A lot of boos as #Trump praised #ElonMusk & #DOGE.
Trump is lying about something that he & #Musk have said before: that there’s massive “fraud” in #SocialSecurity being paid out to deceased Americans still in the system.
Analysts & watchdog groups have thoroughly DEBUNKED this crap.
The problem is neither new nor a sign of widespread fraud, but a technological issue w/Social Security’s tracking system & does not represent a source of significant spending.
#Trump falsely stated that #DOGE has found “hundreds of billions of dollars of fraud.” DOGE has claimed to have cut $9 billion thus far.
Trump is talking about firing federal workers & “reclaiming power from bureaucrats.” His efforts to expand presidential power by firing workers and removing independent agency leaders have been largely blocked so far in federal courts.
#Trump trashes the federal work force for not being at work in person since the pandemic, & says those who “resist this change will be removed from office immediately.”
The days of being ruled by “unelected bureaucrats” are over, Trump says.
#Democrats scoff & point up at the gallery where #Musk is sitting.
Most #Republicans stood up to applaud #Trump’s announcement that he would impose reciprocal #tariffs on April 2, but several remained seated, including Sens #LisaMurkowski (Alaska), #SusanCollins (Maine) & #RogerWicker (Mississippi).
I don’t care if they sit or stand. I want them to vote for the US interests & stop kowtowing to Trump.
#Trump promised #auto industry growth even as all automakers have stated that his #tariffs on #Mexico & #Canada will disrupt their North American #SupplyChains & increase costs for them that they will pass on to #consumers.
#Trump claimed that his #trade policy will be “great” for the American #farmer because they won’t have to compete w/foreign producers.
Actual #farmers point out that the #US #agriculture industry produces far more corn, soybeans, pork, chicken, cattle etc. than Americans could possibly consume. Farmers say they need foreign markets, but other countries impose #tariffs on their goods in #retaliation for Trump’s tariffs. That cuts them off from the foreign customers they need.
#Trump is praising a bill that Sen John Thune, the majority leader, has pushed to criminalize online “#RevengePorn.” Then he says that he could make use of such a bill himself, because no one is treated worse online that he is.
He has no idea what he’s talking about.
If anything, Trump would be the #criminal offender in this scenario, not the freaking victim.
Jackass.
Note #Democrats all applauded this bill.
Just as a tolerance metric, we are now heading into the second hour of this crap.
This also means my commentary will decrease as my ability to endure the torture decreases.
#Trump says that #Congress should repeal a #law that would supercharge #US manufacturing of semiconductor chips. The #CHIPS & #Science Act was signed into law by Pres #Biden & heralded as a #bipartisan victory ensuring the US would no longer rely on foreign countries to produce the chips needed in a majority of the #technology we use. Along w/ #Democrats, 24 House #Republicans voted to approve the bill. Many of them were targeted by #FarRight colleagues & #MAGA for backing a Democrat bill.
Into hour 2 of #Trump’s speech & he hasn’t said a thing about #Ukraine, #Gaza or his approach to the other burning #ForeignPolicy questions that have unsettled leaders around the world since he came to office 6 weeks ago. You know like aligning himself with #Russia, abdicating the #UnitedStates’ role as the leader of the free world, attacking our #allies, little thins like that. 🤦🏼♀️
Okay, now #trump is claiming to be tackling #toxic #chemical exposure & heralding #RFKJr as the #health secy. This will be very difficult for me to watch. #Liar.
Holy shit, he’s claiming a kid received #transition #medical procedures at school during the school day. Literally impossible.
He says #transgender care is mutilation.
#PublicHealth #science #medicine #ConspiracyTheories #hate #bigotry #heterosexism #LGBTQIA #HumanRights #CivilRights #FactCheck #TrumpLies
In a full-on #antivax #ConspiracyTheory moment, #Trump vowed again to figure out “what is going on” with high rates of #autism, by tasking his #health secy, #RFKJr, w/the responsibility. This question has been a focus for Trump since his first term — & is a source of concern for Democrats & in the #PublicHealth community.
Sen. #BernieSanders (I-Vermont) just walked out of #Trump’s speech.
#Trump outlined a vision of American #expansionism: building up our naval capacity, reclaiming the #PanamaCanal, & pledging to “get” #Greenland, “one way or another.”
He didn’t mention his aim to make #Canada the 51st state. But that may be because he doesn’t want to get into the horribly idiotic & disastrous #tariffs he placed on Canada & #Mexico today.
Fucking hell, #Trump totally & on live TV just called Sen #ElizabethWarren “Pocahontas” - a sick racial slur.
I think #Trump is finally wrapping up. He’s sticking to the teleprompter at least now.
Even still, he has gone over 1½ hours, the longest address to a #JointSession of #congress in all of American history.
#ElissaSlotkin’s Democratic response to #Trump’s address may go down as the first time the rebuttal was far-far superior to the actual speech. Just saying.
#Slotkin opens by saying that “America wants change” but that there is a “responsible way” & a “reckless” way, framing Trump’s approach as chaotic.
Slotkin is not just going after Trump but also #ElonMusk. She specifically cites his recent quote that #SocialSecurity is the “biggest Ponzi scheme of all time.”
#ElissaSlotkin spoke favorably of #Reagan in contrast to #Trump’s approach re #Russia & #Ukraine. She said Reagan “must be rolling over in his grave” following the Oval Office meeting last week & that she is thankful Reagan was president in the 1980s — & not Trump.
#ElissaSlotkin goes after #Trump’s scattershot approach to laying off thousands of #FederalWorkers.
“The mindless firing of people who work to protect our #NuclearWeapons, keep our #planes from crashing, & conduct the research that finds the cure for #cancer — only to re-hire them 2 days later? No CEO in America could do that without being summarily fired,” she said.
Watch Sen #ElissaSlotkin’s rebuttal to #Trump’s lie filled address to the #JointSession of #Congress.
