By: Richard J. Chung, MD, FAAP

If your teenage child is dealing with anxiety, depression or any other mental health concern right now, you’re not alone. More than three years after the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) joined with other organizations to declare a national emergency in youth mental health, many teens are still struggling.

Still, you may wonder whether the symptoms are part of the biological and social changes all young people go through on their way to adulthood, or something more. As a parent or caregiver, how do you know when to talk with your teen and their doctor about mental health?

Read on to learn more about teen mental health, including signs your child is struggling and may need more support.

You can also visit the AAP YouTube channel for a series of videos for teens on mental health. The videos address topics including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harm and other topics. Share with someone you care about:

Pressures teens face

Youth mental health experts raised concerns about the extreme pressures on children and teens during the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet the lasting effects of school closures and other COVID-related stressors are not the only factors in teen stress. Many young people are also dealing with:

Overwhelming pressure to figure out their future, get good grades or gain admission to elite colleges and universities

The need to be superstars in sports, the performing arts or other extracurriculars

Tough schedules that don’t allow enough time for self-care such as rest, relaxation and unstructured fun

Bullying (whether in person, via social media in the form of cyberbullying, or both)

Persistent fears about climate change, global conflict and other weighty issues

Discrimination based on race, gender, sexual orientation, weight, religion, disability or other factors

Problems related to a poverty or lack of money for safe, stable housing and enough nutritious food

How will I know if my teen is struggling?

The mental health symptoms you might see in your child will, of course, be unique to them. But as a parent or caregiver, you have a good sense of what their “normal” looks like.

Signs your teen may be having mental health difficulties

In addition to more overt symptoms like mood swings, irritability, anger and tearfulness, you may see:

Notable changes in sleep, weight, eating habits or other everyday patterns

Loss of interest in the things they usually love or quitting activities that they enjoy

Withdrawing more than usual from friends, family and community

Canceling plans with their closest friends with little or no explanation

Academic struggles that seem different or more intense: for example, failing quizzes in their favorite subject or refusing to do homework that once would have seemed easy

Running thoughts or worries that won’t leave them alone

A whole new set of friends you’ve never met before

Refusing to talk about what’s bothering them, even after you’ve made it as safe as possible to discuss hard issues openly

Obsession with a certain goal, possibly with the belief that if they don’t achieve it, their life will never be the same

Signs of drug, alcohol or other substance use

Signs of self-harm such as cuts, burns, bruises, etc. that your teen tries to hide or can’t explain fully and credibly

Sexual activity or interest that seems new or more intense than before

Keep in mind that having just one symptom on this list doesn’t mean your teen is experiencing a full-blown crisis. Biological changes, including the hormone shifts all tweens and teens go through, can affect your child’s mood, school performance and more. But if you consistently see one or more of these signs, it’s time to open a conversation about mental health with your teen.

What mental health conditions are most common for teens?

Young people face pretty much the same array of mental health challenges that adults do. However, these are the most common mental health conditions seen in U.S. tweens and teens:

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder(ADHD) affects nearly 10% of all U.S. kids aged 3 to 17.

Nearly 9.5% experience anxiety that interferes with their everyday functioning.

Around 4.5% live with depression. In teens, depression may or may not look like the stereotyped tearful blues. Symptoms of depression can sometimes look more like anger/irritability.

Though they are less common, eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa can cause major health problems for teens and young adults. Self-harm,thought to be underreported, is another serious concern for tweens and teens.

Are drinking and drugs part of the problem?

Substance use is very common among teens. It can combine with mental health issues (and in most cases, making them worse).

Around 15% of all high-school students say they have used street drugs such as cannabis, cocaine, inhalants, heroin, meth, hallucinogens or MDMA (also called ecstasy or molly). Some 14% report they have misused prescription opioids. Nearly 30% say they’ve tried alcohol and 14% admit to binge drinking. A frightening 17% got into a car driven by someone who had been drinking, exposing them to a whole new level of danger.

Substance use is a concern all its own—one you should definitely discuss with your teen, even if you don’t see signs of mental health issues. But noticing it alongside mental health symptoms raises extra concern. Drinking and drugs are often used to cope with difficult feelings or circumstances. This can signal deep emotional pain that needs to be addressed.

What role does social media play?

Young people spend a lot of time on sites such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and others. One study found that 90% of teens aged 13 to 18 use multiple platforms, with more than 60% engaging with social media every day.

We are still learning about the ways social media can affect human health, especially among children and teens. Healthy use of social media can foster positive connections. However, some young people may face greater risks for negative effects. See “Social Media & Your Child’s Mental Health: What the Research Says” for insights that can help you consider social media’s impact on your child.

How can I open conversations with my child?

Here are some points to consider as you open the door to discussing your teen’s mental health. Ideally, this should be a a series of ongoing conversations and “check ins” that you have with your child. This can help support your child’s mental health and also give you a foundation for times your child may be struggling more and need more problem-focused support.

Make it safe for your child to discuss tough issues with you. Kids often avoid talking about touchy subjects, especially if they expect to be judged, lectured or punished. If you haven’t already made this clear, affirm that your teen can tell you anything. Emphasize that these conversations will take place in a judgment-free zone. Explain that you want to understand what they’re going through and provide loving support.

Resolve to listen more than you speak. Nothing will send your teen running the other way faster than failing to see and hear them fully. You will need to manage your own fears during the conversation so you can avoid autobiographical listening. This happens when you filter everything through your own life lens instead of listening for deep understanding.

Consider ways to avoid putting your teen on the defensive. Naturally, you can’t be sure how they will react when you ask about their mental health. But fair, factual statements are usually best. Instead of saying, “You’ve been acting really strange these past few weeks,” you could start with an example: “I noticed you hate coming down to dinner lately – and you don’t seem hungry at other times. I wondered if something in your life is making it hard for you to enjoy stuff you usually love, like my killer oatmeal cookies.”

Accept some silence. Your child might not know what to say at first, especially if they’ve been trying to hide how they’re feeling or manage things on their own. People having mental health struggles often feel shame and fear on top of everything else. This can make it hard to open up to anyone (even someone they trust). Explain that even though you’re worried, you can wait for them to think about what they’d like you to know. If they don’t come back to you on their own, try restarting the conversation in a few days.

Realize that mental health stigma still exists. Despite much progress, some people still believe that having a mental health condition means someone is broken, untrustworthy or potentially violent. In fact, many don’t seek mental health treatment because they’re afraid of what others will think of them. If you’re concerned about the harm stigma can do to your teen, this article may help.

What to remember about mental health as you move forward

Mental health is a key part of human health. Parents and teens do not need to feel ashamed or fearful in seeking treatment. It’s no different from getting care for a broken bone, a serious infection or any other major health concern.

Try not to blame yourself for your child’s struggles. Life is hard, and kids are doing the best they can to manage the pressures they face (just as you are, too). Show compassion for yourself and your child as you move forward.

Even if you have a history of mental health issues yourself, you are not the root cause of your child’s difficulties. Showing love, trust and respect for yourself and your teen is the healthiest way to ensure you both find the resources you need.

How can our pediatrician support us?

Your pediatrician cares about your child’s health and has helped many other parents and caregivers with mental health concerns. Your pediatrician also knows about local resources you can tap to support your teen, now and throughout the healing process.

Pediatricians can explain treatment options, including medications that might help. They can also refer you to mental health specialists who can evaluate your teen. In this way, your pediatrician will become part of a care team that can help you create a treatment plan, as well as a crisis plan that spells out what you will do if things get worse for your child.

What if my teen is having thoughts of suicide?

Suicidal thoughts or actions should NEVER be ignored. If your teen is in crisis right now, call The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or text ‘TALK” to 741741. Trained lifeline staff will help you figure out immediate steps to protect your child.

If your teen is thinking about suicide but not in crisis, it’s still vitally important to get help. Call your child’s pediatrician or mental health provider right away to find resources and plan for appropriate treatment and support.

If you’re concerned you might be missing the warning signs of suicide, here is an article that may help.

Proactively promote mental health & self-care

Also keep in mind that mental health is not just about responding to problems. It is important to promote positive mental health and resilience in everyday, proactive ways.

Even if your teen is doing fine, help them find time for self care and mood-boosting healthy habits. Make time to enjoy each other as a family. Positive activities and relationships can have a protective, “scaffolding” effect on mental health.

We all have good days and bad days, just as days when we feel healthier than other times. Mental health should stay on our radar; promoting it should be among our day-to-day goals.

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There are a lot of TikTok scams found on the app, including bot accounts, phishing, bogus products, and more. One way to avoid TikTok scams (and other online scams) is to get familiar with what they look like.

You’ll learn some practical tips on how you can avoid getting tricked by scammers if any come your way. Keep reading to learn about these common TikTok scams and what to do if you’ve been scammed on TikTok, including investing in the best identity theft protection software.

1. Easy money offers and fake giveaways

Many people are susceptible to the chance of making easy money. With this scam, the criminal will lure you in with claims of large financial rewards for a little effort on your part. Many times, these accounts will also promise that if you do what they ask, someone famous will give away a large sum of money to a random user. Likewise, watch out for credit repair scams, or people offering to fix your credit.

When you are approached with an offer that’s too good to be true, it’s because it is. No one is going to give you tons of money, gift cards, or fix your credit score for liking, following, or sharing information on an account.

2. Duplicated celebrity and influencer accounts

Celebrities and influencers are often subject to impersonation. The scammers will usually duplicate aspects of the real celebrity’s accounts. They steal this content to gain more followers.

The scammers often promote their fraudulent content once the account looks more authentic. One of the scams they use is to try and convince users to invest in cryptocurrency. They may even claim to give away donations to charity.

Look for any red flags when it comes to these accounts. That could be bad grammar or the imposter sending you a direct message. If you receive an enticing offer, go to the celebrity’s official website. If you don’t see any mention of it there, it’s likely a scam.

