Last night during his Joint Address to Congress, Donald Trump rambled on about invading Greenland and planting the American flag on Mars, but a plan to lower costs and address Americans’ anxiety about the looming economic disaster he’s driving us toward was noticeably absent.

Instead of using his Joint Address to offer solutions or save his rapidly declining approval rating, Trump rehashed old grievances and evaded responsibility.

Here’s what people are saying about Trump’s failed speech: 

On the airwaves:

On CNN:

DNC Chair Ken Martin: “Instead of focusing on the issues that Americans actually cared about, [Trump] did everything but. Americans have already lost confidence in his presidency after six weeks, consumer confidence is low, inflation is high. He focused more on Joe Biden, which he mentioned 13 times compared to talking about the economy nine times and health care he mentioned not once in his speech last night. …

“[In h]is long, rambling speech he did not address the issues that most Americans care about. And what you saw from Democrats, and what you continue to see from Democrats, is the fact that there is great frustration out there amongst the American people that Trump refuses, absolutely refuses to address the issues he promised that he would address. It’s going to become more difficult with these tariffs that he’s putting in place for people to afford their lives and he hasn’t focused one bit, one single iota on the issues that are driving the American public right now.” 

Veterans fired by DOGE: 

“I feel as if I was not human. I felt like I was just a number, that one minute I’m here, the next minute I’m gone.”

“The name of the game here is chaos, absolute chaos.”

“We were terminated, we weren’t fired. Fired is when you’re fired for cause, when there’s a reason for your firing. We were all terminated, which means we were let go as part of a layoff, regardless of what they put on the paper.”

“Are we willing to accept less care for veterans? Are we willing to accept small businesses that fall under? No one’s talking about the price is going to be paid. We have to make budget cuts. That’s understandable. But what are we willing to accept not having in the future?”

On MSNBC:

DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta: “The fact that this guy spent more time attacking Americans than he did talking about the fact that people cannot afford their lives … The president did not talk about it at all. … The main thing is that Donald Trump in just six weeks has made life more expensive, has made America sicker, has made America weaker. And he got up on that stage and lied to the American people. The only American energy that was unleashed was the fully gaslighting that we saw in front of our face.” 

Headlines:

New York Times Analysis: Trump Celebrates His Disruption but Slides Over Its Costs

New York Times Opinion: ‘It Was 90-Plus Minutes of Bad Moments’: 9 Opinion Writers on Trump’s Address to Congress

New York Times Opinion: Trump’s Revenge Tour Finds Its True Target

Washington Post: Defiant Trump signals full speed ahead on divisive policies

Washington Post Opinion: Trump’s gilded reality slams into actual reality

Washington Post Opinion: In just five days, Trump has set the country back nearly 100 years

NBC News: Ronald Reagan is ‘rolling in his grave,’ Sen. Elissa Slotkin says in Democratic response to Trump

Forbes: Democrats Call Out Trump After He Says Tariffs Will Cause ‘A Little Disturbance’

MSNBC MaddowBlog: Trump’s address to Congress was built on a foundation of lies

Daily Beast: Trump’s Speech Reduced American Democracy to a MAGA Game Show

HuffPost: Trump Delivers Gloating, Grievance-Filled Speech Hours After Sending Economy Reeling

HuffPost: Critics Sink Their Teeth Into Donald Trump’s ‘Let Them Eat Cake’ Speech Confession

The Guardian: Out-of-date polls to wrong aid amounts: factchecking Trump’s Congress address

USA TODAY: Trump’s speech described an America that doesn’t exist, and Republicans ate it up | Opinion

USA TODAY: Trump’s hateful speech riled up Republicans. It’s clear GOP won’t stand up to him. | Opinion

The Nation: With Boasts, Threats, and Lies, Trump Proves He’s Always in Campaign Mode

NPR: 6 takeaways from Trump’s pointedly partisan address to Congress

Common Dreams: Trump’s Social Security Lies in Speech to Congress Seen as ‘Prelude to Vicious Cuts’

Vox: Trump’s (very long) speech to Congress, explained in 500 words

Online:

Sen. Chuck Schumer on X: Tonight, President Trump rattled off broken promise after broken promise and lie after lie.

There was more truth in 10 minutes of Elissa Slotkin’s rebuttal than 2 hours of Donald Trump’s longwinded diatribe.

