Read the full text of Trump’s address to Congress

The following is the full text of President Donald Trump’s first address to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 28, as prepared for delivery and released by the White House press office.

TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, the First Lady of the United States, and Citizens of America: Tonight, as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black History Month, we are reminded
of our nation’s path toward civil rights and the work that still remains.

Recent threats targeting Jewish Community Centers and vandalism of Jewish cemeteries, as well as last week’s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms.

Each American generation passes the torch of truth, liberty and justice – in an unbroken chain all the way down
to the present. That torch is now in our hands. And we will use it
to light up the world. I am here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength, and it is a message deeply delivered from my heart.

A new chapter of American Greatness is now beginning.
A new national pride is sweeping across our nation.

And a new surge of optimism is placing impossible dreams firmly within our grasp.
What we are witnessing today is the Renewal of the American Spirit.

Our allies will find that America is once again ready to lead.

All the nations of the world – friend or foe – will find that America is strong, America is proud, and America is free.

In 9 years, The United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of our Founding – 250 years since the day we declared our Independence.

It will be one of the great milestones in the history of the world. But what will America look like as we reach
our 250th year? What kind of country will we leave for our children?

I will not allow the mistakes of recent decades past to define the course of our future.For too long, we’ve watched our middle class shrink as we’ve exported our jobs and wealth to foreign countries. We’ve financed and built one global project after another,
but ignored the fates of our children in the inner cities of Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit – and so many other places throughout our land.

We’ve defended the borders of other nations, while leaving our own borders wide open, for anyone to cross – and for drugs to pour in at a now unprecedented rate.
And we’ve spent trillions of dollars overseas, while our infrastructure at home has so badly crumbled.

Then, in 2016, the earth shifted beneath our feet.

The rebellion started as a quiet protest, spoken by families of all colors and creeds – families who just wanted a fair shot for their children, and a fair hearing for their concerns.

But then the quiet voices became a loud chorus – as thousands of citizens now spoke out together, from cities small and large, all across our country.

Finally, the chorus became an earthquake – and the people turned out by the tens of millions, and they were all united by one very simple, but crucial demand, that America Must Put Its Own Citizens First…because only then, can we truly,
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN.
Dying industries will come roaring back to life. Heroic Veterans will get the care they so desperately need.

Our military will be given the resources its brave warriors so richly deserve.
Crumbling infrastructure will be replaced with new roads, bridges, tunnels, airports and railways gleaming across our beautiful land.
Our terrible drug epidemic will slow down and ultimately, stop. And our neglected inner cities will see a rebirth of hope, safety and opportunity.
Above all else, we will keep our promises to the American People.

It’s been a little over a month since my inauguration, and I want to take this moment to update the nation on the progress
I’ve made in keeping those promises. Since my election, Ford, Fiat-Chrysler, General Motors, Sprint, Softbank, Lockheed, Intel, Walmart and many others, have announced that they will invest billions of dollars in the United States and will create tens of thousands of new American jobs.The stock market has gained almost three trillion dollars in value since the election on November 8th, a record. We’ve saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing down the price of the fantastic new F-35 jet fighter, and will be saving billions more dollars on contracts all across our government.
We have placed a hiring freeze on non-military and non-essential federal workers.
We have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption by imposing a 5 year-ban on lobbying by Executive Branch Officials – and a lifetime ban on becoming lobbyists for a foreign government.
We have undertaken a historic effort to eliminate job-crushing regulations, creating a deregulation task force inside of every government agency; imposing a new rule which mandates that for every 1 new regulation, 2 old regulations must be eliminated; and stopping a regulation that threatens the future and livelihoods of our great coal miners.

We have cleared the way for the construction of the Keystone and Dakota Access Pipelines – thereby creating
tens of thousands of jobs – and I’ve issued a new directive that new American Pipelines be made with American Steel.
We have withdrawn the United States from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership.

With the help of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, we have formed a Council with our neighbors in Canada to help ensure that women entrepreneurs have access to the networks, markets and capital they need to start a business and live out their financial dreams.
To protect our citizens, I have directed the Department of Justice to form a Task Force on Reducing
Violent Crime.

I have further ordered the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice, along with the Department of State and the Director of National Intelligence, to coordinate an aggressive strategy to dismantle the Criminal Cartels that have spread across our nation.

We will stop the drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth – and we will expand treatment
for those who have become so badly addicted.

At the same time, my Administration has answered the pleas of the American people for immigration enforcement
and border security.

By finally enforcing our immigration laws, we will raise wages, help the unemployed, save billions of dollars, and make our communities safer for everyone.
We want all Americans to succeed – but that can’t happen in an environment of lawless chaos.
We must restore integrity and the rule of law to our borders.