3. Romance scams

There are legitimate dating sites and apps for someone looking for a romantic connection. TikTok may not be the best place to get to know that new someone. Romance scammers will often write the sweetest words and try to hook you through psychological manipulation. They prey on people genuinely looking for love.

If you feel like your heart’s in too deep, follow what your head tells you. If something seems off, pay attention to your gut — cut ties and leave it alone. Always take things slow because scammers will profess their love quickly so they can make money fast. If you’ve never met this person in public, stay safe on social media and don’t exchange money. You can also copy and paste texts and enter them in a search engine to see if anyone else has come across this game player.

4. Bot accounts

Bots are automated accounts that interact with you through a preprogrammed script. Since they’re designed to be sophisticated, it may take you a while to realize there are no good intentions. The goal is to communicate with you long enough to redirect you to a website that can infect your device or fool you into giving up sensitive information like your bank account details.

If you sense that you’ve been targeted by a bot, try to identify unusual phrases when chatting. You may also get weird demands that don’t make sense to you. Try not to interact with a stranger on TikTok, and if you find you’ve been chatting with one, cut off the communication.

5. Phishing

You may receive a TikTok phishing email in your inbox offering to verify a badge, give you more followers, or sponsor you in some way. If you click on the link, you’ll be redirected to another site asking for your TikTok login information. Once you give your credentials over, the hackers will have control of your account. They may even lock you out of the account altogether.

If you get random emails, the best thing to do is not open them. If you do open the emails and think it could be a phishing attempt, don’t click on the link.

6. Adult content scams

These scams will often offer to show you videos or pictures of an adult nature if you pay for them. They may even offer to direct you to another social media platform. These accounts will advertise adult dating websites, which are sometimes the ones paying the scammers to trick people. Many times the pictures and videos you see have been stolen from other accounts.

The ultimate goal of the adult content scam is to steal your credit card information. The criminals will promise premium content for your money. The easiest way to avoid this is by not releasing your financial information on social media.

7. Bogus products and services

Since TikTok launched its marketplace, it has given vendors ways to sell items at a reduced price. The problem is, the actual product is often not what was advertised. After the goods have been purchased, the seller may disappear from TikTok. Other times, the product is no longer offered. At times, the posers pretend to be real brands like L.L. Bean or Wayfair.

If something sells for an unbelievable price, it may be best not to trust it. Don’t waste your money on a bogus product. Also, make sure you buy only from reputable places you’ve heard about and ones with a blue checkmark by the account name. Those accounts are verified by TikTok as genuine businesses.

8. Promoted scam apps

TikTok contains fake accounts that may promote scam apps. These accounts try to convince you to download the app, which you may have to pay for, and you may end up with a virus on your device after installation. You could also be spammed with ads or malware that steals your data.

Don’t download random apps you don’t know anything about. They will often charge you for the same services you can get for free somewhere else. Read reviews of all apps in your app store before you download them. If you see low ratings, that’s a warning sign.

Who is being targeted by TikTok scams?

With TikTok skyrocketing to over a billion users since it first arrived in 2017, it’s no surprise that scammers would want to jump on board. Many of these people create fake accounts to lure you into providing sensitive information to commit identity theft.

Kids under 14 have been some of the biggest targets for TikTok scammers. That may be why many parents feel that kids on social media are unsafe. They worry about privacy issues.

Other people who are often targeted by TikTok scams are the ones looking for love and those looking to make a fast buck. With the platform widening its audience, anyone could be duped by these cyber criminals.

What to do if you’ve been scammed on TikTok

Sometimes good people get scammed by bad imitators. It happens to the best of us, even when we are diligent about online safety. Some of these accounts seem legitimate, and it can be difficult to tell the difference.

Fortunately, if you’ve been the target of a TikTok scammer, there are steps for you to mitigate the damage. If you’ve gotten scammed, remember to take these steps as soon as possible:

Report the incident to TikTok. Change your password for TikTok. We recommend using a password manager such as NordPass for extra password security. If you’ve lost money, consider contacting the police. If you’ve given any banking information out, call your financial institution and report it immediately.

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Tips to stay safe on TikTok

Being on social media can be a fun experience. It allows you to engage with others and provides tons of entertainment. When you apply some tips to protect yourself, you won’t have to worry as much about getting scammed. With cybercriminals looking at the most popular social media platforms, TikTok is a target-rich environment.

If you’re not ready to delete your TikTok, keep your account private so fewer users can see it. Only allow your friends to send you messages, so you don’t get emails from strangers.

You can also invest in antivirus software, which often comes with phishing protection. Here are some antivirus apps with perfect third-party test scores and anti-phishing features:

Norton : Norton Mobile Security scans for app security, internet security, Wi-Fi security, and device security to ensure your iPhone or Android is protected from various cyber threats.

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Bitdefender: Bitdefender has apps for iOS and Android as well as a free app for Android users, so you can try it risk-free before committing to a paid plan.

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Steer clear of email links from users you don’t know. Even if it looks like a TikTok link, it could be a virus. Take security a step further with two-factor authentication. That helps keep hackers from resetting your password to access your account.

Remember, celebrities and TikTok will never contact you asking for money or your account credentials. You can report scammers to TikTok and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Another way to protect your data on TikTok is by using a virtual private network (VPN). We’ve collected a list of the best VPNs for TikTok that can help with geo-restrictions, throttling, and more.

FAQs

Are there a lot of fake accounts on TikTok? There are a lot of fake accounts on TikTok. A lot of these accounts are bots and pretend to be famous celebrities or well-known brands. These accounts then target fans and pressure them for follows or even money. Always be wary when a high-profile figure follows you and requests your help with something, it’s likely a scam! Why are there bots on TikTok? There are bots on TikTok in many cases to make money. Automation tools help to grow an audience, which earns more income. What does a fake TikTok link look like? A fake TikTok link may have a subtle misspelling in it. If you’re not careful, you may not notice it at first. For example, it may come to you as “TikTik” instead of “TikTok.” You may also see extra characters in the address. An example might be www.allaboutcookies.com.cookiesettings.com, rather than simply www.allaboutcookies.com. How can I report scams on TikTok? You can report scams directly to TikTok from the Settings and Privacy section on your account. You can click on Report a problem and submit the details.

Bottom line

As the audience of TikTok’s platform has grown, so have the scammers who want to take advantage of its popularity. That may seem a bit overwhelming, but remember, there are ways you can protect yourself, like being aware of how these cybercriminals work.

Don’t buy products or exchange money if something appears too good to be true. Keep your TikTok account private and only accept messages from your friends or people you know.

TikTok can be an entertaining app, and you can even learn some things while you’re on the platform. With our safety tips, you can enjoy being on social media while keeping your online presence secure. For more recommendations to protect your smartphone, check out our list of the best antivirus software for iPhone.

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Monique Smith couldn’t get her birth certificate.

Smith asked for the document dozens of times over her life, but each time, her mother refused to provide it. Without her birth certificate, Smith couldn’t join the Marines or Baltimore’s police department. She couldn’t go to college. For years, Smith worked for Johns Hopkins Hospital reviewing medical claims, “just praying every day they weren’t going to ask for an ID,” she says.

Smith had enough. She launched what would become a decades-long quest for the document. And in her search for answers, everything Smith thought was true about her life unraveled.

Smith grew up in Baltimore with an abusive mother and two of her (now deceased) uncles who she claims raped her for more than a dozen years. To escape the trauma, an 18-year-old Smith fled to Florida, where she fell into sex work. She eventually married, moved, got divorced and started a new life. “I wanted to live the story I wanted told, not the one that I was forced to be in,” she says.

The more Smith searched for answers, the more questions arose. Smith discovered that her mother had sought multiple replacement Social Security cards for her daughter—each under a different name. Smith’s relatives couldn’t tell her where she was born or who her father was.

Smith finally realized: The family who raised her wasn’t her family at all. “This woman had snatched me from New York, at the age of one,” Smith tells A&E True Crime.

Smith called the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children and asked the agency to add her to its list of missing children. “They said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘I’m a missing kid. I’m just all grown up. There’s got to be someone in your database looking for a baby,’” she recalls.

She became Missing Child Number 1201258. Later, a DNA analysis revealed Smith’s biological family: Her mother, who had died years before, was from New York, and Smith had six sisters. And finally, at 55 years old, Smith got her birth certificate: She was born Simboli Ruffin.

“I’m glad they didn’t see me wallow in self-pity,” Smith, now 58, says. “A lot of people are looking for validation instead of tapping into their own self-love. It’s hard for people to love themselves if they haven’t been loved. But you have to try to find what makes you happy.”

The Lifetime original movie on Smith’s life, Not My Family: The Monique Smith Story, premieres on April 12 and will be available to stream in the Lifetime app the next day. Ahead of its release, Smith spoke with A&E True Crime about her journey of discovering her real identity, having to convince people to help her along the way and what justice looks like for her.

How does the abuse you experienced throughout your life impact you today?

I use it for strength. I use that pain and turn it into purpose. There are so many children who are being sexually abused, physically abused, mentally abused—being abducted and trafficked.

I use all that pain because it doesn’t go away. I have triggers. People say, ‘You need to heal,’ but you can’t challenge the timeline that it takes people to heal. In my case, it’s going to last a lifetime. This was 16, 17 years of abuse, and then I went right into another realm of abuse, prostitution, running away from one situation into the next.

How did you survive that abuse?

You’re a child. You don’t know. I was abducted at one. I didn’t notice until I was almost 30 that I was abducted. The family that I was with, I assumed they were my biological family.

I was sexually abused at three and four, up until I was 18, by multiple people in the family. A lot of us children, we don’t realize that what is happening to us is wrong.

Our goal is to not disturb the environment: Do what you’re told. Don’t do anything to make them want to harm you. In my case, if it was raining, I would get abused because it was raining.

That environment is so unpredictable. How advice do you give people who are in those situations, or see them?