Instead of focusing on driving costs down, in Donald Trump’s first month in office, inflation, rents, groceries, and Putin’s influence are all on the rise.

The stock market is plummeting as he starts ill-conceived trade wars with our allies—hurting our farmers, families and 401Ks.

Americans will look at what he has done, not what he says, and see the destruction he’s beginning to wreak on you, your family, and our country.

Senate Democrats will keep fighting for a brighter future for American families and holding the Trump administration accountable.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin on X: Let’s talk about the economy.

Michigan literally invented the Middle Class: the revolutionary idea that you could work at an auto plant and afford the car you were building. That’s the American Dream.

Rep. Katherine Clark on X: Donald Trump is lying about Social Security for one reason:

So he has an excuse to CUT Social Security.

That’s always been the GOP’s plan.

Rep. Adriano Espaillat on X: Trump’s words do not match his actions. He claims to care for the working class, yet has actively plotted against them, threatening to tear away critical programs such as Medicare and Social Security. #SOTU #DemocraticResponse

House Democrats on X: All it takes is three House Republicans to stop Donald Trump from cutting Medicaid to pay for tax giveaways to billionaires. 

But every Republican is on their feet cheering on an agenda that asks the middle class to pay more while Elon Musk pays less.

Ken Martin: Read our statement on Trump’s disastrous joint address.

Malcolm Kenyatta on X: Trump campaigned hard on lowering costs for working families, but now he’s admitting pain is coming.

Promises BROKEN.

Reyna Walters-Morgan on X: Did anyone hear Trump mention the fact that his cuts to Medicaid could impact 22 million people’s coverage?

Nah? Me either.

Rep. Nikki Budzinski on X: My thoughts on President Trump’s address 🔽

You can’t say you love farmers when you are disrupting their markets and financial livelihoods with misguided tariffs.

You can’t talk about helping children with cancer when you gut the NIH and end clinical trials.

You can’t honor our military when you dismantle veterans’ services and fire veterans working across federal departments. 

You can’t champion children with disabilities when you want to abolish the Department of Education.

You can’t support the police when you pardon January 6th criminals who attacked law enforcement.

I stand ready to find common ground with Republicans to solve these important issues – but President Trump’s policies are taking us backward.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto on X: One thing is clear from tonight’s address from the President. He has no plan to do anything that would actually lower costs for families.

He’s focused on giving out tax breaks to his billionaire friends, and he’ll be happy to leave middle-class Americans with the bill.

Sen. Andy Kim on X: Trump didn’t say the word Medicaid because he wants to make it disappear.

Sen. Maria Cantwell on X: President Trump promised to deal with consumer costs and inflation, but we got no ideas tonight on how he’s going to make life more affordable for average Americans. Instead, he’s proposing things that will increase costs. New tariffs, cuts to critical programs like Medicaid and Social Security, and threatening core services like weather forecasting and aviation safety that are all bad for our safety and our economy.

Sen. Ed Markey on Bluesky: Nothing Donald Trump has said tonight is new. But he laid bare the Republican agenda:

Cut Medicare. Cut Medicaid. Cut Social Security. Cut food assistance. And line the pockets of the ultra-wealthy.

Sen. Adam Schiff on Bluesky: Trump breaks every promise he makes. 

He promised to lower the cost of living. 

He promised to respect our veterans. 

But there’s one promise you can count on him keeping: 

Tax cuts for billionaires.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Bluesky: I agree with Donald Trump that an unelected bureaucrat should be fired. 

Let’s start with Elon Musk.

Rep. Nanette D. Barragán on X: Donald Trump’s rambling, lie-filled speech was the longest ever. But he spent less than two minutes talking about Americans’ top priority: lowering the cost of living.

Trump and Republicans top legislative priority remains giving handouts to billionaire donors like Elon Musk and screwing hard-working Americans. #RepublicanRipOff

Rep. Joe Courtney on X: On the same day the cost of living increased & the stock market tanked thanks to President Trump’s trade war, Americans rightly wanted to know how this upheaval would improve their lives.

Instead, they got a speech completely detached from reality, full of self-congratulations.

Rep. Greg Casar on X: All you need to know about State of the Union: Trump lied to cover up for Musk stealing. 

They want to steal our healthcare, steal from our veterans, and steal from you to give to billionaires. 

The American people must fight back.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro on X: President Trump along with unchecked billionaire Elon Musk, is looting from the American people to fund massive tax breaks and subsidies for the richest Americans and biggest corporations. He said nothing about lowering costs for families. 

