From PBS NewsHour.

President Donald Trump took credit for “the greatest and most successful era” in American history during his March 4 address to a joint session of Congress.

“To my fellow citizens: America is back,” Trump said.

“I return to this chamber tonight to report that America’s momentum is back. Our spirit is back. Our pride is back. Our confidence is back and the American dream is surging bigger and better than ever before.”

The first speech of Trump’s second term in office, while not officially a State of the Union address, is a chance for the president to lay out legislative priorities and tout early achievements.

Trump has moved to deliver on some of his campaign promises at breakneck speed, signing more than 75 executive orders in little more than a month. Thousands of federal workers have been fired at the direction of the Department of Government Efficiency and Trump adviser and billionaire Elon Musk.

Close to half of Americans in the latest PBS News/NPR/Marist poll disapprove of Trump’s job performance so far, but his approval rating, at 45 percent, is higher than at any point of his first term. While 54 percent of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction, 45 percent believe the country is on the right track, a 10-point jump from December 2024.

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