Here’s a look back at some of the promises Trump made during his joint address last year and where they stand as we head into this year\u2019s speech: <\/p>\n
Promise: \u201cTo further enhance our national security, my administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we\u2019ve already started doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though the administration has spoken of its concerns over China\u2019s influence in the Panama Canal and Secretary of State Marco Rubio made his first trip in his position to Panama, the administration has made no formal moves to \u201creclaim\u201d the canal, as Trump said it had already started doing last year, and Trump rarely brings it up anymore.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Promise:\u00a0\u201cMeanwhile, we have hundreds of thousands of federal workers who have not been showing up to work. My administration will reclaim power from this unaccountable bureaucracy, and we will restore true democracy to America again. And any federal bureaucrat who resists this change will be removed from office immediately … because we are draining the swamp.\u00a0It\u2019s very simple, and the days of rule by unelected bureaucrats are over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Established on Trump\u2019s first day in office, DOGE laid off thousands of federal employees across agencies, slashing funding for organizations like USAID. It quickly came to an end in November, despite its anticipated end date of July 4, 2026. And in October, the Trump administration rehired hundreds of federal employees<\/a>\u00a0that agencies needed to help \u201ccarry out basic functions.\u201d<\/p>\n Economy promises<\/p>\n Promise: \u201cBy slashing all of the fraud, waste and theft we can find, we will defeat inflation, bring down mortgage rates, lower car payments and grocery prices, protect our seniors and put more money in the pockets of American families.\u201d<\/p>\n Where it stands: IT DEPENDS<\/p>\n Defeating inflation \u2014 Annual inflation was at 2.4% in January, down from 3% when Trump entered office, but not \u201cdefeated\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bringing down mortgage rates\u00a0\u2014 Thirty-year mortgage rates fell below 6% last month for the first time in three years after having fallen more than 1% during the first year of Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n Lower car payments \u2013 Car payments have been going up. Trump\u2019s \u201cOne Big Beautiful Bill\u201d included a provision allowing Americans to deduct interest payments on new car loans.<\/p>\n Budget balancing<\/p>\n Promise: \u201cIn the near future, I want to do what has not been done in 24 years, balance the federal budget. We\u2019re going to balance it.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0Where it stands: UNFUFILLED<\/p>\n Trump continues to focus on balancing the budget but has been unable to do it so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n He posted Friday<\/a>: \u201cBALANCE BUDGET NOW??? LETS GIVE IT A SHOT. LOTS OF MONEY COMING IN FROM TARIFFS. DO IT\u201d\u00a0almost an hour before the Supreme Court decision striking down most of his tariffs was released.\u00a0In Davos, Switzerland, Trump told reporters that Treasury Secretary Scott \u201cBessent is working on it, looking for where this 19 billion in Minnesota fraud is coming from, if we were able to cut out 50% of the fraud \u2014 we\u2019d have a balanced budget.\u201d<\/p>\n Tariffs<\/p>\n Promise:\u00a0\u201cApril 2nd, reciprocal tariffs kick in, and whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them. That\u2019s reciprocal \u2014 back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market.\u00a0There\u2019s a lot of that, too. They don\u2019t even allow us in their market.\u201d<\/p>\n Promise: \u201cIf you don\u2019t make your product in America, however, under the Trump administration, you will pay a tariff, and in some cases a rather large one. Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it\u2019s our turn to start using them against those other countries. On average, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Mexico and Canada \u2014 have you heard of them? \u2014 and countless other nations charge us tremendously higher tariffs than we charge them. It\u2019s very unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n Where it stands: IT\u2019S COMPLICATED\u00a0<\/p>\n Trump did establish tariffs on dozens of countries, including the reciprocal tariffs he promised in last year\u2019s speech, raking in $130 billion in tariff revenue. However, on Friday, the Supreme Court struck down his use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to implement the reciprocal tariffs and the 25% tariff Trump imposed on some goods from Canada, China and Mexico to curb the flow of fentanyl. In response, he imposed a 10% global tariff using Section 122, which allows 150 days of tariffs under the authority. He vowed to reinstate additional tariffs using other authorities.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Mexican cartels\u00a0<\/p>\n Promise: \u201cFive nights ago, Mexican authorities, because of our tariff policies being imposed on them \u2014 think of this \u2014 handed over to us 29 of the biggest cartel leaders in their country. That has never happened before. They want to make us happy. First time ever. But we need Mexico and Canada to do much more than they\u2019ve done, and they have to stop the fentanyl and drugs pouring into the USA. They\u2019re going to stop it.\u201d<\/p>\n Where it stands: FULFILLED<\/p>\n On Sunday, the Mexican government killed the cartel leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, \u201cEl Mencho,\u201d unleashing a wave of violence across Mexico. The move was largely seen as an attempt by the Mexican government to show the Trump administration it is seriously cracking down on cartels.<\/p>\n Tax cuts<\/p>\n Promise:\u00a0\u201cAnd the next phase of our plan to deliver the greatest economy in history is for this Congress to pass tax cuts for everybody. They\u2019re in there; they\u2019re waiting for you to vote. And I\u2019m sure that the people on my right, I don\u2019t mean the Republican right, but my right, right here. I\u2019m sure you\u2019re going to vote for those tax cuts, because otherwise, I don\u2019t believe the people will ever vote you into office. So I\u2019m doing you a big favor by telling you that. But I know this group is going to be voting for the tax.