Author: Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump delivered a pre-holiday speech at the White House on Wednesday, portraying his first year in office as a success story even as Americans worry about the economy and Republicans face a tough 2026 midterm elections.
Here are four key takeaways from the speech:
Biden, Biden, Biden
Trump began his speech with 14 words that captured the evening’s central 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’ anxieties about the cost of living, the president spent the next nearly 20 minutes blaming former President Joe Biden, mentioning him by name seven times. economy? Biden’s fault. crime? Biden. Health care? Biden. Is the immigration policy bad? You guessed it.
Trump often blames Biden for problems that have worsened in his first year back in office, from Russia’s war in Ukraine to dizzying offshore wind farms. On Wednesday, he followed that strategy again, especially on the issue of the high cost of living, which he tried to dismiss as fleeting — just as Biden did when prices rose.
“What a difference this year has made,” Trump said, dismissing consumer sentiment and adding that the United States was “ready for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen.”
Festive atmosphere, joyful atmosphere
Trump chose to speak in the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room 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 stood at the podium, between two flags with a green wreath in the background, delivering the key points of his speech at breakneck speed.
Trump, however, offered no good cheer or sympathy for Americans struggling with the high costs of food, housing and holiday gifts. His only holiday-themed greeting was a brief “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” to the audience at the end.
No major new policies
The president has revealed little about his upcoming plans, although White House spokesperson Carolyn Leavitt told reporters that Trump may tease new policies in his speech.
He said his administration would pursue aggressive new housing policies next year, promised to name a new Federal Reserve chairman soon and unveiled a plan to send $1,776 checks to the U.S. military.
Beyond that, the themes of his speeches largely mirrored popular versions of his political rallies. He accused Somalis in Minnesota of stealing from America; talked about men participating in women’s sports; and reiterated his oft-stated statement that the country was “dead” a year ago.
guns and butter
Notably, the speech did not focus on foreign policy issues, which have occupied a large part of Trump’s second term.
Ahead of the speech, Trump’s allies speculated how prominently the address would focus on the escalating confrontation with Venezuela.
Trump has stepped up pressure on the South American country’s leadership in recent weeks, ordering a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country on Tuesday. It is unclear whether Trump intends to try to force the country’s President Nicolas Maduro to step down.
That question went unanswered Wednesday. Instead, Trump has focused primarily on the economy, allowing only short-lived victories for his work on the Middle East and overall peace.
Trump’s allies have warned his aides in recent weeks that he needs to shift his focus from international conflicts to table issues, according to a person familiar with the matter. Whether he was effective or not, for at least 18 minutes Wednesday night he seemed to be taking advice.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Paul Thomasch and Deepa Babington)