When I go to high schools and middle schools and youth programs, I tell them: Tell and tell until people believe you. I shared my story when I was 15 and 16. It paralyzes some people. Some people don’t know what to do to help you. So, I always say, ‘Tell until you get some resources.’

There was this moment, this split second, that I revealed to someone who came into the home that I had been abused. I had been beaten with a two-by-four. I lifted up a mattress to show them the two-by-four. I showed them the bruises on my back. They grabbed their mouth and gasped. But they never said anything. They just left. That was my one signal in the midst of all of this. They could have gotten me out, taken me to the authorities. But they didn’t do anything.

There are people witnessing these horrific acts, but they don’t know what to do. I tell them, write an anonymous letter. Make an anonymous phone call. Use somebody else’s phone to call in a tip.

The people who watched what happened to me have told me, as an adult, ‘Your mother was a bit rough. She was a bit firm.’ No, I almost died. Hopefully, that’s a message that is going to trigger someone who’s witnessing something right now to put a stop to the abuse.

What was it like to play detective when you’re the subject of your investigation?

It was the oddest thing: me coming in as the evidence and trying to convince people that I was the living proof that I was a missing child. There’s this idea that all missing children are dead. It was shocking to every entity that I went to—the FBI, CIA, police departments, you name it.

It sounds like you had a really difficult time convincing people to help you?

It was a struggle. It was also a time when identity theft was huge. I was told, ‘How do we know you’re not trying to falsify paperwork? You could be a criminal, trying to obtain a new identity.’ I was really shocked, but I also understood their role, so, it wasn’t like I was angry and frustrated.

When you finally got your birth certificate and got at least one of the answers you had been searching for, did anything change for you in that moment? Or has it since?

No, actually. I was thriving for so long, I was at the point that a piece of paper didn’t matter to me anymore. My legal name, it mattered. But I wasn’t going to let it consume me. If I had died before I found out, I needed to be OK.

When I got that paper, it was definitely a reward. But it was also like I had to start over. Like, am I one-year-old now? What do I do? How do I condense 50-something years into a name I just received in a day?

Are you still in contact with anyone from your childhood?

I’m not really close with that family, except for one person who raised me. For that person, it was a shock to learn that their biological father, their biological relatives, [committed] these horrendous acts of harm against me.

You have six siblings in your biological family. What is your relationship like with them?

I did meet all of my sisters, but everyone is living such different lives. We all know each other. We can reach out to each other.

What have you learned from them about what might have happened to you?

Not one bit.

My [birth] mother was a substance abuser, a drinker. She had seven kids by seven different men. People say, ‘How do you know that your mother didn’t sell you?’ No woman with seven kids is going to get rid of one child. The woman who stole me said to me, verbatim: ‘I’m going to my grave before you know anything.’ If my mother had sold me, then this woman would have said, ‘Your mother was on drugs, and I gave her a couple of dollars for you.’ But she hid what she did.

When she said that to you—essentially, ‘I’m taking these secrets to my grave’—and then, she died, did you feel a sense of loss? That she took something with her you may never know?

No, I was already disconnected from her and my childhood. This was a woman who, if I would walk into a room, she would throw something at my head for no reason whatsoever. So, when she said that, I had no feeling. It was almost like, ‘Yeah, you would do something like that.’

I never could get that woman arrested. I gathered so many things with her signatures on them, falsified documents. I tried to get her locked up. I wanted justice, but it never worked.

Is there justice for you—and what does that justice look like at this point?

I couldn’t stop what happened to me, and I can’t change my past. But if I can make sure there’s justice for other people, that’s justice for me.

Related Features:

Kamiyah Mobley’s Abductor Raised Her as a Daughter for 18 Years

Taken at Birth: The Hicks Clinic Stolen Babies

Kamiyah Mobley and Other Kids Who Grew Up Not Knowing They’d Been Abducted

He made the case for the trade wars he’s started with Canada and Mexico, defended his effort with Elon Musk to downsize and remake American government, and faced loud opposition and heckling from Democrats, one of whom was removed from the chamber.

Americans are reeling from the early weeks of Trump 2.0, and President Donald Trump got a prime-time chance to explain the fast and furious start to his return to power in an address to a joint session of Congress.

Remarks as delivered

Thank you very much. Thank you very much. It’s a great honor. Thank you very much.

Speaker Johnson, Vice President Vance, the first lady of the United States, the members of the United States Congress. Thank you very much. And to my fellow citizens, America is back.

Johnson and Vance behind Trump are a visual representation of the hold Republicans have on Washington. Their House and Senate majorities are small, but they control every branch of power at the moment.

Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this Capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden age of America. From that moment on, it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country.

It sure has been swift and unrelenting. Agree with it or not, but Trump, working with Elon Musk at his Department of Government Efficiency, has set the pace to completely remake the US government and redefine the place of the US in the world order.

We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years, or eight years, and we are just getting started.

Trump will always say he’s accomplished more than anyone. He’s got a way to go to catch presidents like FDR.

I return to this chamber tonight to report that America’s momentum is back. Our spirit is back, our pride is back, our confidence is back, and the American dream is surging bigger and better than ever before.

The American dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnessed and perhaps will never witness again. There’s never been anything like it.

The presidential election of November 5 was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades. We won all seven swing states, giving us an electoral college victory of 312 votes.

He can claim a mandate, having won the popular vote, but it’s by no means historic. Rep. Al Green rose to yell at Trump when he said this and was shouted down by Republicans yelling “USA.”

We won the popular vote by big numbers and won counties in our country 2,700 to 525 — on a map that reads almost completely red for Republican.

Now, for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong direction. In fact, it’s an astonishing record: 27-point swing — the most ever.

Actually, a CNN Poll conducted by SSRS and released this week found that just 39% of Americans said the country was moving in the right direction, compared with 45% who said it was moving in the wrong direction. That’s a drop from when Trump started his first term.

Likewise, small-business optimism saw its single largest one-month gain ever recorded, a 41-point jump.

From CNN’s Daniel Dale: This claim needs context. If Trump was referring to the commonly cited NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, his claim about a 41-point increase appears to be a reference to one component — the percentage of small-business owners expecting the economy to improve. That measure did soar a net 41 percentage points from pre-election October to post-election November. Trump didn’t mention that the total index then declined in January, to a level that is still high but lower than it was under Trump in September 2020 and October 2020 — less than five years ago. Read more

[interruption, Texas Rep. Al Green removed from chamber]

Johnson warns Rep. Green by name before the sergeant at arms walks down the aisle and escorts him out of the chamber. Green, by the way, was among the first lawmakers calling for Trump’s impeachment during his first term, and has again called for Trump to be impeached even though he just recently took office.

Over the past six weeks, I have signed nearly 100 executive orders and taken more than 400 executive actions — a record — to restore common sense, safety, optimism and wealth all across our wonderful land. The people elected me to do the job, and I’m doing it.

It is an epic pace of executive orders. Some are more consequential than others. Track them all, sorted by general topic, here.

In fact, it has been stated by many that the first month of our presidency — it’s our presidency — is the most successful in the history of our nation. And what makes it even more impressive is that, do you know No. 2 is? George Washington. How about that? I don’t know about that list. But we’ll take it.

It’s not clear who stated Trump’s presidency has been second only to George Washington’s in terms of success. Trump has now said it. He’s compared himself to George Washington before.

Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency on our southern border, and I deployed the US military and border patrol to repel the invasion of our country. And what a job they’ve done. As a result, illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded. Ever.

From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Devan Cole: Trump claimed that, since taking office again, he has already achieved the lowest number of illegal border crossings “ever recorded.” That’s false. He could have accurately said the number of Border Patrol apprehensions at the southern border in February — the first full month of his second term — is the lowest in many decades, at least if it’s true that the number was 8,326, as he claimed on social media before the speech. But official federal statistics show there were fewer Border Patrol encounters with migrants at the southwest border in some of the months of the early 1960s. Read more

They heard my words and they chose not to come — much easier that way. In comparison, under Joe Biden, the worst president in American history, there were hundreds of thousands of illegal crossings a month, and virtually all of them, including murderers, drug dealers, gang members and people from mental institutions and insane asylums, were released into our country. Who would want to do that?

From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Haley Britzky: There is no evidence for the president’s claim, which Trump’s own presidential campaign was unable to corroborate. (The campaign was unable to provide any evidence even for his narrower claim that South American countries in particular were emptying their mental health facilities to somehow dump patients upon the US.) Read more

This is my fifth such speech to Congress, and once again, I looked at the Democrats in front of me, and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud — nothing I can do.

As Trump says Democrats will never stand and applaud him, cameras show some of them holding small signs that say things like, “Musk steals” and “false.”

I could find a cure to the most devastating disease, a disease that would wipe out entire nations, or announce the answers to the greatest economy in history, or the stoppage of crime to the lowest levels ever recorded. And these people sitting right here will not clap, will not stand and certainly will not cheer for these astronomical achievements. They won’t do it no matter what. Five times I’ve been up here. It’s very sad, and it just shouldn’t be this way.

So Democrats sitting before me, for just this one night, why not join us in celebrating so many incredible wins for America. For the good of our nation, let’s work together, and let’s truly make America great again.

A hallmark of Trump’s politics is that whenever he is in charge, he says things are great. And whenever Democrats are in charge, he says they are horrible.

Every day, my administration is fighting to deliver the change America needs, to bring a future that America deserves, and we’re doing it. This is a time for big dreams and bold action. Upon taking office, I imposed an immediate freeze on all federal hiring, a freeze on all new federal regulations and a freeze on all foreign aid.

I terminated the ridiculous green new scam. I withdrew from the unfair Paris Climate Accord, which was costing us trillions of dollars that other countries were not paying. I withdrew from the corrupt World Health Organization. And I also withdrew from the anti-American UN Human Rights Council.

