'America is back' Donald Trump declares as 'triggered' Democrats booted from Congress after protest

"America's momentum, spirit, pride, and confidence are back," Trump told lawmakers.

He wasted no time highlighting what he described as his administration's achievements, claiming they had accomplished more in just 43 days than most past administrations managed in four or eight years.

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

Trump's entrance to the chamber was met with loud chants of "USA" from his supporters.

But protests began within minutes of his speech starting.

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Democratic Representative Al Green was ordered to be ejected after refusing to stop heckling and shaking his walking stick at the President.

"You have no mandate," Green shouted at Trump before being removed from the chamber.

Green told NBC following the event that when Trump spoke it "triggered something" in him.

He said: "When he said he had a mandate, it triggered something. It really did. Because he doesn't have a mandate, and he doesn't have a mandate to cut health care from poor people."

Other Democrats silently held up placards with messages including "False", "Musk steals", "Protect Veterans" and "That's a lie!"

At one point, numerous Democrats yelled "January 6!" at Trump, in reference to his supporters' attack on the Capitol in 2021.

Some Democrats walked out well before Trump had finished speaking.

WHAT DID YOU MAKE OF TRUMP'S SPEECH IN CONGRESS? CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE COMMENTS

Trump defended his disruptive economic policies, including the recent imposition of significant tariffs on Mexico and Canada that have sparked concerns of a potential trade war.

"Whatever they tax us, we will tax them," he explained, outlining how the new "reciprocal tariffs" would take effect on April 2.

The President criticised the European Union, India, Mexico, and Brazil for imposing trade policies he deemed unfair to Americans.

"We've been ripped off for decades by every country on Earth, and we will not let that happen any longer," he said, acknowledging that although the tariffs would create some "disturbance", the country would be "OK with that".

He claimed his administration would "take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before".

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT TRUMP'S TARIFFS? CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE COMMENTS

Trump then said his administration has rushed to ban diversity and inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government.

"Our country will be 'woke' no longer," he stated to loud applause before then turning his attention to his 'Law and Order' message from his campaign trail.

"As we reclaim our sovereignty, we must also bring back law and order to our cities and towns," he said.

"In recent years, our justice system has been turned upside down by Radical Left lunatics."

Trump framed Democratic-led cities as overwhelmed by violence, despite statistics showing a decline in violent crime following a spike during the Covid pandemic.

POLL OF THE DAY: Has Donald Trump been right to force Volodymyr Zelensky into peace in Ukraine?

Elon Musk was among those attending the primetime televised address with Trump singling out the world's richest man on two occasions during his speech, prompting the tech billionaire to stand up and salute Congress.

The Tesla and SpaceX founder has been serving as a key adviser to Trump since his return to power and has aided Trump's crackdown on federal bureaucracy, which has included firing thousands of workers and shuttering entire agencies.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF TRUMP'S STANCE ON UKRAINE? CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR SAY IN THE COMMENTS

Trump's speech today came just hours after he paused all military aid to Ukraine, a move that has alarmed European allies.

In his speech, Trump reiterated it was time to end the "senseless war" in Ukraine and claimed to have received a letter from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stating he was "ready" for peace negotiations.

"Simultaneously, we've had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace," Trump said. "Wouldn't that be beautiful?"

"It's time to stop this madness. It's time to halt the killing. It's time to end this senseless war. If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides."

Trump was expected to further outline his plans for Ukraine and Russia in the speech to Congress, but did not reveal any further details on how he plans to end Europe's biggest conflict since World War Two.

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His comments on Ukraine come just a day after JD Vance was branded "deeply disrespectful" after he dismissed Britain's military contributions and Sir Keir Starmer's offer of UK and French troops to help maintain peace in Ukraine if a deal to end the war is reached.

Speaking to Fox News, Vance said the offer amounted to "20,000 troops from some random country that hasn't fought a war in 30 or 40 years".

The UK and France have indicated readiness to contribute ground troops, with Canada, Italy and Poland as other potential participants.

However, Starmer has clarified that UK troops would not be deployed without security guarantees from the US.

Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge responded sharply to Vance, pointing out that Nato's Article 5 has only been invoked once - by the US after the 9/11 attacks.

He wrote on X: "And [Britain] came to their aid deploying 1,000s of personnel to Afghanistan, including my own brother and numerous parliamentary colleagues, past and present.

"It's deeply disrespectful to ignore such service & sacrifice."

As his speech wound down, Trump touched on his attempted assassination last year at a rally in Pennsylvania.

"I was saved by God to make America great again," he said.

Trump continued by outlining his vision for America's future, emphasising that "the golden age of America" had only just begun.

"We are a country of doers, dreamers, fighters and survivors," the president proclaimed before vowing the US would lead humanity into space and plant its flag on Mars "and even far beyond".

"This will be our greatest area... we will fight, fight, fight for the country our citizens believe in, and the country our citizens deserve."

Trump concluded by reiterating that his administration was "just getting started" after less than two months back in power.

Following the speech, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi condemned Trump on X, accusing the President of spreading "mistruths".

"He’s lying," Pelosi wrote on X.

"The budget plan passed by House Republicans adds $4 trillion to the national debt and increases the deficit.

"And it gives tax cuts to billionaires and big corporations — while ripping away health care for millions of Americans by making huge cuts to Medicaid."

She continued: "He promised to bring down inflation on day one. He didn’t.

"He promised to bring down the cost of living on day one. He didn’t.

"Now his budget plan gives tax breaks to billionaires while ripping away health care from millions of Americans. Republicans voted for it with glee.

"Just like the last time he addressed the Congress, President Trump’s speech tonight was another manifesto of mistruths.

"Democrats will continue to lead the fight against President Trump's bait-and-switch assault on America — while Republicans stand and applaud it."