A Breakdown of President Donald Trump’s Address to Congress

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On Tuesday March 4, 2025, President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of congress. It had all of the pomp and circumstance of a State of the Union Address, but because this is the beginning of President Donald Trump’s first year in office following Joe Biden’s presidency, Trump followed the tradition of presidents in their first year addressing congress in a different fashion and saving the state of the union (SOTU) for after they have completed their first year. The main difference between the two, besides tenure, is that the SOTU is called the State of the Union and that it happens prior to March; with respect to tradition.

This contributes to the backdrop in part because, I was guilty of this as well, by calling the speech the State of the Union, which again, I and other members of the citizenry were doing, including pundits and lawmakers, we therefore put an unnecessary and certainly unprecedented expectation on Trump’s remarks. If you can admit a mistake on this part then I think you can get a pass, but some people were adamant.

As Trump ticked off what he considers to be accomplishments the democrats were resolute in their defiance. At one point Trump calls them out and says, effectively, that no matter how much good he does the democrats would not celebrate it… And they didn’t. The democrats are the losers on this one. They couldn’t cheer for unity. You don’t have to approve of all that he is doing to agree with the things you agree with. A plurality of Americans agrees with Trump, and he was able to capture that feeling. Not riding that wave makes you at least slightly out of touch.

The problem is that the democrats don’t really have anything noteworthy to dissent on. Based on their behavior they are for endless war in Ukraine, harmful sexual ideology, illegal immigration and open borders, big pharma, wasteful spending, regulations, a weak dollar, harmful environmentalism, disingenuous governance, corruption, putting party over country, Trump Derangement Syndrome in its final form and staggering impotency. They don’t want to concede, not even a bit. When Trump called for unity Nancy Pelosi’s hand was tight fisted.

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The democrats were throwing a temper tantrum. And it was unfortunate. It’s unfortunate to have to give that attention instead of giving real oppositional counter points, attention. All the democrats can do right now is gaslight, use ad hominems, and flail. They don’t want to go to the left which could get them out of this funk, because left policies aren’t good for the democrat’s base, generally speaking. And center left or common-sense policies are apparently a bridge too far. Democrats are having a mood.

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Democrat representative from Texas, Al Green’s moment was historical but at least out of touch, not warranted for a removal. Democrats have no substantive or sticky push back because regardless of how one may like to weigh the numbers, this Trump administration is popular.

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The speech clocked in at one of if not the longest addresses to congress in history, lasting over 90 minutes. Everything about the speech was to be expected. There was no major news on Ukraine, which most people were hoping their would be. It’s the golden age.

The only real push back being mounted is coming from Bernie Sanders, which is a little to late at this point given the toothlessness of the democrat party when forcing the hand of someone part of their own party. Bernie notoriously didn’t get any concessions from Biden when he decided to drop out and fall in line in the 2020 presidential race, behind Joe Biden, when for all intense and purposes he (Sanders) was polling better. The only credibility Sanders has for his criticism of this administration as it is currently, is that he’s been saying the same thing for 50 years. Consistency and ineffectiveness can only get you so far.

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Democrat senator of Michigan, Elissa Slotkin, gave the democratic response which consisted of kitchen table whataboutisms. The most coherent message coming through from the democratic party right now is Trump hasn’t done enough yet. He’s been in office for less than two months, and democrats just finished controlling the White House and senate, and before that the White House, and both chambers of congress. Besides the litany of cultural issues the democrats failed on, what did they substantively do about the cost of energy and eggs? You don’t get credit for fixing a problem you started, and you can’t complain about things not getting done when you just finished being in power and doing evidently not enough about the problems now being complained about (for example, Biden not giving at least one more extension to COVID era policies, like the eviction moratorium and choosing to end the child tax credit and restarting college loan repayment).

All in all the address was mainly theater particularly on the democrats side which again, is unfortunate. One of the saddest parts of this whole saga was probably when Nicolle Wallace of MSNBC basically wished death upon a 13 year old boy who battled brain cancer. Democrats are losing right now for a myriad of reasons. They are sore losers and feckless, and momentum is consolidating within the republican party.