WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) – In a rare evening address from the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump boasted on Wednesday of his accomplishments and blamed his Democratic predecessor for soaring consumer prices as his party braces for a tough midterm election next year.
“Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” Trump said in a speech that lasted less than 20 minutes and was delivered at a jarringly rapid-fire pace.
The Republican president, who regularly protests that he does not get credit for his accomplishments, offered few new policy initiatives to address high costs. The speech instead was delivered with a pronounced sense of grievance, with Trump complaining about migrant invasions, violent crime and transgender rights in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room festooned with holiday decor.
He placed blame at the feet of former President Joe Biden, previous trade deals, immigrants and what he described as a corrupt system.
At the same time, Trump touted his administration’s work this year on a range of issues from reducing border crossings to bringing down prices of some goods. And he promised the nation would be stronger next year.
Among the few policy initiatives, Trump announced his administration would send a “warrior dividend” of $1,776 to 1.45 million U.S. service members in the coming week. He also backed a Republican proposal to send cash directly to the public to offset the cost of health insurance rather than provide subsidies through the Affordable Care Act. That proposal has yet to receive enough support in Congress.
“I want the money to go directly to the people so you can buy your own healthcare,” Trump said. “The only losers will be the insurance companies.”
Suprisingly, he spent little time addressing foreign affairs, a subject that occupied much of his first year back in office. He made a passing reference to the war in Gaza but made no mention of the war in Ukraine or the brewing conflict with Venezuela.
TRUMP GETS POOR MARKS ON ECONOMY
The address offered an opportunity for the president to address people’s concerns about affordability, an issue that Trump has repeatedly referred to as a Democratic hoax.
While casting blame on Biden’s presidency, Trump conceded that prices remain high, but argued the nation was “poised” for an economic boom.
“I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast,” he said.
He pledged conditions would improve in the coming year, citing his tax policies, tariffs and plans to replace the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell.
That timetable would come as welcome news to Trump’s fellow Republicans, who are seeking to maintain control of the House of Representatives and Senate in November elections next year. Nearly a year before elections, Democrats are already highlighting affordability concerns and differences over healthcare policy.
Trump campaigned on the economy, effectively leveraging the high inflation of Biden’s presidency to beat former Vice President Kamala Harris in last year’s election.
As president, Trump’s tariff policies this year have created uncertainty and lifted prices in an economy that has now been overseen by his administration for nearly a year – and Trump, like Biden before him, has been struggling to persuade Americans that the economy is healthy.
A new Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed just 33% of U.S. adults approve of how Trump has handled the economy.
After the speech, Democrats contended Trump had offered Americans few solutions to their concerns.
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia called the address “a sad attempt at distraction,” while California Governor Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential contender, simply posted the word “Me” – referring to Trump – more than 700 times.
‘HOTTEST COUNTRY ANYWHERE’
In his remarks, Trump said he had attracted $18 trillion in investments that will create jobs and open factories. He credited his tariff policy as a leading factor: “One year ago our country was dead… Now we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world.”
The speech came just a day before a closely-watched update on inflation from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. After touching a four-year low of 2.3% in April just three months into Trump’s second term, annual inflation since then has been grinding higher.
Broadly, recent government data has shown that the economy’s growth has rebounded somewhat after it contracted during the first few months of the year. Yet it also shows that job growth has slowed during Trump’s second term, unemployment has risen to its highest level in four years and consumer prices remain high.
(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Steve Holland; Writing by James Oliphant; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Paul Thomasch and Deepa Babington)
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