From CNN’s Ella Nilsen: This claim is inaccurate. Former President Joe Biden pledged to pay $11.4 billion per year toward international climate financing upon taking office. However, the US contribution to a global finance goal ended up being far lower because Congress appropriated less money than Biden’s goal. Biden’s State Department announced it had allocated $5.8 billion to international climate finance by 2022. US climate finance contributions have never reached trillions of dollars. Read more

Trump did indeed remove the US from international agreements and groups. He also removed the US from the Paris Climate Agreement during his first term. But Biden put the US back in.

We ended all of Biden’s environmental restrictions that were making our country far less safe and totally unaffordable. And, importantly, we ended the last administration’s insane electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto workers and companies from economic destruction.

From CNN’s Bryan Mena: There has never been a federal mandate prohibiting Americans from buying gasoline-powered cars, which he claimed existed in his inaugural address. During the Biden administration, legislation was passed to support electric vehicles. Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking office in January seeking to reverse that. However, eliminating those policies may require congressional action. Read more

To unshackle our economy, I have directed that for every one new regulation, 10 old regulations must be eliminated, just like I did in my very successful first term. And in that first term, we set records on ending unnecessary rules and regulations like no other president had done before.

We ordered all federal workers to return to the office. They will either show up for work in person or be removed from their job.

More than half of federal workers were already working from the office full- or part-time when Trump took office, but his requirement has been cited as an effort to cull the federal workforce.

And we’ve ended weaponized government, where, as an example, a sitting president is allowed to viciously prosecute his political opponent, like me. How did that work out? Not too good. Not too good.

From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Devan Cole: That’s false. Trump’s two federal indictments were brought by a special counsel, Jack Smith. Smith was appointed in November 2022 by Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Biden appointee — but that is not proof that Biden was involved in the prosecution effort, much less that Biden personally ordered the indictments. Read more

And I’ve stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America. It’s back.

And two days ago, I signed an order making English the official language of the United States of America.

The English as a national language and Gulf of America efforts can be tied together with a very clear racial overtone.

I renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America. And likewise, I renamed, for a great president, William McKinley, Mount McKinley, again. Beautiful Alaska, we love Alaska.

We’ve ended the tyranny of so-called diversity, equity and inclusion policies all across the entire federal government, and indeed the private sector, and our military. And our country will be woke no longer.

The anti-diversity initiatives are visible in the chamber. Trump removed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Q. Brown, a Black man; and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth fired Admiral Lisa Franchetti, the chief of the Navy and first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs, whom Hegseth had described as a “DEI hire.”

We believe that whether you are a doctor, an accountant, a lawyer or an air traffic controller, you should be hired and promoted based on skill and competence, not race or gender. Very important.

You should be hired based on merit, and the Supreme Court, in a brave and very powerful decision has allowed us to do so. Thank you. Thank you very much.

We have removed the poison of critical race theory from our public schools and I signed an order making it the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders: male and female.

I also signed an executive order to ban men from playing in women’s sports.

Three years ago, Payton McNabb was an all-star high school athlete — one of the best — 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 and ending her athletic career. It was a shot like she’s never seen before. She’s never seen anything like it. 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.

And if you really want to see numbers, just take a look at what happened in the women’s boxing, weightlifting, track and field, swimming or cycling, where a male recently finished a long distance race five hours and 14 minutes ahead of a woman for a new record by five hours. Broke the record by five hours. It’s demeaning for women, and it’s very bad for our country. We’re not going to put up with it any longer.

What I’ve just described is only a small fraction of the common sense revolution that is now, because of us, sweeping the entire world. Common sense has become a common theme, and we will never go back. Never, ever going to let that happen.

As CNN’s John King said, “’Common sense’ is a Trump term for what others would call culture war: English as the official language, Gulf of America, Mount McKinley, transgender issues and so on. It plays well with his base, but those issues don’t lower prices at the grocery store, so when he got there … it is all blame Biden.”

Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families. As you know, we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare.

Trump may soon face criticism over inflation. The price of eggs has risen, in part because of avian flu, and he has imposed tariffs on goods from Mexico, Canada and China.

Their policies drove up energy prices, pushed up grocery costs and drove the necessities of life out of reach for millions and millions of Americans — they’ve never had anything like it.

We suffered the worst inflation in 48 years, but perhaps even in the history of our country — they’re not sure. As president, I’m fighting every day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again.

Joe Biden, especially, let the price of eggs get out of control. The egg price is out of control, and we’re working hard to get it back down.

From CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Elisabeth Buchwald and Vanessa Yurkevich: The avian flu has caused egg prices to rise because the United States Department of Agriculture requires the culling of entire flocks to stop the spread if the virus is detected. It’s a practice that occurred during the Biden administration, but also one that is continuing under Trump as the virus continues to infect flocks nationwide. When Biden took office, the average price of a carton of a dozen grade A eggs across US cities was $1.47, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. By the time Biden left office in January, a carton of eggs cost $4.95 on average, a 2.7% increase from a year prior. Due to short supply, egg prices are projected to increase by 41.1% this year, according to the USDA’s food outlook as of February 25. Read more

Secretary, do a good job on that. You inherited a total mess from the previous administration. Do a good job.

A major focus of our fight to defeat inflation is rapidly reducing the cost of energy. The previous administration cut the number of new oil and gas leases by 95 percent, slowed pipeline construction to a halt and closed more than 100 power plants. We are opening up many of those power plants right now.

And frankly, we have never seen anything like it. That’s why, on my first day in office, I declared a national energy emergency.

As you’ve heard me say many times, we have more liquid gold under our feet than any nation on earth, by far. And now I’ve fully authorized the most talented team ever assembled to go and get it. It’s called drill, baby, drill.

All oil is not the same. CNN’s Ella Nilsen and Amy O’Kruk explained in a recent story how much of what the US can get at home might not help lower gas prices.

My administration is also working on a gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska — among the largest in the world — where Japan, South Korea and other nations want to be our partner with investments of trillions of dollars each. There’s never been anything like that one. It will be truly spectacular. It’s all set to go, the permitting is gotten. And later this week, I will also take historic action to dramatically expand production of critical minerals and rare earths here in the USA.

To further combat inflation, we will not only be reducing the cost of energy, but will be ending the flagrant waste of taxpayer dollars.

And to that end, I have created the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. Perhaps.

Which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight. Thank you Elon, you’re working very hard. He didn’t need this. He didn’t need this. Thank you very much. We appreciate it.

Is DOGE headed by Elon Musk? There have been conflicting reports.

Everybody here, even this side, appreciates it, I believe. They just don’t want to admit that.

Democrats have been criticized by Trump and others for not embracing Musk’s cuts, which Republicans describe as eliminating waste and fraud. But Democrats have also not been included in the process.

Just listen to some of the appalling waste we have already identified. $22 billion from HHS to provide free housing and cars for illegal aliens. $45 million for diversity, equity and inclusion scholarships in Burma. $40 million to improve the social and economic inclusion of sedentary migrants. Nobody knows what that is. $8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of. $60 million for indigenous peoples and Afro Colombian empowerment in Central America — $60 million. $8 million for making mice transgender. This is real. $32 million for a left-wing propaganda operation in Moldova. $10 million for male circumcision in Mozambique. $20 million for the Arab Sesame Street in the Middle East. It’s a program — $20 million for a program. $1.9 billion to recently created decarbonization of homes committee headed up — and we know she’s involved — just at the last moment, the money was passed over — by a woman named Stacey Abrams. Have you ever heard of her?

From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips: Trump’s claim is false. Between the 2021 and 2022 fiscal years, the National Institutes of Health awarded a total of $477,121 to three projects that involved administering feminizing hormone therapy to monkeys to understand how it may affect their immune system and make them more susceptible to HIV. It’s not clear where the $8 million figure came from or why Trump referenced studies in mice instead of monkeys. Read more

A $3.5 million consulting contract for lavish fish monitoring. $1.5 million for voter confidence in Liberia, $14 million for social cohesion in Mali. $59 million for illegal alien hotel rooms in New York City.

It has been difficult to confirm the details on many of these programs. DOGE has a very simple website that is not much more than a version of the group’s feed on Musk’s X social media platform.

$250 thousand to increase vegan local climate action innovation in Zambia. $42 million for social and behavior change in Uganda. $14 million for improving public procurement in Serbia. $47 million for improving learning outcomes in Asia. Asia is doing very well with learning. Know what we’re doing, we should use it ourselves.

Most of what Trump mentioned is spending on foreign aid, although it is a fraction — around 1% — of the annual budget.

And $101 million for DEI contracts at the Department of Education — the most ever paid, nothing even like it.

Under the Trump administration, all of these scams — and there are far worse, but I didn’t think it was appropriate to talk about them, they’re so bad. Many more have been found out and exposed and swiftly terminated by a group of very intelligent, mostly young people, headed up by Elon We appreciate it. We found hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud.

From CNN’s Casey Tolan: This figure, which is uncorroborated, needs context. Musk and other Trump allies have claimed DOGE’s work is aimed at targeting waste, fraud and abuse. But DOGE has not released evidence that the contracts it has canceled were fraudulent. And at least some of the cuts have been reversed amid criticism. Read more

And we’ve taken back the money and reduced our debt to fight inflation and other things. Taking back a lot of that money, we got it just in time. This is just the beginning. The Government Accountability Office, a federal government office, has estimated annual fraud of over $500 million in our nation, and we are working very hard to stop it. We’re going to.

Here’s that GAO report. It’s a little more complicated than Trump suggests. There are distinct concepts — “improper payments” and “fraud” — that need to be considered.

We’re also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program for our seniors, and that our seniors and people that we love rely on. Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security numbers from people aged 100 to 109 years old.

From CNN’s Tami Luhby and Daniel Dale: The vast majority of these people do not have dates of death listed in Social Security’s database. But that doesn’t mean they are actually receiving monthly benefits. Public data from the Social Security Administration shows that about 89,000 people age 99 or over were receiving Social Security benefits in December 2024, not even close to the millions Trump invoked. Read more

It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119. I don’t know any of them. I know some people that are rather elderly, but not quite that elderly. 3.47 million people from ages 120 to 129. 3.9 million people from ages 130 to 139. 3.5 million people from ages 140 to 149, and money is being paid to many of them, and we’re searching right now. In fact, Pam, good luck, good luck. You’re going to find it.

