Trump’s boldest speech yet: Tariffs, taxes, and tumult – and the truth behind his claims

Key topics.Trump remains firm on tariffs despite market selloff, aiming for "trillions" in revenue.He calls for repealing the $52B Chips Act and increased border security funding.Trump proposes tax changes, including no taxes on tipped income and balancing the budget..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Support South Africa's bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here..If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here..By Josh Wingrove, Hadriana Lowenkron and Skylar Woodhouse___STEADY_PAYWALL___.President Donald Trump delivered the biggest speech of his presidency yet, hitting on partisan talking points favored by his conservative base, while largely sidestepping the effects of his sweeping tariff proposals on consumers..The speech was largely aimed at Republicans, drawing frequent applause and "USA" chants, while Democrats protested the appearance with signs, jeers and interruptions — which led to one lawmaker, Representative Al Green of Texas, to be ejected from the House chamber..Here are the key takeaways from Trump's address on Tuesday to a joint session of Congress:.Tariff turbulence.President Donald Trump.Trump made clear that this week's market selloff has not weakened his resolve on tariffs, saying he hopes to raise "trillions and trillions" in tariff revenue, which would amount to a widespread, sprawling new import tax.."Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again," he said. "There'll be a little disturbance, but we're okay with that." .He stopped short of saying if he would claw back some of this week's levies on Canada and Mexico, though Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has suggested a partial reprieve from the duties could be coming..Semiconductors, border.In one extemporaneous moment, Trump flatly called for Congress to eliminate the $52 billion bipartisan Chips and Science Act, casting doubt on its future and potentially on some of the projects funded to date. .Read more: 🔒 Trump's actions threaten democracy – Francis Wilkinson.Repealing it may be a hard sell in Congress, where many Republicans have new semiconductor factories planned in their districts funded in part by subsidies from that bill..Trump also nudged Congress to pass new border security funding. He touted his administration's attempts to crack down on border crossings and paid tribute to guests in the crowd who had relatives killed by migrants. .Tax talk.House Speaker Mike Johnson smiled, nodded and applauded through the speech but Trump's tax wish list will be no small feat to pass in the narrowly divided House..Trump reiterated his call to not tax tipped income, overtime pay and Social Security benefits – and also cited a desire to make interest payments on American-made cars tax deductible. .As Republicans grapple with extending his first-term cuts and adding new ones — plans which will cost upward of $5 trillion — he also set another lofty goal: balancing the budget "in the near future.".Foreign frenemies.Trump spent little time on some of the thorniest issues facing the US abroad. He said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy wrote him and said Ukraine is ready to sign a mineral deal — the fate of which has been unclear since a disastrous meeting between the two last week. .But Trump also reiterated his call for an end to the conflict and emphasized his unease with American aid to Ukraine – two positions that bolster Russia's bargaining position. .He made only a glancing reference to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war..Speech tone.Trump's speech landed in uncharted territory for the president – much less spirited than a typical rally speech but largely bereft of any bipartisan messaging. He touched on several lightning-rod issues in the conservative movement, including his push to ban transgender women from women's sports and Elon Musk's push to shrink the US government through cutting costs and dismissing federal workers.The speech had flourishes of the reality show roots of the president – Trump announced an honorary appointment of a 13-year-old with cancer, who dreams of being a police officer, to the Secret Service and surprised another attendee by announcing that he had granted the student admission to the US Military Academy at West Point..What Trump said about the US economy, fact-checked.By Mark Niquette.President Donald Trump spoke Tuesday before a joint session of Congress to outline his vision for a second term that started only six weeks ago and has already resulted in an upheaval of the federal workforce, disintegration of relationships with allies and a trade war..With his party controlling both chambers of Congress and Democrats largely on the sidelines and divided in their approach, Trump is poised to drive home his agenda of tariffs, tax breaks and spending cuts. Earlier Tuesday, his administration slapped 25% levies on goods from Mexico and Canada and layered another 10% duty on China on top of an identical hike a month before..Here are the president's key economic statements from the address, fact-checked and contextualized. "Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control. The egg price is out of control. And we are working hard to get it back down."This needs context. While the cost of eggs rose under the former Democratic president and has become a symbol of high prices, interest rates and other