat offenders while weaponizing law enforcement against political opponents like me. My administration has acted swiftly and decisively to restore fair, equal, and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law, starting at the FBI and the DOJ.
Pam, good luck. Kash, wherever you may be. Good luck. Good luck. Pam Bondi. Good luck. So important. You're going to do a great job. Kash, thank you. Thank you, Kash.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: They've already started very strong. They're going to do a fantastic job. You're going to be very proud of them.
We're also once again giving our police officers the support, protection, and respect they so dearly deserve. They have to get it. They have such a hard, dangerous job, but we're going to make it less dangerous. The problem is the bad guys don't respect the law, but they're starting to respect it, and they soon will respect it.
This also includes our great fire departments throughout the country. Our firemen and women are unbelievable people, and I will never forget them. And besides that, they voted for me in record numbers, so I have no choice.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: One year ago this month, 31-year-old New York police officer Jonathan Diller, unbelievably wonderful person and a great officer, was gunned down at a traffic stop on Long Island. I went to his funeral. The vicious criminal charged with his murder had 21 prior arrests, and they were rough arrests. So he was a real bad one.
The thug in the seat next to him had 14 prior arrests and went by the name of Killer. He was Killer. He killed other people, they say, a lot of them. I attended Officer Diller's service, and when I met his wife and one-year-old son, Ryan, it was very inspirational, actually. His widow's name is Stephanie, and she is here tonight. Stephanie, thank you very much, Stephanie. Thank you very much.
(APPLAUSE)
[22:25:08]
TRUMP: Stephanie, we're going to make sure that Ryan knows his dad was a true hero. New York's finest. And we're going to get these cold- blooded killers and repeat offenders off our streets. And we're going to do it fast. Got to stop it. They get out with 28 arrests, they push people into subway trains. They hit people over the head, back of the head with baseball bats. We got to get them out of here.
I have already signed an executive order requiring a mandatory death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer. And tonight, I'm asking Congress to pass that policy into permanent law.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: I'm also asking for a new crime bill getting tough on repeat offenders while enhancing protections for America's police officers so they can do their jobs without fear of their lives being totally destroyed. They don't want to be killed. We're not going to let them be killed.
(CROSSTALK)
TRUMP: Joining us in the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. His name is D.J. Daniel. He is 13 years old and he has always dreamed of becoming a police officer.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, sir.
TRUMP: But in 2018, D.J. was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months at most to live. That was more than six years ago.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: Since that time, D.J. and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true, and D.J. has been sworn in as an honorary law enforcement officer. Actually, a number of times. The police love him, the police departments love him.
And tonight, D.J., we're going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
(CHANTING)
TRUMP: Thank you, D.J.
DJ's doctors believe his cancer likely came from a chemical he was exposed to when he was younger. Since 1975, rates of child cancer have increased by more than 40 percent. Reversing this trend is one of the top priorities for our new Presidential Commission to Make America Healthy Again, chaired by our new Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: With the name Kennedy, you would have thought everybody over here would have been cheering.
(LAUGHTER)
[22:30:03]
TRUMP: How quickly they forget.
Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply, and keep our children healthy and strong.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: As an example, not long ago -- and you can't even believe these numbers -- one in 10,000 children had autism, one in 10,000. And now it's one in 36. There's something wrong. One in 36, think of that.
So we're going to find out what it is, and there's nobody better than Bobby and all of the people that are working with you. You have the best to figure out what is going on.
(SHOUTING)
TRUMP: OK, Bobby, good luck. It's a very important job. Thank you.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Thank you.
My administration is also working to protect our children from toxic ideologies in our schools. A few years ago, January Littlejohn and her husband discovered that their daughter's school had secretly socially transitioned their 13-year-old little girl.
Teachers and administrators conspired to deceive January and her husband, while encouraging her daughter to use a new name and pronouns, they/them pronoun, actually, all without telling January, who is here tonight and is now a courageous advocate against this form of child abuse.
January, thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE) TRUMP: Thank you.