For that reason, we will soon begin the construction of a Great Wall along our Southern Border. As we speak,
we are removing gang members, drug dealers and criminals that threaten our communities and prey on our citizens.

Bad ones are
going out
as I speak tonight
and
as I have promised.

To any in Congress who do not believe
we should enforce
our laws,
I would ask you
this question:

what would you say
to the American family that loses their jobs, their income,
or a loved one, because America refused to uphold
its laws and
defend its borders?

Our obligation
is to serve,
protect
and defend the citizens of the United states.

We are also taking strong measures
to protect our nation from Radical
Islamic Terrorism.

According to data provided by the Department of Justice, the vast majority of individuals convicted for terrorism-related offenses since 9/11 came here from outside of our country.

We have seen
the attacks at home – from Boston
to San Bernardino
to the Pentagon
and yes, even the
World Trade Center.

We have seen
the attacks in France,
in Belgium,
in Germany
and all over the world.

It is not compassionate,
but reckless,
to allow
uncontrolled entry from places
where proper vetting cannot occur.

Those given the
high honor
of admission
to the United States, should support
this country
and love its people
and its values.

We cannot allow
a beachhead
of terrorism
to form inside America – we cannot allow
our nation
to become a sanctuary for extremists.

That is why
my Administration
has been working on improved
vetting procedures, and we will shortly take new steps
to keep our nation safe – and to
keep out those who
would do us harm.

As promised,
I directed the Department of Defense to develop a plan
to demolish
and destroy ISIS –
a network of
lawless savages
that have slaughtered Muslims
and Christians,
and men,
women,
and children
of all faiths and beliefs.

We will work
with our allies, including our friends and allies
in the Muslim World,
to extinguish
this vile enemy
from our planet.

I have also imposed new sanctions
on entities and individuals who support Iran’s ballistic missile program,
and reaffirmed our unbreakable alliance with the State of Israel.

Finally,
I have kept my promise to appoint a Justice
to the United States Supreme Court
from my list of
20 judges
who will defend
our Constitution.

I am honored to have Maureen Scalia with us in the gallery tonight.

Her late,
great husband, Antonin Scalia,
will forever be
a symbol
of American Justice.

To fill his seat,
we have chosen
Judge Neil Gorsuch,
a man
of incredible skill,
and deep devotion
to the law.

He was confirmed unanimously to
the Court of Appeals, and I am asking
the Senate
to swiftly approve
his nomination.

Tonight,
as I outline
the next steps
we must take
as country,
we must honestly acknowledge
the circumstances
we inherited.

94 million Americans are out
of the labor force.

Over 43 million people are now
living in poverty,
and over
43 million Americans are on food stamps.

More than
1 in 5 people in their
prime-working years are not working.

We have the worst
financial recovery
in 65 years.

In the last 8 years,
the past Administration has
put on more new debt than nearly all other Presidents combined.

We’ve lost more than one-fourth of our
manufacturing jobs since NAFTA
was approved,
and we’ve lost
60,000 factories
since China joined
the World Trade Organization in 2001.

Our trade deficit in goods with the world
last year was nearly
$800 billion dollars.

And overseas,
we have inherited
a series of
tragic foreign policy disasters.

Solving these,
and so many other pressing problems, will require us
to work past
the differences
of Party.

It will require us
to tap into the American Spirit
that has overcome every challenge throughout
our long and
storied history.

But to accomplish
our goals at home
and abroad,
we must restart
the engine of the American Economy – making it easier
for companies
to do business
in the United States,
and much harder for companies to leave.

Right now,
American companies are taxed at one of
the highest rates anywhere
in the world.

My economic team
is developing
historic tax reform
that will reduce
the tax rate
on our companies
so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone.

At the same time,
we will provide massive tax relief
for the middle class.

We must create
a level playing field
for American companies
and workers.

Currently,
when we
ship products
out of America,
many other countries
make us pay very high
tariffs and taxes –
but when
foreign companies ship their products into America,
we charge them
almost nothing.

I just met with officials and workers
from a great
American company, Harley Davidson.

In fact,
they proudly displayed five of their magnificent motorcycles,
made in the USA,
on the front lawn
of the White House.

At our meeting,
I asked them,
how are you doing, how is business?

They said
that it’s good.

I asked them further
how they are doing with other countries, mainly
international sales.

They told me –
without
even complaining because
they have been mistreated for so long that they have become used to it –
that it is very hard
to do business
with other countries because
they tax our goods
at such a high rate.

They said that
in one case
another country
taxed
their motorcycles
at 100 percent.

