Sawt Falasteen - 'America is back,' Trump declares in divisive Congress speech

In the longest presidential speech to lawmakers on record, the Republican repeatedly hailed billionaire advisor Elon Musk's controversial assault on the federal bureaucracy and said his administration was "just getting started".

"The American Dream is unstoppable," said Trump in a speech lasting over one hour and 40 minutes, which beat Bill Clinton's record for his State of the Union speech in 2000.

Almost every line got loud applause from Republican Party members, including on two occasions when Trump singled out SpaceX and Tesla tycoon Musk, who stood up to salute Congress.

But protests also began within minutes.

One Democratic congressman, Al Green, was ejected because he refused to stop heckling Trump over healthcare programs, and shaking his walking stick at the president.

Other Democrats silently held up placards including "False" and "Musk steals" and "That's a lie!"

And at one moment, numerous Democrats yelled "January 6!" at Trump, referring to his supporters' violent attack on the Capitol in 2021 after he refused to concede his election loss.

The 78-year-old president was undeterred, hailing his first six weeks and vowing to press on with his polarizing bid to reshape the US government and end the Ukraine war -- whatever the cost.

- Reality TV style -

Trump reverted to his tried-and-tested reality TV instincts. At one point he called attention to a boy with brain cancer who -- in front of Congress -- was handed an official ID by the head of the Secret Service.

But in what mostly sounded like a campaign speech rather than an address to the nation, Trump made no attempt to reach out to opponents and at times mocked them.

To cheers of "USA" and "Trump, Trump, Trump", he proclaimed that his culture war on diversity programs and transgender rights meant "our country will be woke no longer."

He claimed that he was trying to resolve an "economic catastrophe," despite inheriting the strongest developed economy in the world from his Democratic predecessor Joe Biden.

He defended his disruptive economic moves -- even as the trade war he launched against Canada, China and Mexico is prompting jitters on world markets.

"We have been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on earth," Trump said.

After a torrent of warnings that tariffs will badly hurt US exporters, including politically powerful farmers, he conceded they would bring "a little disturbance."

And after enumerating a series of murders committed by migrants, Trump got big applause when he vowed to "wage war" on Mexican drug cartels.

Well before he had finished, dozens of Democrats had already walked out.

- Quest for power -

Trump is pushing to extend presidential power to its limits, with the popular vote behind him and a Republican-controlled House and Senate doing his bidding.

Aided by Musk, Trump has cracked down on the federal bureaucracy, firing thousands of workers, shuttering entire agencies and decimating foreign aid.

"The days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over," Trump said.

But there are early signs in the polls that Trump's sweeping cuts and his failure to tackle inflation are hitting his popularity.

Trump is also upending US foreign policy with his pivot to Moscow over the Ukraine war, which has stunned Kyiv and allies alike.

Days after a televised row in the Oval Office with Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump said Ukraine's leader had told him he was now ready for talks with Russia and a US minerals deal.

"I received an important letter from President Zelensky of Ukraine. The letter reads (that) Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer," Trump said.

Trump also doubled down on his controversial vows on "taking back" the Panama Canal and getting Greenland from Denmark by "one way or another."

Democrats have so far struggled to counter Trump's flood-the-zone strategy and his hogging of the news cycle with constant press conferences.

On the Democrats' rebuttal speech, Senator Elissa Slotkin aimed her sober address at middleclass Americans, calling Trump and Musk "reckless" at home and giving up on "American leadership" abroad.

W.AbuLaban--SF-PST