(NewsNation) — President Donald Trump talked immigration, among other topics, during his joint address to Congress on Tuesday.
He declared his administration has launched the “most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history.”
“The media and our friends in the Democrat Party kept saying we needed new legislation to secure the border — but it turned out that all we really needed was a new president,” Trump told Congress.
Referencing the Laken Riley Act, the first bill he signed after his reelection, he introduced Riley’s mother and sister as guests of honor at the address. Riley was a Georgia nursing student killed by a Venezulean national in the country illegally.
When it came to the economy, Trump pledged to work “every day to reverse damage and make America affordable again.”
Trump said his predecessor Joe Biden let egg prices get “out of control,” and said his administration is working on getting the prices back down, without elaborating on exactly what they are doing.
“We inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare,” Trump said.
He also said the U.S. has more “liquid gold” than any other nation and that he is authorizing a team “to go and get it.”
“Frankly, we have never seen anything like it. That’s why, on my first day in office, I declared a national energy emergency. … Now, I fully authorize the most talented team ever assembled to go and get it. It’s called ‘drill, baby drill,’” Trump said.
Trump said he’ll also “take historic action” to expand the production of critical minerals and rare earths as soon as this week.
One action Trump touted was his creation of the Department of Government Efficiency.
He portrayed these cuts as crucial cost-saving measures, though the program was originally initiated by Republican predecessor George W. Bush.
At the beginning of Trump’s speech, Texas Democratic Rep. Al Green was escorted out of the House of Representatives chamber for standing up and saying “You don’t have a mandate” on Medicaid.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan gave the Democratic response to Trump’s address.
While she acknowledged the last election showed Americans want change, Slotkin said “there’s a responsible way to make change, and a reckless way.”
“And we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy,” Slotkin said.
“President (Donald) Trump is trying to deliver a giveaway” to his richest supporters, Sen. Elissa Slotkin said.
Slotkin said the tariffs now imposed on Canadian and Mexican goods will raise prices.
“If he is not careful, he could walk us right into a recession,” she said.
Slotkin touched upon foreign affairs, saying Trump believes in “cozying up to dictators” like Russian President Vladimir Putin and sees American leadership as a series of real estate transactions.
“As a Cold War kid, I’m thankful it was Reagan and not Trump in office in the 1980s,” Slotkin said. “Trump would have lost us the Cold War.”