My full reaction to his Joint Address:

Rep. Jim Costa on X: Grocery prices are up, the stock market is down, and healthcare is on the chopping block. Tonight, President Trump sowed division instead of proposing solutions.

Americans don’t need more political games – they need robust, bipartisan solutions to address these challenges.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Bluesky: This list is so long and taking up so much real estate in his speech it’s almost like they want to distract from their massive cuts to Medicaid

Gov. JB Pritzker on Bluesky: Donald Trump is lying to you.

FactPost on X: CNN plays a near 4-minute fact check on Trump’s joint address

CAP Action on X: Trump spoke for 90 minutes—and didn’t say one word about the stress the 60% of Americans living paycheck to paycheck are facing right now

NAACP on X: The President of the United States just stood before the Nation and equated Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to Tyranny.

And Republican elected lawmakers stood and cheered…

Efforts that protect the disabled, women, mothers, veterans, LGBTQ+, and yes also race.  

Tyranny?

Reproductive Freedom for All on X: Reminder: Several of the people Trump praised tonight — including Pam Bondi and RFK Jr. — have extensive anti-abortion records. It’s not a matter of IF they’re going to come after abortion rights, it’s when.

EMILYs List on X: 🚨PAY ATTENTION🚨Donald Trump is trying to distract us, but the fact remains: he helped pass a House budget that would drastically cut Medicaid, rip away health care, close hospitals, take food off of people’s tables, and make life more expensive for hardworking families.

Becky Pringle, National Educators Association, on Bluesky: Shaming and alienating LGBTQ+ students doesn’t make anyone safer, happier, or more free. 

Whether it’s coming from a school bully or the president during a joint address, this hate and division is wrong.

Peggy Bailey, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, on X: The President left out “for the wealthy’ when talking about the tax cuts he supports. His proposals, which are included in the House budget resolution, cut taxes for the top 1% and pay for it by cutting food assistance and Medicaid. #CBPPJointAddress

Latino Victory Project on X: Trump’s “gold card” is a blatant attempt to turn citizenship into a commodity, where only the wealthy get a pass. Meanwhile, hardworking Latino families, who contribute to this nation every day, continue to be marginalized. True immigration reform should lift up all, not just the rich.

Protect Our Care on X: No plan to lower health care costs.

No solutions to bring down prescription drug prices.

Not a single mention of Medicaid, which covers more than 72M Americans.

Trump has no answers for the health care crises facing working families—because they’re the ones making it worse.

Families Over Billionaires on X: Trump’s tax plan benefits billionaires, not working families.

Meryl Kornfield, Washington Post, on X: Words Trump didn’t say tonight: “Medicaid,” “bird flu,” “measles”

Leo Shane III, Military Times, on X: No mention of veterans or veterans issues in that speech. Trump only said “veteran” once, in reference to Corey Comperatore, the man killed at his campaign rally over the summer.

Andrew Desiderio, Punchbowl News, on X: Kind of difficult to back up Trump’s claim that Russia has sent signals that it wants peace. To this day, the Russian military is bombarding Ukraine, including civilian areas, with drone attacks.

Kenneth Vogel, New York Times, on X: Trump declared that he has “a mandate like has not been seen in many decades.”

He won the popular vote by 1.48%.

Biden won the popular vote in 2020 by 4.45%.

Obama won the popular vote in 2008 by 7.27%.

Cassie Semyon, Spectrum News, on X: After President Trump slammed the bipartisan CHIPS Act tonight in his speech, a DNC spox pointed out that the legislation “fueled new middle-class jobs, turbocharged small businesses, spurred innovation, and boosted American-made manufacturing.” They told me “it’s no surprise that Trump – the master of shipping jobs overseas, rigging the economy for billionaires, and putting working people last – wants to roll it back. Trump isn’t doing a damn thing to help working people and that’s why economists believe his policies are putting us on the brink of a recession.”

Ryan Nobles, NBC News, on X: Trump just hammered the CHIPS act which was overwhelmingly passed with bi-partisan support and provided billions of dollars in incentives to companies across America.  24 Republicans voted for it in the House and 17 Republicans voted for it in the Senate.

Philip Bump, Washington Post, on Bluesky: hey guess what trump’s numbers about social security are total horseshit https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2025/02/19/elon-musk-social-security-fraud/