Updated March 01, 2017 19:52:11

He called it a "new chapter of American greatness".

US President Donald Trump stood before Congress for the first time and gave a broad call for creating jobs, overhauling healthcare and boosting military spending.

Here are the key moments of the address:

Immigration

Mr Trump's opening weeks were dominated by the bungled rollout his executive order on immigration that was ultimately blocked by the courts.

Ahead of his address, he told news anchors he was open to legislation that could provide a pathway to legal status before telling Congress he believed "real and positive immigration reform is possible".

However, he went on to pledge that his administration would vigorously target people living in the US illegally who "threaten our communities and prey on our citizens" and reconfirmed his key policy of building a wall between the US and Mexico.

Jobs

He also kicked off the evening with a mention of the US withdrawing from the "job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership".

Drawing on his campaign pledge of bringing jobs back to the US, he promised that "dying industries will come roaring back to life".

"Since my … election Ford, Fiat, Chrysler, Lockheed, Walmart, Intel and many others have announced they will invest billions and billions of dollars in the United States and will create tens of thousands of new American jobs," Mr Trump said.

"The stock market has gained almost $3 trillion in value since the election on November 8 — a record."

The Military

He pledged to "demolish and destroy ISIS" and reiterated his plans to increase military spending.

"I am sending Congress a budget that repeals the military, eliminates the defence sequester … and calls for one of the largest increases in national defence spending in American history," he said.

"My budget will also increase funding for our veterans.

"Our veterans have delivered for this nation, and now we must deliver for them."

NATO

After labelling it "obsolete" — Mr Trump pledged his commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance (NATO).

"We strongly support NATO — an alliance forged through the bonds of two world wars — that dethrone … fascism and a Cold War that defeated communism," he said.

Healthcare

Mr Trump called on Congress to repeal and replace Obamacare "with reforms that expand choice, increase access, lower costs, and at the same time provide better healthcare".

President Donald Trump struck a decidedly different tone to his usual campaign-style rhetoric in his first address to Congress.

He also said Congress should ensure people with pre-existing medical conditions would still have coverage.

"Mandating every American to buy government-approved health insurance was never the right solution for our country," Mr Trump told the room.

"The way to make health insurance available to everyone is to lower the cost of health insurance and that is what we are going to do.

"Action is not a choice, it is a necessity.

"So I am calling on all Democrats and Republicans in Congress to work with us to save Americans from this imploding Obamacare disaster."

Chicago

Could Mr Trump get through a speech without mention of Chicago, the hometown of former US president Barack Obama?

Nope.

"The murder rate in 2015 experienced its largest single year increase in nearly half a century," Mr Trump said.

"In Chicago, more than 4,000 people were shot last year alone, and the murder rate so far this year has been even higher.

"This is not acceptable in our society."

Special guests

Mr Trump had a handful of special guests accompanied by his family to help amplify his agenda.

They included:

• The families of people killed by illegal immigrants
• The wife of late Navy SEAL Senior Chief William Ryan Owens, who Mr Trump revealed died in a raid that generated "large amounts of vital intelligence"
• Megan Crowley, a woman living with a rare disease

Mr Trump addressed each directly including the wives of two police officers, Susan Oliver and Jessica Davies.

"Their husbands, Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver and Detective Michael Davies, were slain in the line of duty in California," Mr Trump said.

"They were pillars of their community.

"These brave men were viciously gunned down by an illegal immigrant with a criminal record and two prior deportations - should never have been in our country."

How did he wrap up?

On a pretty positive note.

He called on the country to be "empowered by our aspirations, not burdened by our fears" and "inspired by the future, not bound by failures of the past".

"I am asking all citizens to embrace this renewal of the American spirit," Mr Trump said.

"I am asking all members of Congress to join me in dreaming big and bold and daring things for our country.

"I am asking everyone watching tonight to seize this moment, believe in yourselves, believe in your future and believe, once more, in America.

"Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States."

AP/ABC

Topics: donald-trump, government-and-politics, world-politics, united-states

First posted March 01, 2017 14:21:47