President Donald Trump’s tone was jubilant and defiant.
He proudly listed the congressionally approved foreign-aid funds the Department of Government Efficiency has now frozen. He directly credited Elon Musk for leading DOGE, despite a White House court filing stating that Musk, who has not been confirmed by the Senate, is not leading the office.
He said that his administration would acquire Greenland “one way or another,” even as Denmark has said explicitly the island is not for sale. And early in his address to the joint session of Congress, the 45th and 47th president heralded renaming North America’s tallest mountain after William McKinley, despite Alaska’s two Republican senators moving to change it back to the mountain’s old name, Denali.