Stories like this are why, shortly after taking office, I signed an executive order banning public schools from indoctrinating our children with transgender ideology.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: I also signed an order to cut off all taxpayer funding to any institution that engages in the sexual mutilation of our youth.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And now I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body. This is a big lie.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And our message is to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Because we're getting wokeness out of our schools and out of our military and it's already out, and it's out of our society. We don't want it.
Wokeness is trouble. Wokeness is bad. It's gone. It's gone. And we feel so much better for it, don't we? Don't we feel better?
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Our service members won't be activists and ideologues. They will be fighters and warriors. They will fight for our country.
And, Pete, congratulations. Secretary of Defense, congratulations.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And he's not big into the woke movement, I can tell you.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: I know him well.
I am pleased to report that, in January, the U.S. Army had its single best recruiting month in 15 years and that all armed services are having among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our services. (CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: What a difference.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And, you know, it was just a few months ago where the results were exactly the opposite. We couldn't recruit anywhere. We couldn't recruit.
Now we're having the best results just about that we have ever had. What a tremendous turnaround. It's really a beautiful thing to see. People love our country again. It's very simple. They love our country, and they love being in our military again. So it's a great thing.
[22:35:04]
And thank you very much. Great job. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: We're joined tonight by a young man, Jason Hartley, who knows the weight of that call of duty. Jason's father, grandfather and great grandfather all wore the uniform.
Jason tragically lost his dad, who was also a Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy when he was just a boy. And now he wants to carry on the family legacy of service.
Jason is a senior in high school, a six letter varsity athlete, a really good athlete, they say, a brilliant student with a 4.46 -- that's good -- GPA.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: And his greatest dream is to attend the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUJMP: And, Jason, that's a very big deal getting in. That's a hard one to get into, but I'm pleased to inform you that your application has been accepted.
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: You will soon be joining the corps of cadets.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE) TRUMP: Thank you.
Jason, you're going to be on the long gray line, Jason.
As commander-in-chief, my focus is on building the most powerful military of the future. As a first step, I'm asking Congress to fund a state of the art Golden Dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland, all made in the USA.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And Ronald Reagan wanted to do it long ago, but the technology just wasn't there. Not even close. But now, we have the technology. It's incredible actually.
And other places have -- they have it. Israel has it, other places have it. And the United States should have it, too, right? Tim, right? They should have it, too.
So I want to thank you, but it's a very, very important. This is a very dangerous world. We should have it. We want to be protected and we're going to protect our citizens like never before.
To boost our defense industrial base, we are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And for that purpose, I am announcing tonight that we will create a new Office of Shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America, where it belongs.
We used to make so many ships. We don't make 'em anymore very much, but we're going to make them very fast very soon. It will have a huge impact.
To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we've already started doing it.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Just today, a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal and lots of other things having to do with the Panama Canal and a couple of other canals.
The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others. But others could use it.
But it was built at tremendous cost of American blood and treasure. Thirty-eight thousand workers died building the Panama Canal. They died of malaria. They died of snake bites and mosquitoes.
Not a nice place to work. They paid them very highly to go there, knowing there was a 25 percent chance that they would die.
The most expensive project also that was ever built in our country's history, if you bring it up to modern day costs.
It was given away by the Carter administration for $1. But that agreement has been violated very severely. We didn't give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we're taking it back.
(APPLAUSE)
[22:40:22]
TRUMP: And we have Marco Rubio in charge. Good luck, Marco.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: Now, we know who to blame if anything goes wrong. Marco has been amazing and he's going to do a great job. Think of it. He got a hundred votes.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: You know, he was approved with actually 99, but the 100th was this gentleman, and I feel very certain, so let's assume he got 100 votes. And I'm either very, very happy about that or I'm very concerned about it.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: But he's already proven. I mean, he's a great gentleman, he's respected by everybody, and we appreciate you voting for Marco. He's going to do a fantastic job. Thank you. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: He's doing a great job.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Great job. And I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America. We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And we're working with everybody involved to try and get it, but we need it really for international world security And I think we're going to get it. One way or the other we're going to get it.
(LAUGHTER)
TRUMP: We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before. It's a very small population, but very, very large piece of land and very, very important for military security.