They weren’t even asking for change.

But I am.

I believe strongly
in free trade
but it also has to be FAIR TRADE.

The first
Republican President,
Abraham Lincoln, warned that
“The abandonment
of the protective policy by the
American government
will produce
want and ruin
among our people.”

Lincoln was right – and it is time
we heeded his words.

I am not going
to let America and
its great companies and workers,
be taken advantage of anymore.

I am going to bring back millions of jobs.

Protecting our workers also means
reforming our system of legal immigration.

The current,
outdated system depresses wages for our poorest workers, and puts
great pressure
on taxpayers.

Nations
around the world,
like Canada,
Australia
and many others – have a merit-based immigration system.

It is a basic principle that those
seeking to enter
a country
ought to be able
to support themselves financially.

Yet, in America,
we do not
enforce this rule, straining the very public resources
that our
poorest citizens
rely upon.

According to
the National Academy of Sciences,
our current
immigration system
costs
America’s taxpayers
many billions
of dollars a year.

Switching away
from this
current system
of lower-skilled immigration,
and instead
adopting a
merit-based system, will have
many benefits:
it will save
countless dollars, raise workers’ wages, and help
struggling families – including
immigrant families – enter the middle class.

I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible,
as long as we focus on the following goals:

to improve jobs and wages for Americans,

to strengthen our nation’s security,

and to restore respect for our laws.

If we are guided
by the well-being
of American citizens,
instead of the unusual special interests,
then I believe Republicans and Democrats can work together to achieve
an outcome
that has eluded
our country
for decades.

Another
Republican President, Dwight D. Eisenhower, initiated the last
truly great national infrastructure program – the building
of the interstate highway system.

The time has come
for a new program
of national rebuilding.

America has spent
approximately
six trillion dollars
in the Middle East,
all this while
our infrastructure at home is crumbling.

With this
six trillion dollars
we could have
rebuilt our country – twice.

And maybe even
three times
if we had people
who had the ability
to negotiate.

To launch our
national rebuilding,
I will be asking Congress to approve
legislation
that produces
a $1 trillion dollar investment
in the infrastructure
of the United States – financed through both public and
private capital – creating millions
of new jobs.

This effort
will be guided
by two core principles:

Buy American,
and Hire American.

Tonight,
I am also calling on this Congress
to REPEAL
AND REPLACE OBAMACARE,
with reforms
that expand choice, increase access,
lower costs,
and at the same time, provide better Healthcare.

Mandating
every American to buy government-approved health insurance
was never
the right solution
for America.

The way to make health insurance available to everyone is to lower the cost
of health insurance, and that is
what we will do.

Obamacare
premiums nationwide have increased
by double
and triple digits —
as an example,
Arizona went up 116% last year alone.

Governor Matt Bevin
of Kentucky
just said Obamacare
is failing in his state — it is unsustainable
and collapsing.

One third of counties have only one insurer on the exchanges – leaving
many Americans
with no choice at all.

Remember
when you were told that you could
keep your doctor,
and keep your plan?

We now know that
all of those promises have been broken.

Obamacare
is collapsing –
and we must act decisively to protect
all Americans.

Action is not a choice – it is a necessity.

So I am calling on
all Democrats
and Republicans
in Congress
to work with us
to save Americans from this imploding Obamacare disaster.

Here are the principles that should
guide Congress
as we move to create
a better
healthcare system
for all Americans:

First,
we should ensure
that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access
to coverage,
and that we have
a stable transition
for Americans currently enrolled
in the
healthcare exchanges.

Secondly,
we should help Americans purchase their own coverage, through the use
of tax credits
and expanded
Health Savings Accounts –
but it must be
the plan they want,
not the plan
forced on them
by the government.

Thirdly,
we should give
our state Governors
the resources
and flexibility
they need
with Medicaid
to make sure
no one is left out.

Fourth,
we should implement legal reforms
that protect patients and doctors from unnecessary costs
that drive up
the price of insurance — and work to bring down the artificially high price of drugs, and bring them down immediately.

Finally,
the time has come
to give Americans the freedom to purchase health insurance across state lines – creating a truly competitive
national marketplace that will bring cost
way down and provide far better care.

Everything
that is broken
in our country
can be fixed.

Every problem
can be solved.

And every
hurting family
can find healing,
and hope.

Our citizens
deserve this,
and so much more – so why not join forces to finally get it done?

On this and
so many other things,
Democrats
and Republicans should get together
and unite for the
good of our country, and for the good of the American people.

