Trump airs familiar grievances, charts MAGA plan in address before bitterly divided Congress

Trump is starting his speech claiming he was elected with a "mandate" for change in America. But as we have written, explicit support for his agenda is much lower than the vote share he won in the 2024 presidential race. According to our analysis of 50 political polls released since the start of Trump’s second term, much of the president’s agenda is not supported by a majority of U.S. adults. Across nearly 300 questions asked in these polls, the average policy proposal or other official action by Trump is supported by just 38% of Americans, with 46% opposed to them.

The administration’s most popular policies (and some of the few with positive approval ratings) have been those targeting transgender Americans — such as those updating federal documents to only include two genders — and the most unpopular moves are on health care, Trump’s pardons of Americans convicted of crimes related to Jan. 6, 2021, foreign policy, and the “Department of Government Efficiency." When asked specifically about DOGE-related cuts to federal programs, most Americans opposed Trump’s actions.

As of 1 p.m. Eastern, 47.8% of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president, according to 538’s average, whereas 47.7% disapprove. His net approval rating is much lower than every other president’s at this point in their term.

—G. Elliott Morris, 538

Trump took aim at Democrats after they booed and interrupted his speech, saying "there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy or to make them stand or smile or applaud."

He then made a weak attempt at pitching unity, asking them for "just one night, why not join us in celebrating so many incredible wins for America." As Trump said the words, Vice President JD Vance was seen laughing behind him.

“Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency on our southern border, and I deployed the U.S. military and border,” Trump touted. “And what a job they've done as a result."

He added that “illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded ever,” before criticizing former President Joe Biden for his immigration record and calling him “the worst president in American history.”

FACT CHECK: This is in the eye of the beholder.

Trump’s victory was clear, but by historical standards, it was no landslide.

Trump has reason to celebrate winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote. In fact, he became only the second Republican to win the popular vote since 1988, after George W. Bush in his 2004 reelection win. Trump won each of the seven battleground states that political analysts said would decide the election.

In addition, the vast majority of U.S. counties saw their margins shift in Trump’s direction, both in places where Republicans historically do well and places where Democrats generally have an edge.

On the other hand, Trump’s margins of victory — both in raw votes and in percentages — were small by historical standards, even for the past quarter century, when close elections have been the rule, including the 2000 Florida recount election and Trump’s previous two races in 2016 and 2020.

Trump’s victory also came without a big boost for downballot Republicans. Republicans lost a little ground in the House, which was already narrowly divided, and while Republicans flipped the Senate, Democrats won four Senate races in key battleground states even as former Vice President Kamala Harris was losing those states to Trump.

— Aaron Sharockman, PolitiFact