America is once again standing strong against the forces of radical Islamic terrorism. Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan. Not that they were withdrawing. It was the way they withdrew. Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.
Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity. And he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.
(CHEERING)
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: And I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster. This was a very momentous day for those 13 families, who I actually got to know very well, most of them, whose children were murdered and the many people that were so badly -- over 42 people, so badly injured on that fateful day in Afghanistan. What a horrible day. Such incompetence was shown that when Putin saw what happened, I guess he said, wow, maybe this is my chance. That's how bad it was. Should have never happened. Grossly incompetent people.
I spoke to many of the parents and loved ones and they're all in our hearts tonight. Just spoke to him on the phone. We had a big call. Every one of them called and everybody was on the line and they did nothing but cry with happiness. They were very happy, as happy as you can be under those circumstances. Their child, brother, sister, son, daughter was killed for no reason whatsoever.
In the Middle East, we're bringing back our hostages from Gaza. In my first term, we achieved one of the most groundbreaking peace agreements in generations, the Abraham Accords.
(APPLAUSE)
And now, we're going to build on that foundation to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the entire region. A lot of things are happening in the Middle East. People haven't been talking about that so much lately with everything going on with Ukraine and Russia. But a lot of things are happening in the Middle East. It's a rough neighborhood, actually.
[22:45:18]
I'm also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict, with no end in sight. The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine's defense, with no security, with no (inaudible).
(APPLAUSE)
Do you want to keep it going for another five years? Yeah, yeah, you would say, Pocahontas says yes.
(LAUGHTER)
(BOOING)
Two thousand people are being killed every single week. More than that. They're Russian young people, they're Ukrainian young people. They're not Americans. But I want it to stop.
Meanwhile, Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine by far. Think of that. They've spent more buying Russian oil and gas than they have defending. And we've spent perhaps $350 billion, like taking candy from a baby. That's what happened. And they've spent $100 billion. What a difference that is.
UNIDENTIFIED: That's a lie!
TRUMP: And we have an ocean separating us and they don't. But we're getting along very well with them. And lots of good things are happening. Biden has authorized more money in this fight than Europe has spent by billions and billions of dollars. It's hard to believe that they wouldn't have stopped it and said at some point, come on, let's equalize. You've got to be equal to us. But that didn't happen.
Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. The letter reads, "Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer. Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians," he said. "My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump's strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you."
I appreciate that he sent this letter, just got it a little while ago. Simultaneously, we've had serious discussions with Russia and received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldn't that be beautiful? Wouldn't that be beautiful?
(APPLAUSE)
Wouldn't that be beautiful? It's time to stop this madness. It's time to halt the killing. It's time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides.
TRUMP: Nearly four years ago, amid rising tensions, a history teacher named Marc Fogel was detained in Russia and sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony. Rough stuff. The previous administration barely lifted a finger to help him. They knew he was innocent, but they had no idea where to begin. But last summer I promised his 95-year-old mother, Malphine, that we would bring her boy safely back home. After 22 days in office, I did just that. And they are here tonight.
(APPLAUSE)
[22:50:11] To Marc and his great mom, we are delighted to have you safe and sound and with us. As fate would have it, Marc Fogel was born in a small rural town in Butler, Pennsylvania. Have you heard of it? Where his mother has lived for the past 78 years. I just happened to go there last July 13th for a rally. That was not pleasant. And that is where I met his beautiful mom right before I walked onto that stage. And I told her I would not forget what she said about her son. And I never did, did I? Never forgot.
Less than 10 minutes later, at that same rally, a gunfire rang out and a sick and deranged assassin unloaded eight bullets from his sniper's perch into a crowd of many thousands of people.
My life was saved by a fraction of an inch, but some were not so lucky. Corey Comperatore was a firefighter, a veteran, a Christian, a husband, a devoted father, and above all, a protector. When the sound of gunshots pierced the air, it was a horrible sound. Corey knew instantly what it was and what to do. He threw himself on top of his wife and daughters and shielded them from the bullets with his own body. Corey was hit really hard.