Trump has promised not to cut Social Security, but clearly feels that eliminating fraud is not a cut. He will need to prove there is fraud, and he’s asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to prosecute some people.

But a lot of money is paid out to people, because it just keeps getting paid and paid, and nobody does, and it really hurts Social Security. It hurts our country. 1.3 million people from ages 150 to 159, and over 130,000 people, according to the Social Security databases, are age over 160 years old. We have a healthier country than I thought, Bobby.

Including, to finish, 1,039 people between the ages of 220 and 229; one person between the age of 240 and 249; and one person is listed at 360 years of age, more than 100 years — more than 100 years older than our country. But we’re gonna find out where that money’s going, and it’s not going to be pretty.

By slashing all of the fraud, waste and theft we can find, we will defeat inflation, bring down mortgage rates, lower car payments and grocery prices, protect our seniors and put more money in the pockets of American families.

And today, interest rates took a beautiful drop — big, beautiful drop — it’s about time. And in the near future, I want to do what has not been done in 24 years: balance the federal budget — we’re going to balance it.

With that goal in mind, we have developed in great detail what we are calling the gold card, which goes on sale very, very soon. For $5 million we will allow the most successful, job-creating people from all over the world to buy a path to US citizenship. It’s like the green card, but better and more sophisticated.

Trump made his political name promising mass deportations of undocumented immigrants from mostly poor countries. Here he’s inviting the wealthy to buy access to the US.

And these people will have to pay tax in our country. They won’t have to pay tax from where they came. The money that they’ve made, you wouldn’t want to do that, but they have to pay tax, create jobs.

They’ll also be taking people out of colleges and paying for them so that we can keep them in our country, instead of having them being forced out — No. 1 at the top school, as an example — being forced out and not being allowed to stay and create tremendous numbers of jobs and great success for a company out there.

So while we take out the criminals, killers, traffickers and child predators who are allowed to enter our country under the open border policy of these people, the Democrats, the Biden administration — the open border, insane policies that you’ve allowed to destroy our country — we will now bring in brilliant, hard working job creating people. They’re going to pay a lot of money, and we’re going to reduce our debt with that money.

Americans have given us a mandate for bold and profound change. For nearly 100 years, the federal bureaucracy has grown until it has crushed our freedoms, ballooned our deficits and held back America’s potential in every possible way.

The last president who oversaw a budget surplus was Bill Clinton, who did it with major prodding from Republicans in Congress. Recent annual budget deficits have been more than $1 trillion, although those included emergency spending and Trump’s first-term tax cuts.

The nation founded by pioneers and risk-takers now drowns under millions and millions of pages of regulations and debt. Approvals that should take 10 days to get, instead take 10 years, 15 years and even 20 years before you’re rejected. Meanwhile, we have hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have not been showing up to work. My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy, and we will restore true democracy to America again.

And 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.

And the next phase of our plan to deliver the greatest economy in history is for this Congress to pass tax cuts for everybody. They’re in there. They’re waiting for you to vote. And I’m sure that the people on my right — I don’t mean the Republican right, but my right right here — I’m sure you’re going to vote for those tax cuts, because otherwise I don’t believe the people will ever vote you into office, so I’m doing you a big favor by telling you that. But I know this group is going to be voting for the tax cut.

It’s a very, very big part of our plan. We had tremendous success in our first term with it — a very big part of our plan. We’re seeking permanent income tax cuts all across the board, and to get urgently needed relief to Americans hit especially hard by inflation, I’m calling for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and no tax on Social Security benefits for our great seniors.

One reason Trump needs to cut government spending is to pay for these additional tax cuts he has promised.

And I also want to make interest payments on car loans tax-deductible, but only if the car is made in America.

By the way, we’re gonna have growth in the auto industry like nobody’s ever seen — plants are opening up all over the place, deals are being made — never seen. That’s a combination of the election win and tariffs. It’s a beautiful word, isn’t it? That, along with our other policies, will allow our auto industry to absolutely boom. It’s going to boom. Spoke to the majors today, all three, the top people, and they’re so excited. In fact, already, numerous car companies have announced that they will be building massive automobile plants in America, with Honda just announcing a new plant in Indiana, one of the largest anywhere in the world.

Honda announced it will produce the hybrid Civic in Indiana in order to avoid Trump’s tariffs on Mexico, according to Reuters.

And this has taken place since our great victory on November 5, a date which will hopefully go down as one of the most important in the history of our country.

In addition, as part of our tax cuts, we want to cut taxes on domestic production and all manufacturing, and just as we did before, we will provide 100% expensing. It will be retroactive to January 20, 2025, and it was one of the main reasons why our tax cuts were so successful in our first term, giving us the most successful economy in the history of our country. First term, we had a great first term.

If you don’t make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff, and in some cases a rather large one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries.

During the campaign Trump frequently talked about his love for the word tariff. Here he seems to be explaining it to Americans.

On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada — have you heard of them? — and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It’s very unfair. India charges us auto tariffs higher than 100%. China’s average tariff on our products is twice what we charge them, and South Korea’s average tariff is four times higher. Think of that, four times higher — and we give so much help militarily and so many other ways to South Korea. But that’s what happens. This is happening by friend and foe. The system is not fair to the United States. It never was.

This is the meatiest portion of the speech so far. Trump is trying to build support for his tariffs, which alarm many Americans and also alarmed the stock market, which dropped this week.

And so on April 2 — I wanted to make it April 1, but I didn’t want to be accused of April Fool’s Day. That’s what — that’s not — just one day was cost us a lot of money. But we’re going to do it in April. I’m a very superstitious person. April 2, reciprocal tariffs kick in, and whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them. That’s reciprocal, back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them.

Or, perhaps this means countries have a little less than a month to negotiate.

If they do nonmonetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do nonmonetary barriers to keep them out of our market. There’s a lot of that, too, they don’t even allow us in their market. We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before. I did it with China, and I did it with others, and the Biden administration couldn’t do anything about it because it was so much money. They couldn’t do anything about it. We have been ripped off for decades by nearly every country on Earth, and we will not let that happen any longer.

From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Tami Luhby: Trump’s claim needs context. Tariffs are paid by US importers, not foreign exporters, and it’s easy to find specific examples of companies that passed along the cost of the tariffs to US consumers. Read more

Much has been said over the last three months about Mexico and Canada, but we have very large deficits with both of them. But even more importantly, they’ve allowed fentanyl to come into our country at levels never seen before, killing hundreds of thousands of our citizens and many very young, beautiful people — destroying families. Nobody’s ever seen anything like it. They are, in effect, receiving subsidies of hundreds of billions of dollars. We pay subsidies to Canada and to Mexico of hundreds of billions of dollars, and the United States will not be doing that any longer. We’re not going to do it any longer.

Thanks to our America-first policies we’re putting into place, we have had $1.7 trillion of new investment in America in just the past few weeks. The combination of the election and our economic policies that people of SoftBank, one of the most brilliant anywhere in the world, announced a $200 billion investment. OpenAI and Oracle — Larry Ellison — announced $500 billion investment, which they wouldn’t have done if Kamala had won. Apple announced $500 billion investment — Tim Cook called me, he said, “I cannot spend it fast enough.” It’s going to be much higher than that, I believe. They’ll be building their plants here instead of in China. And just yesterday, Taiwan Semiconductor, the biggest in the world, most powerful in the world, has a tremendous amount — 97% — of the market, announced a $165 billion investment to build the most powerful chips on Earth, right here in the USA.

And we’re not giving them any money. Your CHIPS Act is a horrible, horrible thing. We give hundreds of billions of dollars, and it doesn’t mean a thing. They take our money and they don’t spend it. All that meant to them. We’re giving them no money. All that was important to them was they didn’t want to pay the tariffs, so they came and they’re building, and many other companies are coming. We don’t have to give them money. We just want to protect our businesses and our people. And they will come because they won’t have to pay tariffs if they build in America. So it’s very amazing. You should get rid of the CHIPS Act, and whatever’s left over, Mr. Speaker, you should use it to reduce debt, or any other reason you want to.

The CHIPS Act, which was intended to build up a domestic semiconductor industry, was passed with bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate, and signed by Biden into law. Trump’s administration has been working to cancel some contracts.

Our new trade policy will also be great for the American farmer — I love the farmer — who will now be selling into our home market, the USA, because nobody is going to be able to compete with you, because those goods that come in from other countries and companies. They’re really, really in a bad position in so many different ways. They’re uninspected. They may be very dirty and disgusting, and they come in and they pour in and they hurt our American farmers.

Farmers — or people in rural America — are part of Trump’s base of support. But they will be among those hurt most by his trade war.

The tariffs will go on agricultural product coming into America and our farmers, starting on April 2 — it may be a little bit of an adjustment period. We had that before, when I made the deal with China, $50 billion of purchases, and I said, just bear with me. And they did. They did. Probably have to bear with me again, and this will be even better. That was great. The problem with it was that Biden didn’t enforce it. He didn’t enforce it. $50 billion of purchases, and we were doing great, but Biden did not enforce it, and it hurt our farmers, but our farmers are going to have a field day right now. So to our farmers, have a lot of fun. I love you, too. I love you, too.

And I have also imposed a 25% tariff on foreign aluminum, copper, lumber and steel, because, if we don’t have, as an example, steel and lots of other things, we don’t have a military, and frankly, we just won’t have a country very long.

Here today is a proud American steel worker, fantastic person from Decatur, Alabama. Jeff Denard has been working at the same steel plant for 27 years in a job that has allowed him to serve as the captain of his local volunteer fire department, raise seven children with his beautiful wife, Nicole, and over the years, provide a loving home for more than 40 foster children. So great job.

Hats off to Jeff.