My administration wants to work
with members
in both parties
to make childcare accessible
and affordable,
to help ensure
new parents have
Paid Family Leave,
to invest in
women’s health,
and to promote
clean air and
clear water,
and to rebuild
our military
and our infrastructure.

True love
for our people
requires us to find common ground,
to advance
the common good,
and to cooperate
on behalf of
every American child who deserves
a brighter future.

An incredible
young woman
is with us this evening who should serve
as an inspiration
to us all.

Today is
Rare Disease day,
and joining us
in the gallery is a
Rare Disease Survivor, Megan Crowley.

Megan was diagnosed with Pompay Disease, a rare
and serious illness when she was
15 months old.

She was not expected to live past five.

On receiving
this news,
Megan’s dad, John, fought with
everything he had
to save the life
of his precious child.

He founded a company to look for a cure,
and helped
develop the drug that saved Megan’s life.

Today she is
20 years old—and
a sophomore
at Notre Dame.

Megan’s story
is about
the unbounded power of a father’s love
for a daughter.

But our slow and burdensome approval process at the
Food and Drug Administration
keeps too many advances,
like the one that
saved Megan’s life, from reaching
those in need.

If we slash
the restraints,
not just at the FDA,
but across
our government,
then we will
be blessed with
far more miracles
like Megan.

In fact, our children
will grow up
in a nation of miracles.

But to
achieve this future,
we must
enrich the mind –
and the souls –
of every
American child.

Education
is the civil rights issue of our time.

I am
calling upon members of both parties
to pass
an education bill
that funds
school choice for disadvantaged youth, including millions
of African-American and Latino children.

These families
should be free
to choose the public, private,
charter,
magnet,
religious
or home school
that is right for them.

Joining us tonight
in the gallery
is a
remarkable woman, Denisha Merriweather.

As a young girl, Denisha struggled
in school and
failed third grade twice.

But then
she was able to enroll in a private center
for learning
with the help of
a tax credit scholarship program.

Today,
she is the first
in her family
to graduate not just from high school,
but from college.

Later this year
she will get her masters degree
in social work.

We want all children
to be able to break
the cycle of poverty just like Denisha.

But to break the cycle of poverty,
we must also break
the cycle of violence.

The murder rate
in 2015 experienced
its largest
single-year increase
in nearly
half a century.

In Chicago,
more than
4,000 people were shot last year alone –
and the murder rate
so far this year
has been even higher.

This is not acceptable in our society.

Every American child should be able
to grow up
in a safe community, to attend
a great school,
and to have access
to a high-paying job.

But to create
this future,
we must work with – not against –
the men and women
of law enforcement.

We must build bridges of cooperation
and trust –
not drive the wedge of disunity and division.

Police and sheriffs
are members
of our community.

They are friends
and neighbors,
they are mothers
and fathers,
sons and daughters – and they leave behind loved ones every day who worry
whether or not
they’ll come home
safe and sound.

We must support
the incredible
men and women
of law enforcement.

And we must support the victims of crime.

I have ordered
the Department of Homeland Security
to create an office
to serve
American Victims.

The office
is called VOICE – Victims Of Immigration Crime Engagement.

We are providing
a voice to those
who have been ignored by our media, and silenced
by special interests.

Joining us
in the audience tonight are four very brave Americans
whose government failed them.

Their names are
Jamiel Shaw,
Susan Oliver,
Jenna Oliver,
and Jessica Davis.

Jamiel’s 17-year-old son was
viciously murdered
by an
illegal immigrant
gang member,
who had just been released from prison.

Jamiel Shaw Jr.
was an incredible young man, with unlimited potential who was getting ready to go to college
where he would have excelled
as a great quarterback.

But he never
got the chance.

His father, who is in the audience tonight, has become a good friend of mine.

Also with us
are Susan Oliver
and Jessica Davis.

Their husbands – Deputy Sheriff
Danny Oliver
and Detective
Michael Davis –
were slain
in the line of duty
in California.

They were pillars
of their community.

These brave men were viciously gunned down by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record and two prior deportations.

Sitting with Susan
is her daughter, Jenna.

Jenna:
I want you to know that your father was a hero, and that tonight
you have the love
of an entire country supporting you
and praying for you.

To Jamiel,
Jenna,
Susan
and Jessica:
I want you to know – we will never
stop fighting
for justice —
your loved ones
will never be forgotten,
we will always
honor their memory.

Finally,
to keep America Safe we must provide
the men and women
of the United States Military with the tools they need
to prevent war and –
if they must –
TO FIGHT
AND TO WIN.

I am sending Congress a budget that rebuilds the military,
eliminates
the Defense Sequester, and calls for
one of the largest increases in
national defense spending
in American history.

My budget will also increase funding
for our Veterans.

