By Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason
WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump used a pre-holiday address from the White House on Wednesday to paint his first year in office as a success story, even as Americans worry about the economy and Republicans face tough midterm elections in 2026.
Here are four takeaways from the speech:
BITE, BITE, BITE
Trump began his remarks with 14 words that captured the central theme of the night: “Good evening, America. Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it.”
In other words: It’s not my fault.
The President, responding to voters’ anxiety about the cost of living, laid the blame at the feet of former President Joe Biden in the next 20 minutes, mentioning his name seven times. The economy? Biden’s fault. Crime? Biden. Health care? Biden. Bad immigration policy? You guessed it.
Trump has often blamed Biden for the problems that have emerged during his first year back in office, from Russia’s war in Ukraine to the offshore wind farm eye. He followed that playbook again on Wednesday, particularly when it comes to the cost of living, which he sought to cast as passable — just as Biden once did when prices rose.
“What a difference the year makes,” Trump said, dismissing consumer sentiment, adding that the United States is “poised for an economic boom like the world has never seen.”
FESTIVE SETTING, LITTLE CHEER
Trump chose to deliver the address from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, rather than the Oval Office, and the setting allowed him to speak as he does at his signature rallies: behind a podium, standing.
The president took that podium and delivered his talking points with a strong rhythm, standing between two flags and on a background of a green garland.
Trump offered neither good cheer nor empathy for Americans struggling with high costs for food, housing and holiday gifts, however. And his only holiday-themed greeting came at the end with a brief “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” to the viewers.
NO MAJOR NEW POLICIES
Although White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt had told reporters that Trump could lean on a new policy in his speech, the president offered little hint of his next plans.
He said his administration would pursue aggressive new housing policies next year, promised to soon name a new Federal Reserve chairman and unveiled a plan to send checks for $1,776 to US troops.
Otherwise, his speech topics largely reflected a greatest hits version of his political rallies. He attacked Somalis in Minnesota, accusing them of stealing from the United States; talk about men playing women’s sports; and he repeated his oft-used remark that the country was “dead” a year ago.
SCHULI AND BIR
Notably absent from the speech was a heavy focus on foreign policy issues that have occupied a significant portion of Trump’s second term in office.
Leading up to the remarks, Trump’s allies speculated about how prominently the speech would focus on an escalating confrontation with Venezuela.
Trump has stepped up pressure on the South American nation’s leadership in recent weeks, and on Tuesday ordered a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country. It is not clear if Trump intends to try to oust the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.
That question was not answered on Wednesday. Instead, Trump focused largely on the economy, allowing himself only a brief victory lap for his work on the Middle East and general peace.
Trump’s allies have warned his aides in recent weeks that he needs to shift attention from international conflicts to kitchen table issues, according to a person familiar with the matter. Whether it was effective or not, for at least 18 minutes on Wednesday night, he appeared to heed the advice.
(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Paul Thomasch and Deepa Babington)