Thank you, Jeff. Stories like Jeff’s remind us that 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. We’re okay with that. It won’t be much.

Economists aren’t so sure the disturbance will be so “little” from these tariffs. They could impact everyday Americans to the tune of $1,200 per year, and that’s before the reciprocal tariffs Trump promised in this speech.

And look, and look where Biden took us. Very low, the lowest we’ve ever been. Jeff, I want to thank you very much. And I also want to recognize another person who has devoted herself to foster care, community. She works so hard on it. You’re a very loving person, our magnificent first lady of the United States.

Melania’s work has yielded incredible results, helping prepare our nation’s future leaders as they enter the workforce. Our first lady is joined by two impressive young women, very impressive: Haley Ferguson, who benefited from the first lady’s Fostering the Future initiative, and is poised to complete her education and become a teacher; and Elliston Berry, who became a victim of an illicit deepfake image produced by a peer. With Elliston’s help, the Senate just passed the Take It Down Act, and — this is so important. Thank you very much, John Thune. Thank you, John. Thank you all very much.

Deepfakes are a major problem.

And thank you to John Thune and the Senate, great job, to criminalize the publication of such images online — just a terrible, terrible thing — and once it passes the House, I look forward to signing that bill into law. Thank you. And I’m going to use that bill for myself, too, if you don’t mind. Because nobody gets treated worse than I do online. Nobody.

That’s great. Thank you very much to the Senate. Thank you.

But if we truly care about protecting Americans’ children, no step is more crucial than securing America’s borders. Over the past four years, 21 million people poured into the United States. Many of them were murderers, human traffickers, gang members and other criminals from the streets of dangerous cities all throughout the world. Because of Joe Biden’s insane and very dangerous open border policies, they are now strongly embedded in our country, but we are getting them out and getting them out fast.

It’s surprising that Trump waited this long into the speech to talk about his deportation efforts. His administration has struggled to work as fast as Trump would like. In fact, the pace of deportation flights so far has not been much different from that under Biden in 2024, according to data analyzed by CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and Renée Rigdon.

And I want to thank Tom Homan, and Kristi, I want to thank you. And Paul of Border Patrol, I want to thank you. What a job they’ve all done. Everybody, Border Patrol, ICE. Well, law enforcement in general is incredible. We have to take care of our law enforcement.

Last year, a brilliant 22-year-old nursing student named Laken Riley — the best in her class, admired by everybody — went out for a jog on the campus of the University of Georgia. That morning, Laken was viciously attacked, assaulted, beaten, brutalized and horrifically murdered. Laken was stolen from us by a savage illegal alien gang member who was arrested while trespassing across Biden’s open southern border, and then sent loose into the United States under the heartless policies of that failed administration — it was indeed a failed administration. He had then been arrested and released in a Democrat run sanctuary city — a disaster — before ending the life of this beautiful young angel. With us this evening, are Laken’s beloved mother, Allyson, and her sister, Lauren.

Riley’s death was a major campaign issue for Republicans, and passing the Laken Riley Act, which requires certain migrants to be detained when accused of a crime, was a major victory for Trump and Republicans.

Last year, I told Laken’s grieving parents that we would ensure their daughter would not have died in vain. That’s why the very first bill I signed into law as your 47th president mandates the detention of all dangerous criminal aliens who threaten public safety. It’s very strong, powerful act.

It’s called the Laken Riley Act, so Allyson and Lauren, America will never ever forget our beautiful Laken Hope Riley.

Thank you very much.

Since taking office, my administration has launched the most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history, and we quickly achieved the lowest numbers of illegal border crossers ever recorded. Thank you.

The media and our friends in the Democrat party kept saying, “We needed new legislation. We must have legislation to secure the border,” but it turned out that all we really needed was a new president.

Joe Biden didn’t just open our borders. He flew illegal aliens over them to overwhelm our schools, hospitals and communities throughout the country. Entire towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption, like nobody’s ever seen before — beautiful towns destroyed. Now, just as I promised in my inaugural address, we are achieving the great liberation of America.

Springfield is the place where Trump and Vance falsely insisted Haitian refugees were eating dogs and cats. It wasn’t true.

But there still is much work to be done. Here tonight is a woman I have gotten to know, Alexis Nungaray, from Houston. Wonderful woman. Last year, Alexis’ 12-year-old daughter, her precious Jocelyn, walked to a nearby convenience store. She was kidnapped, tied up, assaulted for two hours under a bridge and horrifically murdered. Arrested and charged with this heinous crime are two illegal alien monsters from Venezuela, released into America by the last administration through their ridiculous open border. The death of this beautiful 12-year-old girl and the agony of her mother and family touched our entire nation greatly.

Jocelyn Nungaray’s death was also a campaign issue.

Alexis, I promised that we would always remember your daughter, your magnificent daughter. Earlier tonight, I signed an order keeping my word to you. One thing I have learned about Jocelyn is that she loved animals so much — she loved nature. Across Galveston Bay from where Jocelyn lived in Houston, you will find a magnificent National Wildlife Refuge; a pristine, peaceful, 34,000-acre sanctuary for all of God’s creatures, on the edge of the Gulf of America. Alexis, moments ago, I formally renamed that refuge in loving memory of your beautiful daughter, Jocelyn. So Mr. Vice President, if you would, may I have the order? Thank you very much.

Trump’s signing of an order during the joint address to Congress seems like it must be a first.

All three savages charged with Jocelyn and Laken’s murders were members of the Venezuelan prison gang — the toughest gang, they say, in the world — known as Tren de Aragua. Two weeks ago, I officially designated this gang, along with MS-13 and the bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartels, as foreign terrorist organizations.

They are now officially in the same category as ISIS, and that’s not good for them.

Countless thousands of these terrorists were welcomed into the US by the Biden administration, but now every last one will be rounded up and forcibly removed from our country, or if they’re too dangerous, put in jails standing trial in this country because we don’t want them to come back ever.

With us this evening is a warrior on the front lines of that battle, Border Patrol agent Roberto Ortiz — great guy. In January, Roberto and another agent were patrolling by the Rio Grande, near an area known as Cartel Island — doesn’t sound too nice to me — when heavily armed gunmen started shooting at them. Roberto saw that his partner was totally exposed, in great danger and he leapt into action, returning fire and and providing crucial seconds for his fellow agent to seek safety — and just barely. I have some of the prints of that event, and it was not good. Agent Ortiz, we salute you for your great courage and for your line of fire that you took and for the bravery that you showed, we honor you and we will always honor you. Thank you, Roberto, very much.

There was a major standing ovation for Ortiz, who teared up.

And I actually got to know him on my many calls to the border. He’s a great, great gentleman. The territory to the immediate south of our border is now dominated entirely by criminal cartels that murder, rape, torture and exercise total control. They have total control over a whole nation, posing a great threat to our national security. The cartels are waging war on America, and it’s time for America to wage war on the cartels, which we are doing.

Five nights ago, Mexican authorities, because of our tariff policies being imposed on them — think of this — handed over to us, 29 of the biggest cartel leaders in their country. That has never happened before. They want to make us happy. First time ever.

Learn more about Rafael Caro Quintero and the 28 other alleged criminals extradited to the US from Mexico.

But we need Mexico and Canada to do much more than they’ve done. They have to stop the fentanyl and drugs pouring into the USA. They’re going to stop it.

Trump has overstated the amount of fentanyl coming into the US from Canada. It is a fraction of what authorities seize.

I have sent Congress a detailed funding request laying out exactly how we will eliminate these threats to protect our homeland and complete the largest deportation operation in American history — larger even than current record-holder President Dwight D. Eisenhower, a moderate man, but someone who believed very strongly in borders.

Trump is referring to Eisenhower’s horribly named “Operation Wetback.”

Americans expect Congress to send me this funding without delay so I can sign it into law. So Mr. Speaker, John Thune, both of you, I hope you’re going to be able to do that. Mr. Speaker, thank you. Mr. Leader, thank you. Thank you very much. And let’s get it to me, I’ll sign it so fast, you won’t even believe it.

Republicans will have to coalesce around a government spending bill to deliver this funding to Trump. They have an extremely small majority in the House and Democrats are unlikely to help them.

And as we reclaim our sovereignty, we must also bring back law and order to our cities and towns. In recent years our justice system has been turned upside down by radical left lunatics. Many jurisdictions virtually seized, enforcing the law against dangerous repeat offenders while weaponizing law enforcement against political opponents like me. My administration has acted swiftly and decisively to restore fair, equal and impartial justice under the constitutional rule of law, starting at the FBI and the DOJ. Pam, good luck. Kash, wherever you may be, good luck. Good luck.

Trump’s first-term FBI Director, Chris Wray, had years left on his 10-year term, but Trump made clear he wanted Patel for the job. Patel, a conspiracy theorist, was among Trump’s more controversial nominees.

They’ve already started very strong. They’re going to do a fantastic job. You’re going to be very proud of them. We’re also, once again, giving our police officers the support, protection and respect they so dearly deserve — they have to get it. They have such a hard, dangerous job, but we’re going to make it less dangerous. The problem is, the bad guys don’t respect the law, but they’re starting to respect it, and they soon will respect it.

Republicans generally support police, but Trump’s pardon of January 6 rioters who attacked Capitol Police complicates that.

This also includes our great fire departments throughout the country. Our firemen and women are unbelievable people, and we’ll never forget them. And besides that, they voted for me in record numbers so I have no choice.

One year ago this month, 31-year-old New York police officer Jonathan Diller — unbelievably wonderful person and a great officer — was gunned down at a traffic stop on Long Island. I went to this funeral. The vicious criminal charged with his murder had 21 prior arrests, and they were rough arrests, he was a real bad one. The thug in the seat next to him had 14 prior arrests and went by the name of Killer. He was Killer. He killed other people, they say, a lot of them. I attended officer Diller’s service, and when I met his wife and 1-year-old son, Ryan, it was very inspirational, actually. His widow’s name is Stephanie, and she is here tonight. Stephanie, thank you very much, Stephanie.