Our Veterans
have delivered
for this nation –
and now we must deliver for them.

The challenges
we face as a nation
are great.

But our people
are even greater.

And none are greater or braver
than those who fight for America in uniform.

We are blessed
to be joined tonight
by Carryn Owens,
the widow of
a U.S. Navy
Special Operator, Senior Chief
William “Ryan” Owens.

Ryan died as he lived:
a warrior,
and a hero –
battling against terrorism and
securing our nation.

I just spoke to
General Mattis
who reconfirmed that,
and I quote,
“Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated
large amounts of
vital intelligence
that will lead
to many more victories in the future
against our enemies.”

Ryan’s legacy
is etched into eternity.

For as the bible teaches us,
there is no greater
act of love
than to lay down
one’s life
for one’s friends.

Ryan laid down his life for his friends,
for his country,
and for our Freedom – we will never
forget him.

To those allies
who wonder what
kind of friend
America will be,
look no further
than the heroes
who wear our uniform.

Our foreign policy
calls for a direct, robust and meaningful engagement
with the world.

It is
American Leadership based on
vital security interests that we share with our allies across the globe.

We strongly
support NATO,
an alliance
forged through
the bonds
of two World Wars
that
dethroned fascism, and a Cold War that defeated communism.

But our partners
must meet
their financial obligations.

And now, based on our very strong and frank discussions,
they are beginning
to do just that.

We expect
our partners,
whether in NATO,
in the Middle East,
or the Pacific –
to take a direct
and meaningful role
in both strategic and military operations, and pay their fair share of the cost.

We will respect historic institutions, but we will
also respect
the sovereign rights
of nations.

Free nations
are the best vehicle
for expressing the will of the people – and America respects
the right of all nations to chart
their own path.

My job is not to represent the world.

My job is to represent the United States
of America.

But we know that America is better off, when there is less conflict — not more.

We must learn
from the mistakes
of the past –
we have seen the war and destruction
that have raged
across our world.

The only
long-term solution
for these
humanitarian disasters is to create
the conditions where displaced persons
can safely return home and begin
the long process
of rebuilding.

America is willing
to find new friends, and to forge
new partnerships, where
shared interests align.

We want harmony
and stability,
not war and conflict.

We want peace, wherever peace
can be found.

America
is friends today
with former enemies.

Some of our
closest allies,
decades ago,
fought on
the opposite side
of these World Wars.

This history
should give us all faith in the possibilities
for a better world.

Hopefully,
the 250th year
for America
will see a world
that is more peaceful, more just
and more free.

On our
100th anniversary,
in 1876,
citizens from across our nation
came to Philadelphia to celebrate
America’s centennial.

At that celebration,
the country’s builders and artists
and inventors
showed off
their creations.

Alexander Graham Bell displayed
his telephone
for the first time.

Remington unveiled the first typewriter.

An early attempt
was made
at electric light.

Thomas Edison showed
an automatic telegraph and an electric pen.

Imagine the wonders our country
could know
in America’s
250th year.

Think of the marvels we can achieve
if we simply
set free the dreams
of our people.

Cures to illnesses
that have always plagued us are not too much to hope.

American footprints
on distant worlds
are not too big
a dream.

Millions lifted
from welfare
to work is not
too much to expect.

And streets
where mothers
are safe from fear—
schools
where children
learn in peace—
and jobs
where Americans prosper and grow—
are not
too much to ask.

When we have
all of this,
we will have made America greater
than ever before.

For all Americans.

This is our vision.

This is our mission.

But we can only
get there together.

We are one people, with one destiny.

We all bleed
the same blood.

We all salute
the same flag.

And we are all made
by the same God.

And when we fulfill this vision;
when we celebrate
our 250 years
of glorious freedom, we will look back
on tonight
as when
this new chapter
of American Greatness began.

The time
for small thinking
is over.

The time for
trivial fights
is behind us.

We just need
the courage
to share the dreams that fill our hearts.

The bravery
to express the hopes that stir our souls.

And the confidence
to turn those hopes and dreams to action.

From now on,
America
will be empowered
by our aspirations – not burdened
by our fears.

…Inspired
by the future –
not bound by the failures of the past.

…And guided
by our vision –
not blinded
by our doubts.

I am asking all citizens to embrace
this Renewal
of the American Spirit.

I am asking
all members
of Congress to join me in Dreaming Big,
and Bold
and Daring things
for our country.

And I am asking everyone
watching tonight
to seize this moment and–
Believe In Yourselves.

Believe In Your Future.

And Believe,
Once More,
In America.

Thank you,
God bless you,
and God Bless
these United States.

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