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Donald Trump defended his domestic policies in a campaign-style speech from the White House on Wednesday night, using a primetime television address to try to revive his second term as US president.
In comments that lasted about 20 minutes, Trump addressed the cost-of-living concerns felt by many American families directly on Joe Biden’s administration and insisted it was on track to solve many of the problems he campaigned on, from immigration to inflation.
“Eleven months ago I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” Trump said. “We are poised for an economic boom like the world has never seen before,” Trump said.
Trump’s nonchalant, combative address came amid signs that Americans are growing impatient with the president’s inability to deliver a better economy soon.
According to the RealClearPolitics.com polling average, about 54 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump’s performance in office, while 44 percent approve. In a recent Politico poll, 46 percent of voters said the cost of living was the worst in recent memory, including 37 percent of those who supported Trump in the 2024 election.
After pressure from many Republicans on Trump to focus on the domestic front, he said little about his diplomatic efforts abroad. He did not mention relations with China, his efforts to make peace between Russia and Ukraine or the standoff with Venezuela.
Trump announced a $1,776 bonus for members of the US military, which he called the “Warrior Dividend”, to celebrate America’s upcoming 250th anniversary.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Trump has again shown himself to be out of touch.
“President Trump’s speech revealed that he lives in a bubble that is completely disconnected from the reality that Americans are seeing and feeling every day,” Schumer said. “People are feeling more pressure every day and tonight Donald Trump won.”
Trump emphasized in his speech that his policies are working. “I’m bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast,” he said, even though the annual consumer price index rose 3 percent in September, the same level as when Biden left office.
He also claimed that his policies would reduce domestic drug prices by “600 percent”.
Trump said his sweeping US tariffs, which have roiled the global economy, would lead to a massive investment boom for the US. “Much of this success has been achieved by tariffs,” he said.
The US President also agreed to the expected appointment of a new Federal Reserve Chairman, saying this will provide relief to borrowing costs.
“I will soon announce our next Chairman of the Federal Reserve who believes in lowering interest rates significantly,” Trump said. “And mortgage payments will fall even further,” he said.
Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina praised the president’s comments, posting on Twitter: “High energy, great delivery, grand slam, home run to prove the best is yet to come”.
Trump, who spoke hurriedly and sometimes shouted, sometimes missed or mumbled words. “We will soon host the World Cup and the Olympics, which I got, but most importantly we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence,” he said.
Trump has been hit over the past two months by the crushing defeats of some Republican candidates in off-year elections, the uproar over the release of files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and emerging dissent within his “MAGA” movement.
The sense of discord within the Trump administration was further heightened by an explosive interview with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wills in Vanity Fair magazine, in which she described the president as having an “alcoholic” personality and said Vice President J.D. Vance had been a “conspiracy theorist” for the past decade.
Wills was in the room with Trump when he gave his speech.
Trump is also under increasing pressure from some Republicans to extend health insurance subsidies introduced under Barack Obama, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
The President rejected this idea. He said, “I want the money to go directly to people so you can buy your own health care. You’ll get better health care at a much lower cost.”
