The USA under Trump "The greatest comeback of all time"

Donald Trump launched a broadside against allies and Democrats in the US President's annual speech to the assembled Congress. According to Trump, other countries are exploiting the United States to the full. But that will stop during his term in office.

"We have been betrayed by nearly every country in the world for decades, and we will not allow it to continue," Trump said on Tuesday evening, declaring that the United States is on the verge of the greatest comeback of all time. "America's spirit is back. Our spirit is back. Our pride is back. Our confidence is back. And the American dream is growing - bigger and better than ever."

Trump has already brought about radical changes in his first 43 days in office. Former President Joe Biden's promise just over four years ago that diplomacy would once again be at the center of US foreign policy is already history. Ever since the scandal last Friday, when Trump, US Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy got into a verbal exchange in the Oval Office , it has been clear that the USA can only be relied on to a limited extent.

During his speech, Trump left open how the war in Ukraine would continue. However, he made it clear that the US was not prepared to spend billions more on supporting Ukraine indefinitely. "I am also working tirelessly to end the cruel conflict in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been killed or wounded for no reason in this terrible and brutal conflict, and there is no end in sight," he said.

Another signal

Just on Monday, the US temporarily stopped all aid to Ukraine. The White House wants to investigate these aids to ensure that they are in line with the Trump administration's peace plans. For America's allies, this was another signal that Washington is increasingly siding with Russia and President Vladimir Putin instead of its ally, Ukraine.

Zelensky, who knows his country needs U.S. support, relented on Tuesday, declaring in a post on X that he was ready to sign a $500 billion commodity deal with the United States.

Even though the topic of foreign policy came up more than an hour later, Trump's words were powerful. He reiterated that he would take back control of the Panama Canal and encouraged Greenland to join the U.S. on security grounds. "I think we're going to get it - one way or another, we're going to get it," he said jokingly.

As if Trump's Ukraine policy and his imperial ambitions weren't causing enough resentment, the issue of tariffs was also a topic. As the punitive tariffs imposed on Canada and Mexico this week have shown, Trump makes no distinction between friend and foe in order to achieve his economic goals . "Other countries have imposed tariffs on us for decades, and now it's our turn to use them against those other countries as well," said the Republican.

Biden is to blame

Trump's second term has so far been an "America First" wave on drugs. Whether these plans will ultimately make the USA safe and ensure an economic recovery, as he promises, remains to be seen. However, he has repeatedly blamed his predecessor for the current problems in the country.

"We inherited an economic disaster and an inflation nightmare from the last administration. Their policies drove up energy prices, raised the cost of food and made everyday necessities unaffordable for millions of Americans," Trump said.

Even though there have already been initial verbal confrontations between voters and Republican politicians regarding the aggressive approach of the US government, the majority of Trump voters continue to stand behind their president.

The decline in illegal border crossings and the creation of a Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) were highlighted by Trump as successes. Since his inauguration in January, illegal border crossings along the southern border with Mexico have fallen by more than 90 percent.

"The media and our friends in the Democratic Party kept saying we needed new laws to secure the border - but it turns out we really just needed a new president," said the 78-year-old.

Praise for Musk

DOGE has already saved billions of dollars under the leadership of billionaire and government advisor Elon Musk, Trump said. The opaque and false figures that DOGE has published so far, as well as the legally questionable actions of the authority, have raised concerns even among conservative voters.

Trump also addressed "culture war" issues. Among other things, in his first seven weeks in office he issued two executive orders stating that there are now only two genders in the USA - namely male and female. The participation of biological men in women's sports is prohibited.

For some Democrats, Trump's self-promotion was too much of a good thing. Texas representative Al Green was banished from the plenary hall at the beginning of the speech after he interrupted Trump's speech with shouts of interruption. Other Democrats did not attend at all or left the speech early.

Lots of fake

Still others held up signs and plaques with slogans like "Musk Steals" or "False" when Trump made false claims or comments. And again, there were quite a few of those.

The official response to Trump's speech came from Senator Elissa Slotkin. The former intelligence analyst warned her fellow citizens about the possible economic consequences of Trump's policies. "If he's not careful, he could lead us straight into a recession," she explained.

However, the Democrats are currently struggling to formulate a clear and consistent message to counter Trump's policies. In the end, Trump won over the audience with a speech that addressed exactly the issues that are causing euphoria among his followers and supporters: America above all else.