economic woes, it's largely due to the outbreak of avian flu. .Millions of birds have been killed just since December as the outbreak hit egg-laying farms from Iowa to California to North Carolina, prompting grocery stores to limit purchases and restaurants to add surcharges. A dozen large white eggs in the US reached a record of over $8 in February, from $2.97 a year ago, according to the benchmark indicator from price-reporting service Expana. .Eggs for sale at a grocery store in Los Angeles on Feb. 26. Photographer: Eric Thayer/Bloomberg."We suffered the worst inflation in 48 years, but perhaps even in the history of our country — they're not sure."This is false. The cumulative increase in consumer prices during Biden's term was higher than any other president in the past 40 years, not of all time..And Trump's policies — including pumping in $3.5 trillion for stimulus checks and other pandemic relief — and supply chain constraints when the US roared back to life also played an important part in annual US inflation hitting a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022 before falling to 2.7% in November when Trump was elected. It was 3% in January.."We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before," Trump said of his tariff plans.This needs context. While tariffs do generate revenue for the US, China and other foreign nations aren't paying them. US importers are responsible for the duties, and ultimately US businesses and consumers pay through higher costs..Read more: 🔒 The Economist: Welcome to Trump's world, his victory will shake up everything.One academic study in 2019 concluded that consumers and US companies paid most of the costs of Trump's tariffs in his first administration, and that after factoring in the retaliation, the main victims of the trade wars were farmers and blue-collar workers in areas that supported Trump in 2016..Gantry cranes and shipping containers at the Yangshan Deepwater Port in Shanghai, China. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg."Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again and it will happen rather quickly. There'll be a little disturbance, but we're OK with that. It won't be much."This needs context. Trump also sees tariffs as a way to help pay for the $4.5 trillion in expiring 2017 tax cuts and even replace the $2 trillion the US government raised in individual and corporate income taxes. But since the Second World War, tariffs have never generated much more than 2% of total federal revenue, according to a Congressional Research Service report published in January. And even a US tariff rate approaching 50% would only result in $780 billion in revenue and harm economic growth, economists at the Peterson Institute for International Economics calculated last year..Consumers and companies are worried. A Harris Poll taken for Bloomberg News found that almost 60% of US adults expect Trump's tariffs will lead to higher prices, and that 44% believe the levies are likely to be bad for the US economy. Tariffs also have come up a record 700 times during quarterly earnings calls for S&P 500 companies, according to a Bloomberg News analysis of transcripts..Indeed, the tariffs that Trump has already imposed on China, Canada and Mexico would cost the typical US family more than $1,200 per year, the Peterson Institute said.."We're going to have growth in the auto industry like nobody's ever seen," Trump said, adding he's spoken to the top automakers and plants are being built and announced.This needs context. US auto executives say taxing imports from Canada and Mexico is unfairly punitive to domestic carmakers, whose supply chains and factories are concentrated in North America. The cost to build a crossover utility vehicle will rise by at least $4,000, while the increase would be three times that for an electric vehicle, according to a new study from Anderson Economic Group. .Japanese automaker Honda Motor Co. said it has made no announcement of expanding its presence in Indiana, despite Trump's claim, and declined to comment on it. ."Over the past four years, 21 million people poured into the country. Many of them were murderers, human traffickers, gang members, and other criminals."This is false. There's no evidence other nations were sending their prisoners and mental patients to the US to join the migrants, many fleeing violence and poverty. Trump has specifically cited 13,000 murderers allowed in the country based on US Immigration and Customs Enforcement data released during the campaign..Migrants walk along the US-Mexico border in Campo, California. Photographer: Mark Abramson/Bloomberg.That included 13,099 people who were found guilty of homicide and hundreds of thousands of convicted criminals. But those numbers span decades, including during Trump's first administration..Trump and Republicans also accuse migrants of being responsible for crime. But study after study has shown that undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes compared to other immigrants — and even fewer compared to US-born citizens..Read also:.🔒 China threatens retaliation through 'all necessary measures' as Trump hikes tariffs🔒 The Economist: Tariffs will harm America, repeating painful past experiences🔒 Trump tariffs hit metals, spark trade war fears.© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.

Trump’s boldest speech yet: Tariffs, taxes, and tumult – and the truth behind his claims

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