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Promise: \u201cA very, very big part of our plan, we had tremendous success in our first term. Within a very big part of our plan, we\u2019re seeking permanent income tax cuts all across the board.\u201d<\/p>\n Where it stands: ACHIEVED IN THE “BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL”<\/p>\n Tax cuts for everybody \u2014 While \u201ceverybody\u201d is a broad word, the OBBB included the \u201cworking families\u201d tax cut and a $6,000 \u201cbonus\u201d deduction for certain older Americans ages 65 and over, among other provisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Permanent Income tax cuts \u2014 The OBBB extended Trump\u2019s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, offering an extension to lower individual income tax rates.<\/p>\n No tax on tips, overtime or Social Security benefits<\/p>\n Promise: \u201cAnd to get urgently needed relief to Americans hit especially hard by inflation, I\u2019m calling for no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security benefits for our great seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n Where it stands: ACHIEVED IN THE “ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL”<\/p>\n The OBBB included provisions that made no tax on tips, no tax on overtime and no tax on Social Security benefits for “our great seniors.”<\/p>\n Alaska pipeline<\/p>\n Promise: \u201cMy administration is also working on a gigantic natural gas pipeline in Alaska \u2014 among the largest in the world \u2014 where Japan, South Korea and other nations want to be our partner with investments of trillions of dollars each. There\u2019s never been anything like that one. It will be truly spectacular. It\u2019s all set to go. The permitting is gotten.\u201d<\/p>\n Where it stands: ONGOING, BUT LITTLE PROGRESS<\/p>\n Trump and his team have brought this up in negotiations with Asian leaders, and Trump recently said investments secured through trade deals with Japan and South Korea will go toward Alaskan liquefied natural gas. New York energy firm Glenfarne has taken over as developer. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum recently removed land orders to open up millions of acres of public land in support of the project. But the project is still a long way off and remains hypothetical, so Trump’s saying last year that it was \u201call set to go\u201d was an exaggeration.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shipbuilding<\/p>\n Promise: \u201cTo boost our defense industrial base, we are also going to resurrect the American shipbuilding industry, including commercial shipbuilding and military shipbuilding. And for that purpose, I am announcing tonight that we will create a new Office of Shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America, where it belongs.\u201d<\/p>\n Where it stands: The administration\u2019s \u201cOffice of Shipbuilding\u201d was folded into the Office of Management and Budget, per USNI News<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Golden Dome<\/p>\n Promise:\u00a0\u201cAs commander-in-chief, my focus is on building the most powerful military of the future. As a first step, I\u2019m asking Congress to fund a state-of-the-art Golden Dome missile defense shield to protect our homeland, all made in the USA.\u201d<\/p>\n Where it stands: UNFULFILLED, BUT IN PROGRESS<\/p>\n While the Golden Dome is not operational, it is in the process of being built.\u00a0In May<\/a>, Trump appointed Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein to oversee the project and said it would be operational by the end of his term.<\/p>\n In Davos<\/a>, Trump said \u201ca piece\u201d of the Golden Dome system would be on Greenland. He has since backed off on his attempt to use Greenland in the plans.<\/p>\n Yesterday in Colorado<\/a>, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters that the administration is \u201crunning as fast as we can on Golden Dome to deliver for President Trump, because we must, on behalf of the American people, defend our homeland.\u201d<\/p>\n Greenland<\/p>\n Promise:\u00a0\u201cAnd I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland. We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America. We need Greenland for national security and even international security, and we\u2019re working with everybody involved to try and get it, but we need it really for international world security. And I think we\u2019re going to get it; one way or the other, we\u2019re going to get it. We will keep you safe, we will make you rich, and together,\u00a0we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.\u00a0It\u2019s a very small population, but very, very large piece of land and very, very important for military security.\u201d<\/p>\n Where it stands: UNFULFILLED, WITH A SHIFTED FOCUS<\/p>\n Last month in Davos, Trump ramped up his attempts to acquire Greenland, claiming the move was imperative for U.S. global security. Following a meeting with the NATO secretary-general, however, he seemed to back off his demands. Instead, the U.S. has moved toward a deal<\/a>\u00a0that would allow it to place more troops, bases and military hardware on the island, a territory of Denmark.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Here’s a look back at some of the promises Trump made during his joint address last year and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497995,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[49,48,75,348],"class_list":["post-497994","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497994","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=497994"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/497994\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/497995"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=497994"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=497994"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=497994"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}