Stephanie, we’re going to make sure that Ryan knows his dad was a true hero, New York’s finest, and we’re going to get these cold-blooded killers and repeat offenders off our streets, and we’re going to do it fast. Got to stop it. They get out with 28 arrests. They push people into subway trains. They hit people over the head — back of the head — with baseball bats. We got to get them out of here. I’ve already signed an executive order requiring a mandatory death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer, and tonight I’m asking Congress to pass that policy into permanent law.

I’m also asking for a new crime bill, getting tough on repeat offenders while enhancing protections for America’s police officers so they can do their jobs without fear of their lives being totally destroyed. They don’t want to be killed. We’re not going to let them be killed.

Joining us at the gallery tonight is a young man who truly loves our police. His name is DJ Daniel, he is 13 years old, and he has always dreamed of becoming a police officer.

DJ was dressed in a police uniform and was held up to applause.

But in 2018, DJ was diagnosed with brain cancer. The doctors gave him five months, at most, to live. That was more than six years ago. Since that time, DJ and his dad have been on a quest to make his dream come true, and DJ has been sworn in as an honorary law enforcement officer — actually a number of times. Peace. The police love him. The police departments love them. And tonight, DJ, we’re going to do you the biggest honor of them all. I am asking our new Secret Service director, Sean Curran, to officially make you an agent of the United States Secret Service.

It was a touching moment when DJ hugged the Secret Service director. Trump has elevated the showmanship associated with guests at these presidential addresses.

Thank you, DJ. DJ’s doctors believe his cancer likely came from a chemical he was exposed to when he was younger. Since 1975, rates of child cancer have increased by more than 40 percent. Reversing this trend is one of the top priorities for our new Presidential Commission to Make America Healthy Again, chaired by our new secretary of health and human services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

With the name Kennedy, you would have thought everybody over here would have been cheering. How quickly they forget.

Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply, and keep our children healthy and strong. As an example, not long ago — and you can’t even believe these numbers — one in 10,000 children had autism, one in 10,000, and now it’s one in 36. There’s something wrong — one in 36, think of that — so we’re going to find out what it is. And there’s nobody better than Bobby and all of the people that are working with you, you have the best, to figure out what is going on. Okay, Bobby? Good luck. It’s a very important job. Thank you.

Kennedy, of course, has questioned whether vaccines are to blame, although that theory has been debunked. As HHS secretary, he has said he wants to see more evidence about vaccines. Trump’s portrayal of the rise in autism rates is also distorted.

My administration is also working to protect our children from toxic ideologies in our schools. A few years ago, January Littlejohn and her husband discovered that their daughter’s school had secretly socially transitioned their 13-year-old little girl. Teachers and administrators conspired to deceive January and her husband, while encouraging her daughter to use a new name and pronouns — they/them pronouns actually — all without telling January, who is here tonight and is now a courageous advocate against this form of child abuse. January, thank you.

Stories like this are why, shortly after taking office, I signed an executive order banning public schools from indoctrinating our children with transgender ideology.

I also signed an order to cut off all taxpayer funding to any institution that engages in the sexual mutilation of our youth.

And now I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children, and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body. This is a big lie.

This type of law would likely not be able to pass through the Senate as long as the filibuster exists.

And our message to every child in America is that you are perfect, exactly the way God made you.

Because we’re getting wokeness out of our schools and out of our military, and it’s already out, and it’s out of our society. We don’t want it. Wokeness is troubled. Wokeness is bad. It’s gone. It’s gone. And we feel so much better for it, don’t we? Don’t we feel better?

As Trump says “wokeness” is gone from the military, the camera panned to top generals, all of whom are now White men.

Our service members won’t be activists and ideologues. They will be fighters and warriors. They will fight for our country. And Pete, congratulations. Secretary of defense, congratulations. And he’s not big into the woke movement, I can tell you. I know him well.

I am pleased to report that in January, the US Army had its single best recruiting month in 15 years, and that all armed services are having among the best recruiting results ever in the history of our services. What a difference.

And you know it was just a few months ago, where the results were exactly the opposite; we couldn’t recruit anywhere. We couldn’t recruit. Now having the best results just about that we’ve ever had, what a tremendous turnaround. It’s really a beautiful thing to see people love our country again. It’s very simple. They love our country and they love being in our military again. So it’s a great thing. And thank you very much. Great job.

We’re joined tonight by a young man, Jason Hartley, who knows the weight of that call of duty. Jason’s father, grandfather and great-grandfather all wore the uniform. Jason tragically lost his dad, who was also a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy, when he was just a boy, and now he wants to carry on the family legacy of service. Jason is a senior in high school, a six-letter varsity athlete — a really good athlete, they say; a brilliant student with a 4.46 — that’s good — GPA. And his greatest dream is to attend the US Military Academy at West Point.

And Jason, that’s a very big deal getting in, that’s a hard one to get into, but I’m pleased to inform you that your application has been accepted. You will soon be joining the Corps of Cadets.

That makes Jason’s year, clearly. Getting into West Point is hard!

Jason, you’re going to be on the long gray line, Jason. As commander in chief, my focus is on building the most powerful military of the future. As a first step, I’m asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art golden dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland, all made in the USA.

Ronald Reagan wanted to do it long ago, but the technology just wasn’t there, not even close. But now we have the technology. It’s incredible, actually. And other places, they have it. Israel has it, other places have it. And the United States should have it, too, right? Tim, right? They should have it too. So I want to thank you — but it’s a very, very important — this is a very dangerous world, we should have it. We want to be protected and we’re going to protect our citizens like never before.

One major difference between Israel and the US is size. CNN recently reported on the effort to make a missile defense shield over Guam, which is facing obstacles.

To boost our defense-industrial base, we are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding.

And for that purpose, I am announcing tonight that we will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America, where it belongs. We used to make so many ships. We don’t make them anymore very much, but we’re going to make them very fast, very soon. It will have a huge impact. To further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we’ve already started doing it.

Just today, a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal and lots of other things having to do with the Panama Canal and a couple of other canals.

BlackRock is the company buying ports on either side of the canal from Hong Kong.

The Panama Canal was built by Americans for Americans, not for others, but others could use it. But it was built at tremendous cost of American blood and treasure — 38,000 workers died building the Panama canal. They died of malaria. They died of snake bites and mosquitoes — not a nice place to work. They paid them very highly to go there, knowing there was a 25 percent chance that they would die. The most expensive project also that was ever built in our country’s history, if you bring it up to modern-day costs.

From CNN’s Daniel Dale: Trump repeated his false claim that 38,000 Americans died during the building of the Panama Canal. That figure is not even close to true, experts on the canal’s construction say. Read more

It was given away by the Carter administration for $1. But that agreement has been violated very severely. We didn’t give it to China. We gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back.

And we have Marco Rubio in charge. Good luck, Marco. Now we know who to blame if anything goes wrong. Now, Marco has been amazing and he’s going to do a great job. Think of it — he got 100 votes. You know, he was approved with actually 99, but the 100th was this gentleman — and I feel very certain — so let’s assume he got 100 votes. And I’m either very, very happy about that or I’m very concerned about it. But he’s already proven — I mean, he’s a great gentleman. He’s respected by everybody. And we appreciate your voting for Marco. He’s going to do a fantastic job.

Thank you. Thank you. He’s doing a great job. Great job.

And I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future. And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America. We need Greenland for national security and even international security. And we’re working with everybody involved to try and get it.

If Trump obtains Greenland and the Panama Canal, it will signal a new period of American expansion, something that has not occurred since the early 20th century.

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. 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. It’s a very small population, but a very, very large piece of land and very, very important for military security.

What Greenlanders want is an open question. CNN’s Donie O’Sullivan traveled there in February to talk to residents about joining the US.

America is once again standing strong against the forces of radical Islamic terrorism. Three and a half years ago, ISIS terrorists killed 13 American service members and countless others in the Abbey Gate bombing during the disastrous and incompetent withdrawal from Afghanistan. Not that they were withdrawing, it was the way they withdrew. Perhaps the most embarrassing moment in the history of our country.

Families of some of the service members killed at Abbey Gate have been major backers of Trump. They appeared with him at the Republican National Convention.

Tonight, I am pleased to announce that we have just apprehended the top terrorist responsible for that atrocity, and he is right now on his way here to face the swift sword of American justice.

And I want to thank especially the government of Pakistan for helping arrest this monster. This was a very momentous day for those 13 families, who I actually got to know very well, most of them, whose children were murdered and the many people that were so badly — over 42 people so badly injured on that fateful day in Afghanistan. What a horrible day. Such incompetence was shown that when Putin saw what happened, I guess he said, “Wow, maybe this is my chance.”” That’s how bad it was. Should have never happened. Grossly incompetent people.

I spoke to many of the parents and loved ones and they’re all in our hearts tonight. Just spoke to them on the phone. We had a big call. Every one of them called and everybody was on the line and they did nothing but cry with happiness. They were very happy. As happy as you can be under those circumstances. Their child, brother, sister, son, daughter, was killed for no reason whatsoever.

In the Middle East we’re bringing back our hostages from Gaza. In my first term, we achieved one of the most groundbreaking peace agreements in generations, the Abraham Accords. And now we’re going to build on that foundation to create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the entire region.

A lot of things are happening in the Middle East. People haven’t been talking about that so much lately, with everything going on, with Ukraine and Russia. But a lot of things are happening in the Middle East — it’s a rough neighborhood, actually.

I’m also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine. Millions of Ukrainians and Russians have been needlessly killed or wounded in this horrific and brutal conflict, with no end in sight. The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine’s defense, with no security, with no energy.

Do you want to keep it going for another five years? Yeah, yeah, you would say — Pocahontas says “yes.”

“Pocahontas” is Trump’s insulting nickname for Sen. Elizabeth Warren. She applauded at his comment.

