Takeaways from Trump’s year-end address to the nation
Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump portrayed his first year in office as a success story in a pre-holiday speech from the White House on Wednesday, as Americans worry about the economy and Republicans face tough midterm elections in 2026.
Here are four takeaways from the conversation:
BIDEN, BIDEN, BIDEN
Trump began his remarks with 14 words that reflected the night’s main theme: “Good evening, America. Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess and I’m fixing it.”
In other words: It’s not my fault.
Responding to voters’ concerns about the cost of living, the president placed the blame on former President Joe Biden and said his name seven times over the next about 20 minutes. Economy? Biden’s mistake. Crime? Biden. Healthcare? Biden. Bad immigration policy? You guessed it.
Trump has frequently blamed Biden for problems that have grown in his first year back in office, from Russia’s war in Ukraine to the dazzle of offshore wind farms. He followed that playbook again Wednesday, especially when it came to the high cost of living, trying to portray it as temporary — just as Biden once did when prices rose.
Ignoring the mood of consumers, Trump said, “What a difference a year makes,” adding that the United States was “poised for an economic boom like the world has never seen before.”
FESTIVAL ENVIRONMENT, LITTLE CHEER
Trump chose to deliver the address from the Diplomatic “Reception Room” at the White House rather than the Oval Office, a setting that allowed him to speak as he does at his signature rallies: standing, behind a podium.
The President went up to the podium and, standing between two flags, in front of green wreaths, delivered his speeches with great speed.
But Trump showed neither good cheer nor empathy for Americans struggling with high costs of food, housing and holiday gifts. And his only holiday-themed greeting came at the end, with a quick “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” wishes to the audience.
NO MAJOR NEW POLICIES
The president has given few hints about his future plans, although White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump might tease the new policy in his speech.
He said his administration would pursue aggressive new housing policies next year, promised to pick a new Federal Reserve chairman soon, and announced a plan to send $1,776 checks to U.S. troops.
Otherwise, the topics of his speech largely reflected the hit version of his political rallies. attacked Somalis Minnesotawhom he accused of stealing from the United States; talked about men playing women’s sports; and repeated his oft-used statement that the country was “dead” a year ago.
GUNS AND BUTTER
Notably missing from the speech was a focus on foreign policy issues that have figured prominently in Trump’s second term in office.
As he began his remarks, Trump’s allies speculated about how prominently the speech would focus on the escalating conflict with Venezuela.
Trump has increased pressure on the South American country’s leadership in recent weeks, ordering on Tuesday a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and exiting the country. It is unclear whether Trump intends to remove the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
That question was not answered Wednesday. Instead, Trump has focused largely on the economy, allowing himself only a brief victory lap for his work on peacemaking in the Middle East and more generally.
Trump’s allies have warned aides in recent weeks that he should shift his focus from international conflicts to kitchen table problems, according to a person familiar with the matter. Whether it was effective or not, he appeared to heed the advice for at least 18 minutes Wednesday night.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason; additional reporting by Steve Holland, editing by Colleen Jenkins, Paul Thomasch and Deepa Babington)
