PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP (Shutterstock).

Promising to press forward with his campaign of “swift and unrelenting action” to transform the government and the nation, President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday.

Although it was not a “State of the Union” speech, it was the longest address ever made before a joint session, almost 100 minutes.

The president outlined his many executive actions and expressed hope that Russia and Ukraine might be willing to end their war.

“Wouldn’t that be beautiful,” said Trump. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”

The mood was not pretty inside the Capitol where Republican members of Congress cheered and Democrats mostly sat quietly, some of them holding up signs reading, “Liar.”

One Democrat, Rep. Al Green of Texas was removed from the chamber after repeatedly shouting, “You don’t have a mandate.”

Trump closed with “The golden age of America has only just begun.”

Mexico, Canada push back on tariffs

Responding to President Donald Trump’s statement that the imposition of tariffs of 25 percent on goods imported from Canada and Mexico would take effect on Tuesday, those nation’s announced they were going to retaliate.

TARIFFS on Canada, Mexico and China are coming (Shutterstock).

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that his nation would impose a 25 percent tariff on American imports. “This is a time to hit back hard and to demonstrate that a fight with Canada will have no winners.”

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that if the American tariffs were still in place on Sunday, her nation would reveal its “countermeasures.”

China would be hit with 10 percent tariffs, but the Beijing government has not announced a response.

Zelensky’s path to peace

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday recited some steps toward what he hoped would lead to an end of his nation’s war with Russia.

VOLODOMYR ZELENSKY, President of Ukraine.

According to The New York Times, he conceded that “our meeting in Washington … did not go the way it was supposed to be” but it is now “time to make things right.”

He said Ukraine was willing to release Russian prisoners of war, suspend long-range drone and missile strikes and declare a truce at sea, but only if Russia would agree to reciprocate in kind.

Zelensky complimented Trump’s “strong leadership” and “the moment when things changed when President Trump provided Ukraine with Javelins,” referring to a shoulder-fired missile weapon.

Weather: A wet Wednesday

The forecast for our West Orange County cities for Wednesday is for evening rain. The daytime high is expected to be 61 with an overnight low of 50.

The chance of rain is put at 86 percent. That number falls to 24 percent on Thursday, with mostly cloudy skies. The high should be 60 with a low of 43.

Friday should be 63 with a low of 43 under partly cloudy skies, while Saturday may bring sun and a high of 68 with a low of 47.

Great Thoughts

“Take my word for it, if you had seen but one day of war you would pray to Almighty God that you might never see such a thing again.
– Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington

“Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half the time.”
– E.B. White, editor and author.”