DOGE, tariffs, and big tech: The biggest takeaways from Trump's joint address to Congress

• Trump delivered a nearly-two hour address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday.
• He used the moment to celebrate tariffs and the DOGE office's efforts to cut spending.
• The address was at times raucous, with Democratic lawmakers loudly protesting Trump's remarks.

On Tuesday night, President Donald Trump made history, delivering the longest presidential address to Congress on record.

Over the course of nearly two hours, Trump touched on a variety of topics, including DOGE, tariffs, tech companies, tax policy, and more.

It wasn't without interruption or protest. Just a few minutes into Trump's speech, Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas began heckling the president over Medicaid, leading House Speaker Mike Johnson to order security forces to escort the congressman out of the chamber. Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the DOGE subcommittee, held a sign declaring, "This is not normal" as Trump walked past her. Other House Democrats displayed signs declaring that "Musk Steals," and dozens left the chamber before the speech had ended.

Here are the major takeaways from Trump's speech.

In praising Elon Musk, Trump made it harder to DOGE legal questions.

Elon Musk had a prime seat for Trump's address. Trump lavished praise on the de facto White House DOGE office leader. His exact phrasing will likely create headaches for the Justice Department.

"I have created the brand new Department of Government Efficiency, DOGE, perhaps you've heard of it," Trump said, "which is headed by Elon Musk, who is in the gallery tonight."

A top White House official recently declared in federal court that Musk was neither the DOGE office administrator nor an employee of the group. Instead, the White House has said that Musk is a senior advisor to the president. Instead of Musk, the White House has said that Amy Gleason, a veteran US Digital Service employee, is leading the DOGE office as interim administrator.

If Musk is truly the DOGE office's leader, it could open him up to more questions about the extent of his role and the potential conflicts of interest he may have given that Tesla and SpaceX have received billions in federal contracts. As a special government employee, Musk has filed a financial disclosure but it is not required to release it publicly.

Democrats have repeatedly criticized Musk. Some of them held up small signs Tuesday night that said, "Musk steals" while Trump spoke. Others pointed to the world's richest man in jest after Trump declared during his address, "the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over."

Trump is ready for a trade war, no matter what 'little' adjustments might come.

Wall Street is still absorbing the first round of Trump's tariffs. On Tuesday, Trump indicated that he's ready to impose tariffs on several other nations, including India, South Korea, Brazil, and the European Union.

"On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada, have you heard of them?" Trump said during his speech to Congress. "And countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It's very unfair."

Trump's current tariffs are linked to the White House's frustration with China, Canada, and Mexico's respective handling of the fentanyl crisis. On April 2, Trump has said he will impose additional tariffs on agricultural products and other goods to reset global trade.

Earlier Tuesday, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the US was not in a "trade war but a drug war." Hours before Trump's speech, Lutnick sounded optimistic that the US could reach a tariffs compromise with at least its neighbors. Trump's comments are a reminder that trade will be omnipresent through the president's final term.

The White House has, at times, conceded that Americans might face the effects of tariffs. Trump has long falsely claimed that only foreign nations pay tariffs, but during his address he said that American farmers (often the target of retaliatory tariffs) might face temporary pain.

"It may be a little bit of an adjustment period," Trump said in his speech Tuesday night.

Big Tech receives big shout-outs after playing nice with Trump.

In his speech, Trump name-checked Apple, Oracle, and Softbank for their investments in the US. His comments show that Silicon Valley's playbook to get right with the White House is working.

The president mentioned Apple CEO Tim Cook by name, the type of shout-out that lawmakers and cabinet secretaries used to fight over in major presidential addresses. Cook recently met with Trump at the White House. Soon after, Apple said it would invest $500 billion in the US.

"Tim Cook called me, he said, I cannot spend it fast enough," Trump said Tuesday night. "It's going to be much higher than that."

This is a notable change from Trump's first term when the president and Republicans were frequently frustrated with Big Tech. The GOP regularly criticized Meta and other social media companies during the Biden administration. Now, even Mark Zuckerberg is praising Trump.

It isn't all good news for tech. Apple has a lot at stake in a US trade war. Foreign countries, especially China, have also shown that they will put tech in the ringer to retaliate against the White House. Trump is also threatening a bipartisan semiconductor bill that was one of President Joe Biden's biggest achievements.

"Your Chips act is a horrible, horrible thing," Trump said in his speech Tuesday. "We give hundreds of billions of dollars and it doesn't mean a thing."