ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — There were plenty of surprises, snarky remarks and style in President Donald Trump’s Tuesday night address to Congress and the nation.

“To usher in the greatest and most successful era in the history of our country. We’ve accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years,” President Trump claimed.

Trump gave the longest speech of any joint address to Congress or State of the Union address. For an hour and 40 minutes, he detailed his plans as some lawmakers walked out – and were even escorted out.

Before it began, a New Mexico congresswoman received some attention.

As the president passed by Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury, she held up a sign saying “This is not normal.” Then, Republican Rep. Lance Gooden, of Texas, grabbed the sign and threw it into the air.

Ultimately, Stansbury left the speech early. One of New Mexico’s U.S. senators, Martin Heinrich, did not attend the address at all.

Other Democratic lawmakers stayed and held up dozens of signs with phrases like “false,” “protect veterans,” and “Musk steals.” Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers gave standing ovations and chanted “USA” and other things throughout the night.

Trump didn’t shy away from taking shots at his opponents across the aisle while discussing his plans for our economy, foreign policy, border control, and cultural issues.

But how will his plans for our country continue to impact New Mexicans?

Tariffs on Canada and Mexico went into effect Tuesday, which Trump addressed several times.

“Other countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now its our turn to start using them against other countries,” Trump said. “Tariffs are about making America rich again and making America great again. And it’s happening and it will happen rather quickly. There will be a little disturbance. But we’re okay with that.”

That disturbance is higher prices for Americans because both Canada and Mexico responded with their own tariffs on the U.S. Just before the president’s speech, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the U.S. will likely meet those countries “in the middle” and an announcement could come down Wednesday.

However, during Trump’s address, he doubled down. He said reciprocal tariffs are coming April 2, meaning the U.S. will match the tariffs a country puts on us.

Reilly White, an associate professor of finance at the University of New Mexico, explained a tariff war is extremely risky.

“What happens is, when you put tariffs, you try to protect certain industries, but you end up hurting every other industries that relies on those same goods. That’s why, when you put a steel tariff on, it affects the automotive industry and drives up prices for cars. That means people buy fewer cars and that means the automotive industry has to lay off workers,” White said.

As a border state, New Mexico is also in a unique position because many of our imports and exports involve Mexico.

For that reason, White says we’ll feel the pain twice as much.

“New Mexico has a $5 billion export industry. [That’s] about 5% of our total gross domestic product, of which 70% of that goes to Mexico alone as a border state. About half the value of our exported goods are computer and electronic equipment that goes to Mexico,” White said. “It’s a double hit. Higher prices because of the import tariffs. Less opportunity because of the export retaliatory tariffs that are happening.”

Another issue New Mexico can see unique consequences with is immigration. 

Trump claimed his administration has launched the “most sweeping border and immigration crackdown in American history,” with the lowest number of illegal border crossings recorded. NBC News reports that’s mostly true but there are questions about specific details.

Trump also claimed Tuesday that 21 million people illegally entered the U.S. during Joe Biden’s term as president. However, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported more than 10.8 million arrests for illegal crossings from Mexico while Biden was president.

President Trump also praised the drastic cuts made through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Multiple news outlets, including NBC News, reported a memo was sent Tuesday to department heads, pulling back “guidance directing agencies to fire probationary employees” and clarifying that agencies have the final say on whether they hire or fire employees based on performance.

KOB 4 is still waiting to see how that decision will impact New Mexicans who have already lost their federal government jobs.