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Six weeks into his tumultuous return to the White House, President Donald Trump strode to the podium in front of a sharply divided Congress 鈥� and showed how much he has changed Washington in such a short stretch of time.

鈥淚t has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplish in four years or eight years 鈥� and we are just getting started,鈥� Mr. Trump declared in his first joint address to Congress since returning to the White House.

The speech comes amid a wild sprint in American history. Mr. Trump has deputized billionaire Elon Musk to slash the federal government, laying off thousands of workers in unpredictable spurts. Mr. Trump and Vice President JD Vance upbraided the president of Ukraine in the Oval Office last Friday, then cut off military aid to the U.S. ally. And the stock market has just gone through a two-day selloff triggered by the president鈥檚 decision to levy heavy tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the U.S.鈥檚 top trading partners.

Presidential joint addresses and State of the Union speeches are often dull laundry lists of policy proposals. This was lighter on that front than normal 鈥� even compared to Mr. Trump鈥檚 previous addresses 鈥� and more focused on political score-settling. The president brought in guests to highlight political wedge issues, from immigration and crime to transgender women in sports.

The speech itself isn鈥檛 likely to have a lasting legacy. What matters more for Mr. Trump鈥檚 political future is the issue that handed him the election 鈥� inflation. If his tariffs, massive government layoffs, proposed tax plans, and other actions help boost the economy, his approval rating will likely hold steady or rise, and he鈥檒l have more leeway for his other policies. If they trigger higher prices and rising unemployment rates, his presidency may soon be on the rocks.

Defending tariffs as they shake markets

Mr. Trump spent a solid chunk of his long speech blaming his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for high inflation, while defending his tariff plan. In a notable moment, he tacitly admitted the tariffs might cause short-term economic pain.

鈥淭ariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it鈥檚 happening, and it will happen rather quickly. There鈥檒l be a little disturbance, but we鈥檙e OK with that. It won鈥檛 be much,鈥� he promised.

He said that wider reciprocal tariffs will land on April 2.

鈥淚 wanted to make it April 1st, but I didn鈥檛 want to be accused of April Fool鈥檚 Day,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檓 a very superstitious person.鈥�

The acrimony in the room was palpable all night, in both directions. Not long after Mr. Trump began his speech, Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas stood up and shouted that he didn鈥檛 have a mandate to cut Medicaid (as might occur through Republican legislation), waving his cane at the president. After refusing to sit down, he was escorted out of the House chamber, as some Republican lawmakers gleefully chanted 鈥渟ha-nah-nah-nah, hey hey hey, goodbye.鈥�

Mr. Trump opened his speech by bragging about his 2024 election win. He relitigated his criminal cases: 鈥淲e 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,鈥� he said. He slammed Democrats on border security. He went on a聽long riff making misleading claims about widespread Social Security fraud based on deceptive figures about people over the age of 100 in the program鈥檚 database that he suggested were receiving benefits. He executed made-for-TV moments, like making a 13-year-old who had been diagnosed with brain cancer an honorary U.S. Secret Service agent.

Partisan flourishes on both sides

And time and again, Mr. Trump gleefully trolled Democrats.

鈥淭his is my fifth such speech to Congress, and once again, I look 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,鈥� he said early on. 鈥淔or the good of our nation, let鈥檚 work together, and let鈥檚 truly make America great again.鈥�

He later interrupted his remarks to mock Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts as 鈥淧ocahontas,鈥� his longtime nickname for her. Senator Warren clapped sardonically, and told reporters afterward that Mr. Trump鈥檚 speech had been 鈥渙ne lie heaped on another.鈥�

Democrats tried 鈥� and largely failed 鈥� to find a cohesive way to push back. As Mr. Trump boasted about his strong support for law enforcement, some in the chamber yelled back 鈥淛an. 6,鈥� referring to his supporters鈥� Capitol riot, which wounded many police officers. Democratic lawmakers filed out in dribs and drabs, though most of them weren鈥檛 shown on TV broadcasts. They held up black-and-white signs saying 鈥淢usk steals鈥� and 鈥淔alse.鈥� But the pushback was disjointed.

Mr. Trump went very long, basking in the moment. He was at the podium for just under 100 minutes, the longest joint session or State of the Union in modern history.

鈥淚t鈥檚 late, so I promise to be a lot shorter than what you just watched,鈥� quipped Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin as she began the Democratic response.

Staff writer Caitlin Babcock contributed to this report.