You know the story from there. He sacrificed his life to save theirs. Two others, very fine people, were also seriously hit. But thankfully, with the help of two great country doctors, we thought they were gone and they were saved. So those doctors had great talent.
We're joined by Corey's wife, Helen, who was his high school sweetheart, and their two beloved daughters, Allyson and Kaylee. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: To Helen, Allyson and Kaylee, Corey is looking down on his three beautiful ladies right now, and he is cheering you on. He loves you. He is cheering you on.
Corey was taken from us much too soon, but his destiny was to leave us all with a shining example of the selfless devotion of a true American patriot. It was love like Corey's that built our country, and it's love like Corey's that is going to make our country more majestic than ever before.
I believe that my life was saved that day in Butler for a very good reason. I was saved by God to make America great again. I believe that.
(APPLAUSE)
TRUMP: Thank you very much. From the patriots of Lexington and Concord to the heroes of Gettysburg and Normandy, from the warriors who crossed the Delaware to the trailblazers who climbed the Rockies, and from the legends who soared at Kitty Hawk to the astronauts who touched the moon, Americans have always been the people who defied all odds, transcended all dangers, made the most extraordinary sacrifices, and did whatever it took to defend our children, our country, and our freedom. And as we have seen in this chamber tonight, that same strength, faith, love, and spirit is still alive and thriving in the hearts of the American people. Despite the best efforts of those who would try to censor us, silence us, break us, destroy us, Americans are today a proud, free, sovereign, and independent nation that will always be free, and we will fight for it 'til death. We will never let anything happen to our beloved country. Because we are a country of doers, dreamers, fighters and survivors. Our ancestors crossed a vast ocean, strode into the unknown wilderness, and carved their fortunes from the rock and soil of a perilous and very dangerous frontier. They chased our destiny across a boundless continent.
[22:55:34]
They built the railroads, laid the highways, and graced the world with American marvels like the Empire State Building, the mighty Hoover Dam, and the towering Golden Gate Bridge. They lit the world with electricity, broke free of the force of gravity, fired up the engines of American industry, vanquished the communists, fascists and Marxists all over the world, and gave us countless modern wonders sculpted out of iron, glass and steel.
We stand on the shoulders of these pioneers who won and built the Modern Age. These workers, who poured their sweat into the skylines of our cities, these warriors who shed their blood on fields of battle and gave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom.
Now it is our time to take up the righteous cause of American liberty, and it is our turn to take America's destiny into our own hands and begin the most thrilling days in the history of our country.
This will be our greatest era. With God's help over the next four years, we are going to lead this nation even higher, and we are going to forge the freest, most advanced, most dynamic and most dominant civilization ever to exist on the face of this earth. We are going to create the highest quality of life, build the safest and wealthiest and healthiest and most vital communities anywhere in the world.
We are going to conquer the vast frontiers of science, and we are going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars, and even far beyond.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
TRUMP: And through it all, we are going to rediscover the unstoppable power of the American spirit. And we are going to renew unlimited promise of the American dream. Every single day. We will stand up and we will fight, fight, fight for the country our citizens believe in and for the country our people deserve.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
(CHANTING)
TRUMP: My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future because the golden age of America has only just begun. It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before.
Thank you. God bless you and God bless America.
(APPLAUSE)
(CHEERING)
[22:58:53]
JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): President Trump wrapping up his first address to Congress into turning to power. In moments, we're going to hear the Democratic response from Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan. But it was, in some ways, a campaign speech almost, very -- if one thinks that normally State of the Union addresses, joint addresses to Congress end up being kind of laundry lists of legislation that a -- that a president wants, this was quite different in many respects.
He talked about tariffs. He talked about the border. He brought in some cultural issues -- there were some touching moments with Americans, one getting into West Point, one who -- a 13-year-old suffering from brain cancer being made an honorary Secret Service agent.
It was disruptive when Congressman Al Green, Democrat of Texas, stood and yelled at the President and had to be escorted out.
[23:00:00]
He, I believe, was saying that the President didn't have a mandate to get rid of Medicaid. Many Democrats may be displeasured with the President's speech.
