13 Winners and Losers From Trump’s Address to Congress

President Donald Trump turned his joint address to Congress into a rally Tuesday night, declaring “America is back,” and connecting the vigorous actions taken in the first six weeks of his administration to the campaign promises made en route to a mandate victory for Republicans in the 2024 election.

Trump’s speech came just six weeks after he was sworn in as the 47th president, and while it was not an official State of the Union address, the night generated all the pomp and circumstance of such an address. The president’s partly polemic, partly playful, and partly pressing speech brought Republicans to cheers and tears.

Democrats, on the other hand, held up signs reading “false” during much of Trump’s address and refused to stand for Trump’s invited guests—including D.J. Daniel, a child with brain cancer Trump made an honorary member of the Secret Service.

Here are who—and what—emerged as winners and losers after Trump’s 100-minute joint address.

WINNERS

President Donald Trump

It would be an understatement to suggest Trump took a victory lap in his joint address to Congress.

Trump came back into the House chamber with a vengeance, fueled by the nation’s success. “America is back,” Trump declared, because of his and Republicans’ electoral victory in November. The country, Trump said, is near the break of “dawn of the golden age of America.”

Democrats, meanwhile, remained seated and did not clap at the prospect of an American revival.

The president had zero hesitation connecting the nation’s potential renewal to his electoral victory in November, boasting not only his Electoral College margin of victory, but also the popular vote, which Trump described as “a date which will hopefully go down as one of the most important days in our country’s history.”

“The American dream is surging bigger and better than ever before,” Trump added. “The American dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed.”

“I was saved by God to make America great again. I believe that,” Trump said while honoring the life of Corey Comperatore, a father, husband, and firefighter who was killed during the assassination attempt on Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania, last summer.

“The golden age of America has only just begun,” the president said, ending one of the longest spoken addresses to a joint session of Congress in American history.

Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland

William McFarland, the House sergeant-at-arms, had a larger role than usual during the joint address to Congress. 

McFarland, the House’s chief law enforcement officer, is often featured when the president addresses Congress because he introduces the president into the chamber and escorts him to the rostrum. Tuesday night, however, McFarland had to remove Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, from the House chamber.

He removed the 78-year-old with a cane without force but much fanfare.

When Trump began his speech by suggesting “America is back” and stands on the cusp of a new “golden age,” as well as recapitulating his victory in the 2024 election, the 78-year-old Houston congressman tried to interrupt the president from the floor. Green pointedly waved his cane at the rostrum while heckling the president. The president, as he’s known to do, continued his speech and steamrollered Green while making a gesture to eject Green from the chamber. 

Nevertheless, Green persisted.

Vice President JD Vance also signaled for Green’s removal and, after two warnings from House Speaker Mike Johnson to maintain decorum, Green was removed by McFarland.

DOGE

Trump recognized Department of Government Efficiency leader Elon Musk before providing a laundry list of “appalling waste” that has been uncovered. The list included “$8 million for making mice transgender.” No, that’s not a joke.

The Department of Health and Human Services spent $22 billion “to provide free housing and cars for illegal aliens,” Trump said. 

DOGE found “$47 million for diversity, equity, and inclusion scholarships in Burma” and “$40 million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants; nobody knows what that is,” Trump said as the crowd broke into laughter. 

The American Farmer

“I love the farmer,” Trump said, after discussing that reciprocal tariffs will take effect April 2, meaning that America will place equal tariffs on goods coming from nations that put tariffs on U.S. goods. 

“The tariffs will go on agricultural goods,” Trump said, adding, “Our farmers are going to have a field day.” 

Trump said there was likely to be a period of adjustment when the tariffs take effect, but told farmers to “have a lot of fun.”

Democracy

Trump vowed to restore “true democracy” by tackling the entrenched federal bureaucracy, vowing firings. 

He signed an executive order to recategorize certain federal bureaucrats under “Schedule F,” making it easier to fire them. 

Conservatives have long argued the administrative state has thwarted the goals of elected officials.

“My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy, and we will restore true democracy to America again,” Trump said. 

“Any federal bureaucrat who resists this change will be removed from office immediately because we are draining the swamp. It’s very simple. And the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over,” the president added. “My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy, and we will restore true democracy to America again.’’ 

D.J. Daniel

In one of the more moving moments of the night, Trump honored Devarjaye “D.J.” Daniel, a 13-year-old who has spent years battling a rare form of brain and spinal cancer. 

D.J. sat next to his dad in a police uniform and Trump explained that the young man has always dreamed of becoming a police officer. Trump made D.J. a Secret Service agent.

Greenland

Trump invited the people of Greenland to become Americans. 

“We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America,” Trump said. 

The president said America “needs Greenland” for national security, adding, “I think we’re going to get it.”

“I have a message for the incredible people of Greenland,” Trump continued.   

