Mass deportations, layoffs of government employees, shocking foreign policy outbursts – and now, most recently, frozen military aid to Ukraine. President Trump has dominated the news flow since he took office on January 20. During the night to Wednesday, at 03 Swedish time, he will again be in the spotlight as he delivers a live address to both chambers of Congress.
"It's going to be big" writes Trump in capital letters on the platform Truth Social, and hints that some kind of news will be presented.
According to sources to the news agency Reuters, Trump wants to present the mineral agreement with Ukraine during the speech.
No diversity?
The address resembles a State of the Union address, but is not called that when the president is newly elected. Regardless of the speech's name, Trump is expected to lay out his vision and urge Congress to pass laws in line with it. He will likely be met with both protests and applause, but probably mostly applause since both the Senate and the House of Representatives are now dominated by Trump's party, the Republicans.
"Thanks for strong leadership and bold action during your presidency's first days," it said in Speaker Mike Johnson's invitation to Trump to deliver the speech, according to Fox News.
Planned themes will be tax cuts, deregulation, and tightened border security. But the president is also expected to highlight that he has quickly abolished the so-called DEI programs, which focused on diversity, equality, and inclusion within the government apparatus, in his opinion unnecessary. Trump is also expected to talk about his election victory in November and claim that his first five weeks are the "most productive in American history", according to NPR.
Michigan Senator responds
Donald Trump gave a taste of his rhetoric when he met the press together with French President Emmanuel Macron last week.
People say it was the best (first) month a president has had in our country's history. I hope it's true, it feels true, he said then.
The Democrats' response speech will be held by Elissa Slotkin, Senator from Michigan.
Tina Magnergård Bjers/TT
Facts: Support for Donald Trump
TT
Republican Donald Trump took office on January 20 for his second term as President of the United States. The controversial Trump evokes strong emotions but has wind in his sails in public opinion:
Currently, 48.6 percent of Americans believe the president is doing a good job, and 47.4 percent that he is not. It is slightly lower than at the inauguration but high compared to Trump's previous term.
The proportion of citizens who believe that the US is developing in the right direction is now at 42 percent, a figure that has increased by nearly 14 percentage points since Donald Trump took office.
Source: Real Clear Politics compilation of current measurements
