Trump Congress speech LIVE updates: US President praises Elon Musk’s DOGE, defends Canada, China tariffs; Al Green removed from chamber

Thanks for joining me on our live blog of US President Donald Trump’s address to Congress.

You can read US correspondent Michael Koziol’s report on the address here.

Here are its main points:

• Trump was conciliatory in his tone on Ukraine, raising hopes his relationship with Volodymyr Zelensky could be salvaged;
• but he remained very tough on tariffs declaring retaliatory action on countries would begin on April 2;
• Trump also announced plans to resurrect the US shipbuilding industry in a move that could have implications for the AUKUS defence pact;
• Trump praised the work of Elon Musk and declared his drive against inefficiency and government spending would continue;
• Trump finished by saying God had saved his life so he could “make America great again”;
• the speech ran for more than 90 minutes, making it the longest given to Congress in more than 60 years.

Wall Street has been betting on the “Trump put” - predicting that a potential backlash from financial markets would discipline the US president’s use of his beloved tariffs. It may have lost the bet, or perhaps not, senior business columnist Stephen Bartholomeusz writes.

Wall Street is reeling from the effects of White House policies.Credit: Michael Nagle

The thinking is that Donald Trump’s penchant for using the stock market as a report card meant that sell-downs that showed investors were rattled by a policy would cause him to quickly ditch those plans. Various Wall Street firms guessed how much pain he could tolerate in the S&P 500 before retreating. That index level became known as “the Trump put,” in reference to a put option.

China will ramp up spending to kick-start its sluggish economy and counter the pressure applied by US President Donald Trump’s tariff war, in the process creating its highest budget deficit in 30 years.

The plan was announced in Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s annual work report to parliament at the opening of the country’s rubber-stamp parliament on Wednesday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping adjusts his jacket as he listens at the opening session of the National People’s Congress.Credit: Getty Images

Li announced a GDP growth target of around 5 per cent, maintaining the party’s expectations from last year in the face of a ratcheting trade feud with America, as he laid out the country’s economic blueprint at the opening of the legislature at The Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

North Asia correspondent Lisa Visentin reports.

“This was a speech of exhilaration for Trump and outrage for the Democrats,” senior fellow at the United State Study Centre, Bruce Wolpe, said.

“It was also a very pugnacious address. Trump’s contempt for President [Joe] Biden and the Democrats in Congress was palpable throughout.

“On Trump’s two most emotive issues - immigration and trade - Trump is continuing to use them to dominate the political landscape.

US President Donald Trump departs following a joint session of Congress.Credit: Bloomberg

“With regard to Australia, two passages of interest. There was no easing of pressure, especially on Canada, with respect to trade. If Trump can act so aggressively against Canada, that means he may well target Australia on aluminium and reciprocal tariffs. He is not in the mood for exemptions from his tariffs. We are not out of the woods yet.

“Trump also mentioned a new domestic shipbuilding program. It is unclear what that new initiative means, and whether there is good or bad news for AUKUS.

In raw political terms, Trump claimed victory over his domain, and he will pursue it relentlessly.”

First-term Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin accused Donald Trump of driving up costs while pushing for an “unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends” in the Democratic response to his speech, AP reports.

Slotkin, just months into her first term after winning an open Michigan seat despite Trump carrying the state, said Trump had not laid out a credible plan to tackle rising everyday expenses for Americans. She said tariffs that went into effect early on Tuesday (GMT) would only worsen the issue.

Michigan senator Elissa Slotkin gave the Democratic response to Donald Trump’s speech.Credit: AP

“For those keeping score, the national debt is going up, not down,” Slotkin said. “And if he’s not careful, he could walk us right into a recession.”

The 48-year-old Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, is seen as a leading figure in the party’s next generation. She first ran for office in 2018, defeating a two-term incumbent Republican.

Many Democratic women in Congress wore pink to the joint session of Congress in protest of President Donald Trump’s policies and their effect on American women.

“The press often pays attention to what women wear, for good or for bad,” said Teresa Leger Fernandez, the chair of the Democratic Women’s Caucus. “So we want to wear this colour to raise the alarm about the negative impacts his policies are having on women.”

But why pink?

Democratic members of Congress listen as President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress.Credit: AP

In recent years, Democratic women have worn white as a show of unity and in homage to the suffragists who won women the right to vote in 1919. Some women in the chamber wore white at the address, The Washington Post reported.

“Pink has been used as a colour of protest against Trump,” Leger Fernandez said, referring to the pink hats worn at the inaugural Women’s March in 2017. “Pink has also been used as a colour of protest against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.”

Here are the key takeaways from Donald Trump’s speech:

• After a frenetic first six weeks in office Trump used a joint address to Congress to highlight his administration’s actions.
• The most noteworthy item was his conciliatory tone towards Ukraine following statements by Volodymyr Zelensky that he regretted his angry exchange with Trump and wanted to return to the negotiating table.
• Trump also took credit for “swift and unrelenting action” in turning around the nation’s economy and praised Elon Musk’s work as the head of DOGE.
• He also announced retaliatory tariffs beginning on April 2 following an escalation of tariff hostility from Canada and China.
• Trump’s speech was enthusiastically received by his supporters while Democrats in attendance engaged in forms of protest including holding up paddles saying “lies”.
• Trump concluded by saying he was saved by God to return America to greatness.

Donald Trump has set a record for the longest address to a joint session of Congress. And it wasn’t even close.
He talked for more than an hour and 40 minutes, breaking the previous record set by president Bill Clinton’s 2000 State of the Union address, which ran for one hour, 28 minutes and 49 seconds.

President Donald Trump leaves after addressing the joint session of Congress.Credit: AP

That’s according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California at Santa Barbara, which tracks speech lengths, AP reported.

Trump concludes his speech with a promise to “plant the American flag on Mars”.

He mentioned this ambition in his inauguration address which would probably rely on the involvement of Elon Musk’s company SpaceX.

President Donald Trump shakes hands with House Speaker Mike Johnson.Credit: AP

Trump says he has a mandate from the American people and was “saved by God to make America great again”.

After applause and requests for selfies Trump leaves the chamber.

It seems Trump was referring to not a new letter but the social media post in which Zelensky said: “Our meeting in Washington, at the White House on Friday, did not go the way it was supposed to be. It is regrettable that it happened this way. It is time to make things right.”

Europe correspondent Rob Harris reported on the post and what it means earlier today.

Nevertheless, Trump’s tone towards Ukraine in his address has changed.