“We will keep you safe. We will make you rich, and together, we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before,” he said. 

LOSERS

Rep. Al Green

It took just minutes for Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, to get forcibly removed from the House chamber by the House Sergeant-at-Arms William McFarland. 

When Trump began his speech by suggesting “America is back” and stood on the cusp of a new “golden age,” as well as recapitulating his victory in the 2024 election, the 78-year-old congressman tried to interrupt the president from the floor. Green pointedly waved his cane at the rostrum while heckling the president. The president, as he’s known to do, continued his speech while making a gesture to eject Green from the chamber. Nevertheless, Green persisted.

Vice President JD Vance also signaled for Green’s removal and, after two warnings from House Speaker Mike Johnson to maintain decorum, Green was removed by McFarland.

Green spoke to the White House traveling press after getting booted from the chamber.

He said that he had repeatedly yelled at Trump that the president had “no mandate” to cut Medicaid. 

“It’s worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up” to Trump, the congressman said.

President Joe Biden

Trump took multiple opportunities during Tuesday night’s speech to take swipes at former President Joe Biden, calling him the “worst president in American history.”

“As you know, we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe,” Trump said, before blaming Biden for the high price of eggs. 

Trump also bashed Biden’s energy policies, saying the previous administration cut the number of new oil and gas leases by 95%.

Trump laid blame at Biden’s feet for the number of criminal illegal aliens who entered the country under the Biden administration, including the illegal immigrant who took the life of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley. 

“Because of Joe Biden’s insane and very dangerous open-border policies, they are now strongly embedded into our country,” Trump said of criminal illegal aliens, then praising the work of border czar Tom Homan and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to remove them.

Criminal Illegal Immigrants 

Trump touted his success at the southern border and highlighted the significant decline in border crossings since he took office.

In February, there were 8,326 illegal alien encounters at the southern border, compared with the same month in previous years: 189,913 in 2024; 156,630 in 2023; and 166,010 in 2022, according to Customs and Border Protection.  

“While we take out the criminals, killers, traffickers, and child predators … we will now bring in brilliant hardworking, job-creating people,” Trump said. “They’re going to pay a lot of money, and we’re going to reduce our debt with that money,” Trump said, referring to a proposal for a new visa program that would offer permanent residency to the tune of $5 million. 

Trump highlighted his executive order designating members of Tren de Aragua, MS-13, and other illegal alien criminal organizations as domestic terrorists. 

These criminal illegal aliens are “now officially in the same category as ISIS, and that’s not good for them,” he said. 

“Every last one” of these criminal illegal aliens “will be rounded up and forcibly removed from our country, or if they are too dangerous, put in jails, standing trial in this country because we don’t want them to come back ever.” 

Gender Ideology

Trump touted his executive orders reversing Biden’s policies on gender ideology, and he celebrated members of the audience who had suffered as a result of men playing in women’s sports.

“Our country will be woke no longer,” he declared.

“I signed an order making it the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders—male and female,” the president noted.

He told the story of Payton McNabb, a female volleyball player who suffered an injury competing against a biological male who identified as female. 

“Three years ago, Payton McNabb was an all-star high school athlete, preparing for a future in college sports, but when her girls volleyball match was invaded by a male, he smashed the ball so hard in Payton’s face, causing traumatic brain injury, partially paralyzing her right side,” he said. “Payton is here tonight in the gallery, and Peyton, from now on, schools will kick the men off the girls team or they will lose all federal funding.”

Other opponents of gender ideology attended the speech, including January Littlejohn, who sued her school board for allowing her 13-year-old daughter to “transition” without her consent. 

Trump denounced gender ideology as “a big lie,” and said, “Our message to every child in America is that you are perfect exactly the way God made you.”

Riley Gaines, a swimmer who had to compete against biological male Lia Thomas, also attended, as did Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh, who made a film criticizing gender ideology.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Trump shot down objections to his Ukraine war policy from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., by calling her “Pocahontas,” a nickname the president himself gave her after she embellished her American Indian heritage.

When Trump addressed the war in Ukraine, he broke from the teleprompter when he heard murmurs coming from the Democratic side of the House chamber. The president rhetorically asked if members of Congress would prefer to “keep [the war] going for another five years?” Off-screen, Warren apparently said yes, to which the president shot back, “Pocahontas says yes.”

The cameras cut to Warren, who clapped with a wry smile.

Endless Wars

Trump repeated his clarion call for peace in Ukraine, urging peace with Russia. 

“Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this … brutal conflict, with no end in sight,” the president noted. He noted that the U.S. has spent hundreds of billions of dollars helping Ukraine, and lamented that “Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine.”

According to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, the European Union spent $23 billion on Russian oil and gas in 2024, more than the $19.6 billion it gave in financial aid to Kyiv.

Trump noted a letter he received from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in which Zelenskyy said he would be willing to come back to the table to negotiate an end to the war. 

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