Two thousand people are being killed every single week — more than that. They’re Russian young people, they’re Ukrainian young people. They’re not Americans, but I want it to stop. Meanwhile, Europe has sadly spent more money buying Russian oil and gas than they have spent on defending Ukraine, by far. Think of that. They’ve spent more buying Russian oil and gas than they have defending. And we’ve spent perhaps $350 billion, like taking candy from a baby, that’s what happened. And they’ve spent $100 billion. What a difference that is. And we have an ocean separating us. And they don’t. But we’re getting along very well with them, and lots of good things are happening.

Trump keeps using the $350 billion figure, but the US has actually spent much less than that. Also, the US has spent less than Europe, according to the Kiel Institute, which has tracked Ukraine aid.

Biden has authorized more money in this fight than Europe has spent by billions and billions of dollars. It’s hard to believe that they wouldn’t have stopped it and said at some point, come on, let’s equalize. You got to be equal to us. But that didn’t happen.

Earlier today, I received an important letter from President Zelensky of Ukraine. The letter reads, “Ukraine is ready to come to the negotiating table as soon as possible to bring lasting peace closer.” “Nobody wants peace more than the Ukrainians,” he said. “My team and I stand ready to work under President Trump’s strong leadership to get a peace that lasts. We do really value how much America has done to help Ukraine maintain its sovereignty and independence. Regarding the agreement on minerals and security, Ukraine is ready to sign it at any time that is convenient for you.”

Trump yelled at Zelensky in the Oval Office less than a week ago; this week, he paused US military aid to Ukraine. Trump has clearly pivoted toward Russia and away from Europe, but news of Zelensky’s letter is a major development.

I appreciate that he sent this letter, just got it a little while ago. Simultaneously, we’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace. Wouldn’t that be beautiful? 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.

Nearly four years ago, amid rising tensions, a history teacher named Marc Fogel was detained in Russia and sentenced to 14 years in a penal colony. Rough stuff.

The US released a Russian money launderer in exchange for Fogel.

The previous administration barely lifted a finger to help him. They knew he was innocent, but they had no idea where to begin. But last summer I promised his 95-year-old mother, Malphine, that we would bring her boy safely back home. After 22 days in office, I did just that, and they are here tonight.

To Marc and his great mom, we are delighted to have you safe and sound and with us.

As fate would have it, Marc Fogel was born in a small rural town — in Butler, Pennsylvania. Have you heard of it? Where his mother has lived for the past 78 years. I just happened to go there last July 13th for a rally. That was not pleasant.

And that is where I met his beautiful mom right before I walked onto that stage.

And I told her I would not forget what she said about her son. And I never did, did I? Never forgot.

Less than 10 minutes later, at that same rally, gunfire rang out and a sick and deranged assassin unloaded eight bullets from his sniper’s perch into a crowd of many thousands of people.

My life was saved by a fraction of an inch, but some were not so lucky.

Corey Comperatore was a firefighter, a veteran, a Christian, a husband, a devoted father, and above all, a protector.

When the sound of gunshots pierced the air, it was a horrible sound. Corey knew instantly what it was and what to do. He threw himself on top of his wife and daughters and shielded them from the bullets with his own body.

Corey was hit really hard. You know the story from there. He sacrificed his life to save theirs. Two others, very fine people, were also seriously hit, but thankfully, with the help of two great country doctors — we thought they were gone, and they were saved, so those doctors had great talent — we’re joined by Corey’s wife, Helen, who was his high school sweetheart, and their two beloved daughters, Allyson and Kaylee.

Thank you.

To Helen, Allyson and Kaylee, Corey is looking down on his three beautiful ladies right now and he is cheering you on. He loves you. He is cheering you on. Corey was taken from us much too soon, but his destiny was to leave us all with a shining example of the selfless devotion of a true American patriot.

It was love like Corey’s that built our country, and it’s love like Corey’s that is going to make our country more majestic than ever before. I believe that my life was saved that day in Butler for a very good reason. I was saved by God to make America great again. I believe that.

Many of his supporters agree that he survived through divine intervention.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

From the patriots of Lexington and Concord to the heroes of Gettysburg and Normandy; from the warriors who crossed the Delaware to the trailblazers who climbed the Rockies; and from the legends who soared at Kitty Hawk to the astronauts who touched the moon, Americans have always been the people who defied all odds, transcended all dangers, made the most extraordinary sacrifices, and did whatever it took to defend our children, our country, and our freedom.

And as we have seen in this chamber tonight, that same strength, faith, love and spirit is still alive and thriving in the hearts of the American people.

Trump veers away from the insults, division and campaign speech language he dished out earlier in the speech to end on an inspiring note.

Despite the best efforts of those who would try to censor us, silence us, break us, destroy us, Americans are today a proud, free, sovereign and independent nation that will always be free, and we will fight for it till death.

We will never let anything happen to our beloved country because we are a country of doers, dreamers, fighters and survivors.

Our ancestors crossed a vast ocean, strode into the unknown wilderness, and carved their fortunes from the rock and soil of a perilous and very dangerous frontier.

They chased our destiny across a boundless continent.

They built the railroads, laid the highways, and graced the world with American marvels like the Empire State Building, the mighty Hoover Dam, and the towering Golden Gate Bridge.

They lit the world with electricity, broke free of the force of gravity, fired up the engines of American industry, vanquished the communists, fascists and Marxists all over the world, and gave us countless modern wonders sculpted out of iron, glass and steel.

We stand on the shoulders of these pioneers who won and built the modern age.

These workers who poured their sweat into the skylines of our cities.

These warriors who shed their blood on fields of battle and gave everything they had for our rights and for our freedom.

Now it is our time to take up the righteous cause of American liberty. And it is our turn to take America’s destiny into our own hands and begin the most thrilling days in the history of our country.

This will be our greatest era. With God’s help over the next four years, we are going to lead this nation even higher.

And we are going to forge the freest, most advanced, most dynamic and most dominant civilization ever to exist on the face of this Earth.

We are going to create the highest quality of life, build the safest and wealthiest and healthiest and most vital communities anywhere in the world.

We are going to conquer the vast frontiers of science, and we are going to lead humanity into space and plant the American flag on the planet Mars, and even far beyond.

When he said Mars, there was a yell of approval. Elon Musk? Trump’s first term was marked by an effort to return to the moon. Musk would prefer to focus on Mars.

And through it all, we are going to rediscover the unstoppable power of the American spirit. And we are going to renew unlimited promise of the American dream. Every single day we will stand up and we will fight, fight, fight for the country our citizens believe in, and for the country our people deserve.

My fellow Americans, get ready for an incredible future because the golden age of America has only just begun.

It will be like nothing that has ever been seen before. Thank you. God bless you and God bless America.

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Many philosophers and scientists have pondered if we live in a simulated universe, and University of Portsmouth scientist Melvin Vopson believes he has evidence.

Using his previously formulated Second Law of Infodynamics, Vopson claims that the decrease of entropy in information systems over time could prove that the universe has a built-in “data optimization and compression,” which speaks to its digital nature.

While these claims warrant investigation, they’re far from a discovery themselves, and would likely need rigorous proof for the scientific community at large to seriously consider this theory.

In the 1999 film The Matrix, Thomas Anderson (a.k.a. Neo) discovers a truth to end all truths—the universe is a simulation. While this premise provides fantastic sci-fi fodder (and explains how Neo can learn kung-fu in about five seconds), the idea isn’t quite as carefully relegated to the fiction section as one might expect.

University of Portsmouth scientist Melvin Vopson, who studies the possibility that the universe might indeed be a digital facsimile, leans into the cinematic comparison. In an article published on website The Conversation this past October, Vopson invoked the Wachowskis’ sci-fi masterpiece, and around the same time, he published a book on the subject— , a subtle hat tip to the title of the less successful Matrix sequel. While he is just one among many who’ve contemplated the idea, Vopson claims to have one thing that those before him lacked: evidence.

“In physics, there are laws that govern everything that happens in the universe, for example how objects move, how energy flows, and so on. Everything is based on the laws of physics,” Vopson said back in 2022 . “One of the most powerful laws is the second law of thermodynamics, which establishes that entropy—a measure of disorder in an isolated system – can only increase or stay the same, but it will never decrease.”

Based on this famous law, Vopson expected that entropy in information systems—which his previous research defined as a “ fifth state of matter ”—should similarly increase over time. But it doesn’t. Instead, it remains constant, or even decreases to a minimum value at equilibrium. This is in direct contrast to the second law of thermodynamics, which inspired Vopson to adopt the Second Law of Information Dynamics (or Infodynamics).

“We know the universe is expanding without the loss or gain of heat, which requires the total entropy of the universe to be constant,” Vopson wrote in The Conversation. “However we also know from thermodynamics that entropy is always rising. I argue this shows that there must be another entropy—information entropy—to balance the increase.”

Vopson argues that this law plays a role in atomic physics (electron arrangement), cosmology (see above), and biological systems. This last one is where Vopson makes a big claim: contrary to Charles Darwin’s idea that mutations occur randomly, mutations actually occur so that information entropy is minimized. Vopson analyzed the constantly-mutating SARS-CoV-2 (a.k.a. COVID-19) virus, and his paper on that investigation—published this past October in the journal AIP Advances—shows a “unique correlation between the information and the dynamics of the genetic mutations.”

What this all adds up to, in Vospon’s estimation, is that the Second Law of Infodynamics could also be used to prove that we live in a simulation.

“A super complex universe like ours, if it were a simulation, would require a built-in data optimization and compression in order to reduce the computational power and the data storage requirements to run the simulation,” Vopson wrote in The Conversation. “This is exactly what we are observing all around us, including in digital data, biological systems, mathematical symmetries and the entire universe.”

All of these claims require significant further testing and verification before even being considered plausible, and as IFLScience notes, there are as many research papers refuting our digital existence as there are promoting its scientific inevitability. It’s possible that Vopson’s Second Law of Infodynamics could lead to some interesting discoveries, but the question first pondered by Plato remains unanswered.