By James Oliphant, Jeff Mason and Gram Slattery
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress in a televised speech on Tuesday, six weeks into a tumultuous term during which he has upended decades of U.S. foreign and domestic policy and stretched the limits of the presidency.
Here are some takeaways from Trump’s speech:
PROTEST…IN PINK
Before Trump’s speech on Tuesday, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi advised her follow Democrats not to become part of the story.
That didn’t work out so much.
Shortly after Trump began his remarks, Democratic Representative Al Green from Texas stood up and shouted that the president did not have a mandate.
“Sit your ass down!” Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican, yelled back at Green, who remained standing.
The ruckus did not end, and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson directed the sergeant at arms, in charge of maintaining order in the chamber, to escort Green out.
Some other Democratic lawmakers found an unobtrusive way to show protest with a collective fashion choice: pink clothing.
Scores of female lawmakers, including Pelosi, donned outfits in that hue for the Republican president’s speech, creating a show of unity and solidarity in a room otherwise dominated by blue and gray suits.
The color choice was different but the aim was similar to Trump’s 2019 State of the Union address, when Democratic women wore white to celebrate 100 years of women having the right to vote, projecting a picture of calm displeasure during the president’s remarks.
STILL OFF TRACK
Trump began his address in an expansive and celebratory mode, suggesting that he has turned voter attitudes around since taking office on January 20. But he still may have real work to do to win over skeptical viewers at home.
“For the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong direction — an astonishing record 27-point swing, the most ever,” Trump said.
Trump may have his own polls he can point to, but Reuters/Ipsos polling does not support the president’s boast. In fact, the most recent poll, taken over the two days ahead of the speech, had 49% of Americans saying the country was on the wrong track compared to just 34% of those who said it was on the right one.
With Trump levying steep tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico and inflation still not tamed, the president is getting low marks on economic concerns, with only 1 in 3 Americans approving of his handling of cost of living issues, the poll found. Only 36% approved of his handling of international trade.
Overall, Trump’s approval rating is holding steady at 44%. That’s only slightly higher than former President Joe Biden’s peak during the second half of his term in office.
That didn’t stop Trump from calling Biden the “worst president in American history.” If Trump believes that, then, according to polls, he isn’t faring all that much better.
(Reporting by James Oliphant, Jeff Mason and Gram SlatteryEditing by Colleen Jenkins and Deepa Babington)
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