President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on Mar. 4 2025. In President Trump’s address to Congress and the American people he mentioned divisive and relevant topics to voters, including immigration, economy and foreign policy.
The opposition party oftentimes protests these events as they want to showcase their disagreements with the political party in charge. During the Biden Administration, many Republican Representatives and Senators protested his congressional addresses. These protests range from wearing Laken Riley pins and buttons, a Georgia nursing student that was killed by an undocumented immigrant, to inviting guests to make a political statement, skipping the address, verbal disruptions and wearing symbolic clothing.
This address was no different, as many Democratic Senators and Representatives protested this event. These protests took many forms, including wearing pink outfits, protest signs, skipping the address and a verbal disruption. The pink outfits were worn as it was a way to protest but not interrupt. The color pink was chosen as it was meant to “focus on Trump’s betrayal of America’s women in favor of billionaires,” the Democratic Women’s Caucus said in a press release. Many Democratic politicians held up signs with the messages “Musk Steals,” “Save Medicaid,” “False,” “No King” and “This Is Not Normal.” Ten Democratic Congress members skipped the Joint Address. Among those who skipped the proceedings were Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy, Oregon Senator Ron Wyden, Washington Senator Patty Murray and New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich.
During the Joint Address to Congress, Texas Representative Al Green, a Democrat who has represented the state’s 9th Congressional District since 2005, interrupted President Trump and waved his cane at the podium. Representative Green shouted, “You, [Trump] have no mandate to cut Medicaid.” Representative Green was removed after House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana directed the sergeant-at-arms to remove him from the chamber. On Mar. 6, he was censured in a 224–198–2 vote, with 10 Democrats joining every Republican in voting in favor of the censure. This is considered a mark on the record of a lawmaker, but does not typically carry consequences beyond having the member stand in the well of the House as the resolution detailing their transgressions is read aloud. The House of Representatives is expressly authorized within the U.S. Constitution to discipline its own members for violating these rules.
At these joint addresses, the White House and lawmakers are able to invite guests. At this joint address, the guests included fired federal workers, Medicaid beneficiaries, firefighters, law enforcements, small business owners affected by tariffs and media personalities. The joint address continued after the removal of Representative Green. President Trump used the rest of the address to talk about key policies that he hopes his administration will enact.
During the Biden-Harris Administration, many Americans heard stories of “migrant crime” and border crossings. Immigration quickly became a key issue in the 2024 Presidential Election. In President Trump’s joint address to Congress, he criticized the Biden Administration’s handling of the border, shared the impact of immigration on local communities such as Aurora, Colorado and Springfield, Ohio and policy proposals. In President Trump’s address to Congress he discussed his administration’s accomplishments thus far, “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 crossers ever recorded,” President Trump claimed.
From the cost of groceries to affordable housing, the economy is a major issue in voters’ minds. The Trump’s Administration seeks to “defeat inflation, bring down mortgage rates, lower car payments and grocery prices, protect our seniors and put more money in the pockets of American families,” President Trump said. This highlights the core issues that the Trump Administration wants to tackle as his administration seeks to “Make America Affordable Again.”
The world and the economy are intertwined with one another, and the Trump Administration has laid out plans for United States foreign policy. These changes include America seeking to acquire territories overseas and changes in International alliances. President Trump has repeatedly said that he wants to acquire Greenland and the Panama Canal.
Greenland has vast resources and is located in a strategic part of the world. President Trump said, “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.” This shows the administration’s reasons to acquire Greenland as they view it as essential to global security and power. Greenland is located in the Arctic Ocean and is a gateway to resources in the Arctic. It also serves as a highly strategic military location as it is the shortest route between North America and Europe. The Panama Canal is the quickest route between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. “The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others. But others could use it. But it was built at a tremendous cost of American blood and treasure. 38,000 workers died building the Panama Canal,” President Trump said. The Panama Canal is an essential part of the global supply chain as it connects the world oceans. Through withdrawing from multiple worldwide organizations, changing the information the United States shares with the world, President Trump is changing America’s role in the world.
President Trump’s joint address to Congress highlighted his Administration’s priorities. Debates have been sparked over the administration’s policies and plans, though it has been made clear what the Administration is trying to focus on over the next four years.
