On today’s show: President Trump addressed a joint session of Congress last night, for the first time in his second term. In his speech he covered a wide range of topics as Republicans cheered and Democrats staged small protests. NBC News has the key takeaways. Trump has said he wants Palestinians out of Gaza. NPR breaks down a plan proposed by Egypt to keep them there and rebuild. Plus, Republicans are being advised not to hold in-person town-hall events after angry constituents confronted a number of GOP lawmakers, two American astronauts stuck in space are set to come home, and how warming temperatures and too little snow have changed this year’s Iditarod dog sled race. Today’s episode was hosted by Shumita Basu.
Chapter 1: What did Trump address in his speech to Congress?
Let's start with President Donald Trump's address last night to a joint session of Congress, his first since taking office in January. From the moment he entered the chamber, he was greeted by Republican cheers. And Democrats protesting. Several dozen held up signs reading things like, Musk steals and protect veterans.
Chapter 2: How did Democrats respond to Trump's speech?
Texas Congressman Al Green stood up to disrupt the president's speech and protest threats to Medicaid, and he was escorted out by the sergeant at arms.
The chair now directs the sergeant at arms to restore order. Remove this gentleman from the chamber.
Throughout his speech, Trump suggested he had a sweeping mandate from the American people to enact broad changes across the federal government. At one point, he said that God had spared his life from assassination in order for him to return to the presidency. With that mandate, Trump touted his long list of early actions. Everything from dismantling DEI programs and U.S.
government agencies like USAID to increasing resources at the southern border and renaming key landmarks like the Gulf of Mexico and Mount Denali.
We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years. And we are just getting started. Yeah!
Trump also celebrated Elon Musk's work with the Department of Government Efficiency, claiming Doge has found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud, a figure that's been hard for journalists to verify, though many outlets have found instances of Doge overstating its savings. Trump attacked federal workers, though notably he didn't mention how much the government is saving with mass layoffs.
And he said the days of being ruled by, quote, unelected bureaucrats are over, to which Democrats responded by pointing to Elon Musk sitting up in the gallery. Trump later turned to his plans for the future, spending quite a bit of time on tariffs and the economy.
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Chapter 3: What economic policies did Trump propose?
His speech came just a day after he implemented tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, moves that sent stocks tumbling for a second day and have some notable economists, including from the International Chamber of Commerce, warning of a recession.
But Trump defended his decision, claimed it will be good for American farmers, even though farmers have sounded the alarm, saying they produce more than Americans consume and need foreign markets to buy their goods. And Trump also announced his intention to impose reciprocal tariffs on a whole host of countries on April 2nd.
Tariffs are not just about protecting American jobs. They're about protecting the soul of our country. Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again, and it's happening, and it will happen rather quickly. There'll be a little disturbance. But we're OK with that. It won't be much.
Trump spent just a few minutes on foreign policy, with a passing mention of Gaza and calling for the war in Ukraine to end. He tempered the recent hostility we've seen toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, instead noting that he appreciated a letter he recently received from Zelensky, saying he is ready to come to the negotiating table and sign the minerals deal.
Chapter 4: What were Trump's foreign policy comments?
And Trump reiterated his desire to expand the United States, saying he intends to take the Panama Canal and inviting the people of Greenland to join our country.
We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And we're working with everybody involved to try and get it. But we need it really for international world security. And I think we're going to get it. One way or the other, we're going to get it.
Since this was, after all, a speech addressing Congress, Trump did call on the lawmakers to support his agenda by removing taxes on tips, among other things, by funding his deportation agenda, quote, without delay, and by agreeing to pass laws criminalizing parents who allow their children to undergo gender-affirming medical operations. Two opposing dynamics were on display all night.
Republican exuberance for the president's agenda and Democratic objection, which Trump called attention to several times. Some Democrats held up signs that said false, acting as a sort of live fact check on Trump. At one point, a small group of Democrats staged a small protest before walking out. Others filed out at various other points during the speech.
Chapter 5: What controversial proposals did Trump make?
Trump's speech was the longest ever given by a president to a joint session of Congress in modern history, eclipsing Bill Clinton's one hour and 29 minute record set in 2000. According to the American Presidency Project, Trump's address clocked in at one hour and 39 minutes. Senator Alyssa Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, provided the Democratic Party response following Trump's speech.
Look, the president talked a big game on the economy, but it's always important to read the fine print. So do his plans actually help Americans get ahead? Not even close. President Trump is trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends. And to do that, he's going to make you pay in every part of your life. Grocery and home prices are going up, not down.
Chapter 6: How long was Trump's speech and what was the Democratic response?
And he hasn't laid out a credible plan to deal with either of those.
While President Trump touted his popular vote victory in the presidential election, a trio of recent polls found that Americans are largely split on the president so far, and economic concerns still dominate with many. In one of these recent polls conducted by CBS and YouGov, 82% said they want the president to make the economy a high priority.
And in an NPR Marist survey, a majority of Americans said that they expect prices to climb higher in the next six months. Now to the Middle East, where leaders of the Arab League states held an emergency summit in Cairo yesterday to discuss a post-war plan for Gaza and to counter President Trump's proposed plan for a, quote, Middle East Riviera.
In January, the president floated the idea of the United States taking control of Gaza to develop the enclave into a tourism destination, forcing millions of Palestinians to leave their land with no guarantees they could return. His suggestions have been widely denounced by leaders across the Middle East and worldwide, with some saying it's equivalent to ethnic cleansing.
At yesterday's summit, Arab leaders endorsed a plan proposed by Egypt that would allow Palestinians to remain in Gaza after the war between Israel and Hamas ends. Egypt, which neighbors both Israel and Gaza, has been heavily involved in peace negotiations since this conflict started. International correspondent Eya Batraoui, reporting from Cairo, explained for NPR what their proposal includes.
It has actually several plans along several tracks. The first is basic reconstruction. You have tens of thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza, more than 90% of homes damaged or destroyed. Basic infrastructure there needs to be rebuilt. So this plan looks at how do you repurpose the rubble? How do you bring in temporary homes for Palestinians to live in and other technical details?
Egypt's plan to rebuild Gaza would cost an estimated $53 billion and take about five years to complete, but the plan didn't specify who would fund reconstruction. The Guardian notes it would likely require money from oil-rich Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.
The first phase of reconstruction would focus on clearing debris and unexploded bombs and creating temporary shelters. The second phase would focus on restoring critical infrastructure and rebuilding homes.
The Egyptian government presented a 112-page document full of AI-generated images of housing developments, gardens, and community centers, plus plans for a commercial harbor, a technology hub, hotels along the beach, and an airport. But critically, the plan still doesn't give a clear answer to one of the biggest unanswered questions of this conflict. Who will govern Gaza if the war ends?
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