Trump won the 147^th U.S. Presidency with a ‘land upheld,’ a land was upheld from being slid to the left with a ‘progressive’ agenda by the 146^th President Joe Biden (Democratic Administration). Trump won by over two and a half million popular votes and an electoral vote of 312 to 220. The 119^th Congress has 53 Republicans, 45 Democrats, and 2 Independents as Senators, 220 Republicans, and 215 Democrats as House Representatives. The fifty states are now governed by 27 Republicans and 23 Democrats. In this landscape, Trump was inaugurated as the 147^th U.S. President. Trump made a lot of campaign promises on immigration, tariffs, government efficiency, taxes, energy, etc. He was very diligent in his first six weeks in the White House, reversing some of the previous administration’s policies and delivering his campaign promises by executive orders.

On March 4^th, President Trump made his first speech to the 119^th U.S. Congress. In two hours, Trump made a passionate and unyielding address to a divided Congress emphasizing his beliefs, accomplishments, and agendas. Trump vowed to keep up his campaign promises of “swift and unrelenting actions” in steering the nation’s economy – drawing back manufacturing, stopping the flow of illegal immigrants into the country, and reorienting foreign policies regarding wars and trades. The democrats in Congress expressed their dissent with protests, stone faces, and placards during Trump’s speech, calling out false lies. Democratic Representative Al Green was ejected from the chamber by order of House Speaker Mike Johnson. The only ‘consolatory’ moment in Trump’s speech was when he said, “No matter what I say to you (in this speech and in this chamber), you democrats will not cheer or support me.” It was so true and so sad in the Congress of the United States today. Two parties should support the president, especially when he is elected by popular and electoral votes.

In his speech, Trump formally launched a trade war against Canada, Mexico, and China, which drew immediate retaliation response from the three nations. In comparison to his previous speech to the Congress in 2017, Trump appears to be more of a hardliner. Trump was firm in his speech criticizing the DEI (diversity, equity, and inclusion) initiatives, which he has been eliminating through his executive orders and actions of DOGE (depart of Government Efficiency Trump created in the White House). Throughout the speech, Trump has placed blame on Joe Biden and his Administration for many issues, especially the illegal immigrant problems and foreign wars. Usually, the president’s address to the union would plead for unity, but it was absent in Trump’s speech. Whether Trump felt such a plea to the 119^th Congress would be in vain or he needed to maintain a tough warrior stand facing a hostile Democratic party is not a good thing for the nation.

Trump calls his predecessor, Joe Biden, the worst president in history and brags about his achievement in his first month in office, comparing himself with George Washington. His speech received applause from the Republicans but silence from the Democrats, except one time when Trump said that Ukraine wanted to restart negotiations for peace. Trump was harsh about the DEI initiatives and transgender rights. Given that the Congress has 144 members of non-white members (Black, Hispanic, Asian/Islanders, and Native Americans, 27% of Congress), the House has 12, and the Senate has one transgender member, tough talk may not eliminate the hidden issues facing this nation. Uniting the nation seems to be difficult, but President Trump had no choice but to accept the facts.

Slotkin, a first-term Michigan senator, gave the Democrats’ rebuttal Speech to Trump’s address to the Congress. She sought to push back on Trump’s claims about the economy, the Ukraine war, and the federal workforce and reminded the nation that America could make change “without forgetting who we are as a country and as a democracy.” Slotkin’s citation of the value of democracy seems a little hollow since the U.S. does not have much to show in terms of defending democracy. The Democrats may have to come down from their pedestal shouting democracy and human rights to pay attention to our national division problems largely related to racial, gender, and equity issues in our land. It seems that Democracy (voting members into the Congress) is not solving our issues but rather accentuating our problems. Our Congress is now represented by 27% minority (racial), 28% women, 2.4% transgender, and 84% Christian; these representations seem to divide the nation rather than unite the nation to make America Great.

Trump was energetic, alert, and smooth in delivering his speech to the 119^th Congress. American people would not worry about Trump’s ability to do his commander-in-chief’s job. Joe Biden’s age and health had been a serious concern for serving a second term of his presidency. But Trump’s two-hour speech assured the American people that he is capable and he is in charge. He appears to be arrogant and exaggerating at times, but he also is a person with strong beliefs. He has not shared any clear vision or blueprint of MAGA goals, but he is holding MAGA as his mandate. He may not want to divulge too many details of his plan to accomplish MAGA, but he must realize that MAGA is not a one-term task of one presidency. The success of MAGA and the future of America depends on a clear MAGA policy that will transcend beyond the 147^th presidency.

In a competitive world of fast-changing technologies, MAGA is challenging. The MAGA policy needs a framework involving international partnerships (alliance and treaty) to focus on the MAGA goals so that they can be carried out through decades of collaboration. We did not hear anything about international cooperation in Trump’s speech other than tariffs and trade wars. However, realistically and rationally, Trump must initiate a long-term MAGA plan (somewhat like China’s Belt and Road initiative, which started in 2013, more than a decade ago). For MAGA to succeed and last beyond the 147^th U.S. presidency, President Trump must develop a grand plan for MAGA as soon as possible. When that grand plan is executed and locked in long-term progress, then he may reap the short-term goals and become one of the greatest American presidents in history like George Washington.