March 5 2025

Trump’s Combative Joint Congress Speech Sets Duration Record; MAGA Loves It, Dems Hate It

Democrat Slotkin Delivers Short, Calm Rebuttal

Trump Order Aims to Revive U.S. Shipbuilding, Counter China

BlackRock Buys Panama Ports Amid Trump’s China Pressure

China Ups Defense Budget by 7.2% Amid U.S. Clash

GET THE CITIZEN JOURNAL APP - FREE!

FLASH…U.S. captures terrorist mastermind of 2021 Kabul Airport ‘Abbey Gate’ suicide bombing…attack killed 13 American soldiers and 169 Afghans…

1. Trump’s Combative Joint Congress Speech Sets Duration Record; MAGA Loves It, Dems Hate It

President Trump put his disruptive return to power on full display during a prime-time address to Congress, offering a no-apologies assessment of his decisions to crack down on illegal immigration, slash the federal workforce and impose stiff tariffs on imports. The one-hour, 40-minute address—the longest of its kind in history—gave Trump an opportunity to sell his combative brand of governing to tens of millions of Americans in what was expected to be his largest audience since his inaugural address. Trump presented a swaggering view of his administration, boasting of the dozens of executive orders he has signed and casting his first month in office as the most successful in history. He made few entreaties for unity, instead attacking Democrats as “radical left lunatics” and blaming his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the country’s problems. “I look at the Democrats in front of me and I realize there is absolutely nothing I can say to make them happy,” he said. Democratic lawmakers held signs that read “false” and “Musk steals,” a reference to Trump’s ally Elon Musk and the efforts he has led to slash government spending Seven minutes into the speech, Rep. Al Green (D., Texas) was escorted out after rising from his seat and shouting at the president. The disruption prompted Trump to momentarily pause his remarks. Green later told reporters that the outburst was “worth it to let people know that there are some people who are going to stand up” to Trump.
Source: WSJ

2. Democrat Slotkin Delivers Short, Calm Rebuttal

Senator Elissa Slotkin, a first-term Democrat from Michigan, delivered a simple message as her party’s official response to President Trump’s combative and lengthy address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night: Mr. Trump, she said, was “going to make you pay in every part of your life.” Ms. Slotkin, 48, fresh off a victory in a competitive race in a critical state, took up the tricky task of giving the opposing party’s answer to the annual congressional address at a moment when Democrats are struggling to find an effective message and messenger for pushing back on a president unbound. During Mr. Trump’s address, some Democrats heckled him, others held up signs of protest and one lawmaker, Representative Al Green of Texas, was removed from the chamber for a cane-waving tirade in which he shouted that Mr. Trump had “no mandate” for his agenda and refused to sit back down. In contrast, Ms. Slotkin struck a calm and upbeat tone in her brief remarks, working to appeal not just to Democrats but to Republicans as well by introducing herself via her national security credentials. (She noted that she served three tours in Iraq working for the C.I.A. under Republican and Democratic presidents.)
Source: NYT

3. Trump Order Aims to Revive U.S. Shipbuilding, Counter China

The Trump administration is preparing an executive order aimed at reviving U.S. shipbuilding and cutting Chinese dominance of the global maritime industry. According to a draft summary reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, the order includes 18 measures ranging from raising revenue from fees on Chinese-built ships and cranes entering the U.S., to establishing a new office at the National Security Council to strengthen the domestic maritime sector. The measures also include raising wages for nuclear-shipyard workers and instructions to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency to review government procurement processes, including the Navy’s. The measures being considered draw on bipartisan proposals that have been circulating in Washington for several years. These include pending legislation in Congress aimed at restoring U.S. shipbuilding to proposals floated by the U.S. Trade Representative’s office that would charge fees on Chinese-flagged or Chinese-built ships calling at U.S. ports. One shipping-industry official said the executive order was influenced by Trump’s national security adviser, Mike Waltz, who as a member of Congress last year co-sponsored bipartisan legislation aimed at expanding the U.S.-flagged fleet and providing financial support and tax incentives to U.S. shipbuilders. China is the world’s biggest producer of containerships. Almost 29% of vessels in service today when measured by container capacity were made in China, according to data firm Linerlytica. Chinese shipyards account for about 70% of new containership capacity on order.
Source: WSJ

4. BlackRock Buys Panama Ports Amid Trump’s China Pressure

BlackRock has agreed to buy two major ports on the Panama Canal from their Hong Kong-based owner as part of a $22.8bn deal, following pressure from Donald Trump over alleged Chinese influence at the vital waterway. Under the agreement, the ports’ Hong Kong-based owner CK Hutchison would sell the business to a consortium including BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment Limited, according to a company statement on Tuesday. The group would acquire a 90 per cent stake in the company that owns and operates the two ports in Panama. Trump has frequently alleged that “China is running the Panama Canal”, and rattled Panama when he threatened earlier this year to “take it back” under American control. The Trump administration has also demanded Panama reduce Chinese influence at the canal, claiming Beijing’s involvement in the ports had violated a treaty concerning its neutrality.
Source: FT

5. China Ups Defense Budget by 7.2% Amid U.S. Clash

China has announced an ambitious GDP growth target of “around 5 per cent” for 2025 despite a slowdown in the domestic economy and mounting trade tensions with the US. The growth figure, which was in line with market expectations, signalled Beijing’s determination to maintain growth in the face of renewed trade hostilities with the US, which imposed additional tariffs on China this week. Beijing also announced a nominal 7.2 per cent rise in its 2025 defence budget to Rmb1.78tn, in line with average increases over the past decade but outpacing the overall 6.9 per cent rise in central government expenditure. Analysts said China’s total military spending was likely to be much higher than reported. The Pentagon’s most recent annual report said Beijing spent “40 per cent to 90 per cent more than it announces in its public defence budget”, though western experts’ estimates are about 30 per cent.
Source: FT

March 5, 1770: The Boston Massacre

SUBSCRIBE ONLINE TO GET THE US CITIZEN JOURNAL IN YOR INBOX - FREE!

See the Ad Astra Podcast! Released on Apple and Spotify around 10a CST.

Sponsors (click me!)

Sources

1. https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/donald-trump-speech-congress-32b8bda1
2. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/05/us/politics/elissa-slotkin-trump-speech-response.html
3. https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-readies-order-to-bolster-u-s-shipbuilders-punish-china-d6a2749b?mod=hp_lead_pos11
4. https://www.ft.com/content/b3a1ea24-72c6-4fad-9de1-e7411048ad31
5. https://www.ft.com/content/e4070348-6e6f-478d-97a0-c595b42b3698