--- title: Trump Congress Address: Donald Trump Condemns Hate Crimes description: President Donald Trump on Tuesday opened his address to a joint session of Congress by condemning hate crimes canonical: https://time.com/4686336/trump-congress-address-condemn-hate-crimes/ author: Katie Reilly article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-03-01T02:40:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T03:35:15.902Z article:section: Politics og:title: Trump Began His Address to Congress by Condemning Hate Crimes og:description: "We are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil" og:url: https://time.com/4686336/trump-congress-address-condemn-hate-crimes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1c3726c59250078/6988bc8097cdff1d7f6afa91/gettyimages-646441538.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Donald Trump Delivers Address To Joint Session Of Congress og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Trump Began His Address to Congress by Condemning Hate Crimes twitter:description: "We are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1c3726c59250078/6988bc8097cdff1d7f6afa91/gettyimages-646441538.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Began His Address to Congress by Condemning Hate Crimes  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Mar 1, 2017 2:40 AM UTC  President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Feb. 28, 2017 in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Feb. 28, 2017 in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.Pool/;Getty Images  by [Katie Reilly](https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/)  ## Katie Reilly Mar 1, 2017 2:40 AM UTC [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4686621/trump-congress-address-transcript/) on Tuesday opened his [address to a joint session of Congress](http://time.com/4684210/trump-congress-address-how-to-watch-online/) by condemning hate crimes, following weeks of criticism for his relative silence on the issue. “Tonight as we mark the conclusion of our celebration of Black History Month, we are reminded of our nation’s path toward civil rights and the work that still remains to be done,” Trump said. “Recent [threats targeting Jewish Community Centers](http://time.com/4680425/anti-semitic-threats-investigation-challenges/) and [vandalism of Jewish cemeteries](http://time.com/4679604/mike-pence-condemns-cemetery-vandalism/), as well as last week’s shooting in Kansas City, remind us that while we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all of its very ugly forms.” Trump sparked criticism in recent weeks for his [reluctance to speak out](http://time.com/4672402/donald-trump-anti-semitism-netanyahu/) about anti-Semitic attacks. When he finally [spoke out last week](http://time.com/4677280/donald-trump-anti-semitism-jewish-leaders/), the Anne Frank Center for Mutual Respect [criticized his comments](https://twitter.com/AnneFrankCenter/status/834072801736814592) as “a Band-Aid on the cancer of anti-Semitism that has infected his own administration.” Trump’s words on Tuesday signaled a slight shift. “I’m here tonight to deliver a message of unity and strength,” he said. “And it is a message deeply delivered from my heart.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4686336/trump-congress-address-condemn-hate-crimes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4686336/trump-congress-address-condemn-hate-crimes/"},"headline":"President Trump Began His Address to Congress by Condemning Hate Crimes","datePublished":"2017-03-01T02:40:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T03:35:15.902Z","description":"\"We are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil\"","url":"https://time.com/4686336/trump-congress-address-condemn-hate-crimes/","keywords":["White House","Congress","Donald Trump","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1c3726c59250078/6988bc8097cdff1d7f6afa91/gettyimages-646441538.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Katie Reilly","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/katie-reilly/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltf1c3726c59250078/6988bc8097cdff1d7f6afa91/gettyimages-646441538.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Donald Trump Delivers Address To Joint Session Of Congress","caption":"Donald Trump Delivers Address To Joint Session Of Congress","creditText":"Pool/;Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4686336/trump-congress-address-condemn-hate-crimes/","name":"President Trump Began His Address to Congress by Condemning Hate Crimes"}}]}] ```