While speaking to Congress on March 4, President Donald Trump boasted of his administration’s accomplishments in his first 43 days of office.
“Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden age of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years, and we are just getting started,” he opened his speech.
Here are eight early claims from his speech.
Trump says he has the greatest start of a presidency of all time
Early in his speech, Trump compared himself to George Washington, the first person to hold the office of the President of the United States.
“It has been stated by many that the first month of our presidency … is the most successful in the history of our nation,” Trump said without citing any source. “And what makes it even more impressive is that, do you know who number two is George Washington? How about that? I don’t know about that list, but we’ll take it.”
Donald Trump’s speech to Congress on March 3, 2025.
abc
Trump says there is nothing he can do to make Democrats “smile” or “stand”
Trump turned his attention towards the Democratic section of the assembly, many of whom wore pink in protest.
“I look at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud. Nothing I can do. I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history, or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded,” Trump said. “And these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand, and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements.”
Trump says Biden sent egg prices out of control
“The egg prices are out of control, and we’re working hard to get it back down,” Trump said of inflation.
He then instructed the Secretary of Agriculture to “do a good job on that. You inherited a total mess from the previous administration. Do a good job.” Trump did not include context around bird flu, which Politifact notes heavily impacted egg prices during the previous administration led by President Biden.
Trump outlines what he calls “wasteful spending,” including “making mice transgender”
Trump outlined a list of spending, mostly to foreign nations, that he called “appalling waste.”
Among the items he listed, he included “$8 million for making mice transgender,” something Republican Representative Nancy Mace had blasted in a subcomittee hearing in February.
Vice President JD Vance and Rep. Nancy Mace at Trump’s speech on March 4, 2025.
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty
Trump says he is “very superstitious,” so he will be enacting reciprocal tariffs on April 2, not April 1
Speaking about reciprocal tariffs, Trump says they will make American businesses more competitive with those of other countries. He says the tariffs will increase prices on foreign goods to make domestic goods more appealing to U.S. consumers. The president noted that because he is “very superstitious,” he will be enacting those tariffs on April 2, presumably a reference to April Fool’s Day.
Leading up to the presidential address — which took the place of a State of the Union speech this year — Trump posted on Truth Social with an all-caps promise.
“TOMORROW NIGHT WILL BE BIG,” he wrote on Monday, March 3. “I WILL TELL IT LIKE IT IS!”
Trump says it’s time to “end senseless war” between Ukraine and Russia
Days after a contentious meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy that ended in Zelenskyy abruptly leaving the White House, Trump reaffirmed his commitment to helping forge peace between warring Russia and Ukraine.
“Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelensky of Ukraine,” Trump said. “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.’ (Zelenskyy) 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.’ ”
Trump added that “simultaneously, we’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace.”
“It’s time to stop this madness. It’s time to halt the killing. It’s time to end the senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides,” Trump concluded.
Trump says the United States is going to get Greenland “one way or another”
Trump directly addressed the citizens of Greenland, which he said has “a very small population, but very, very large piece of land and very, very important for military security.”
“We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America,” he said to its people, who are technically Danish citizens.
“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. ”
Trump has his sights set on Mars
Greenland isn’t the only land Trump has his sights on.
Towards the end of his speech, he set his goals beyond Earth, declaring “We’re going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars and even far beyond.”
In late January, NASA was one of the many federal agencies at risk of having their funds frozen by the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget. However, two days later, the memo was rescinded.
Trump has not specifically outlined his plans for the space program. However, Elon Musk, who heads the Department of Government, is the owner of SpaceX, a private space technology company.
Prior to his Capitol Hill appearance, the president made several controversial political announcements, drawing criticism from world leaders before his speech had even begun.
He followed through on one of his major campaign promises on Monday, March 3, announcing 25% tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, which immediately provoked condemnation from leaders of the two North American allies. It had also an immediate impact on the stock market, with the S&P 500 index down 2% within hours.
President Donald Trump walks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after a White House meeting on Feb. 13, 2017.
Outgoing Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau responded to the tariffs in a live press conference Tuesday, saying, “I want to speak first directly to the American people. We don’t want this… We don’t want to see you hurt either. But your government has chosen to do this to you.”
“As of this morning, markets are down and inflation is set to rise dramatically,” Trudeau added, then addressing Trump directly. “Donald … it’s not in my habit to agree with the Wall Street Journal, but Donald, they point out that even though you’re a very smart guy, this is a very dumb thing to do. We two friends fighting is exactly what our opponents around the world want to see.”
Some of Trudeau’s other comments, however, were less friendly toward the American president.
“They’re talking about working positively with Russia, appeasing Vladimir Putin — a lying, murderous, dictator,” the prime minister continued of Trump’s administration. “Make that make sense. Canadians are reasonable and we are polite. But we will not back down from a fight … Canada will be implementing 25% tariffs against $155b of American goods.”
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum also announced on Tuesday that Mexico will impose retaliatory taxes on U.S. goods, The Associated Press reported. More information about which products will be targeted is set to be announced on Sunday.
Donald Trump speaks about tariffs on March 3, 2025, accompanied by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and businessman C.C. Wei.
ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty
Trump’s big speech in the House chamber on Tuesday also arrived one day after cutting off all U.S. aid to Ukraine following a heated Feb. 28 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office.
The president’s abrupt dismissal of Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials after their peace negotiations broke down with a shouting match has left many wondering whether Trump will turn his back on Ukraine as he looks to bring a swift end to Russia’s three-year invasion.
When Zelenskyy shared on March 2 that he believed an end to the war was still “very, very far away,” Trump escalated their feud, saying, “This is the worst statement that could have been made by Zelenskyy, and America will not put up with it for much longer!”
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President Donald Trump, and Vice President JD Vance had a tense meeting in the White House on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025.
Jim Lo Scalzo/Epa/Bloomberg via Getty
Disruptions during presidential addresses to Congress have become fairly commonplace in recent years amid growing partisanship in American politics.
Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, had all three of his State of the Union speeches interrupted by Republican lawmakers or protestors — including Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Andy Ogles.
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Disruptive behavior isn’t exclusive to the Republican Party, either. In 2020, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi stood and tore her copy of President Trump’s address following his speech.
“She felt ‘liberated’ … He was shredding the truth, she said, so she would shred his speech,” wrote Susan Page, author of Madam Speaker: Nancy Pelosi and the Lessons of Power, of the moment.
“She was steaming,” Page added. “In fact, it was the one time we saw Donald Trump really get under Nancy Pelosi’s skin. She got under his skin all the time. That was the one time she did not act in the kind of disciplined way, which is usually her manner.”
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