With warning signs flashing over the health of the economy and Democrats winning off-year races on the issue of affordability, Donald Trump sought to reclaim that bully pulpit with a primetime address where he insisted that the economy is going strong.
“Very simple, we are making America great again tonight,” Trump said in the 18-minute speech.
“After 11 months, our border is secure. Inflation is stopped. Wages are up. Prices are down.”
The only news out of the speech was that 1.45 million military members would be receiving $1,776 checks by Christmas, a nod to the upcoming 250th anniversary of the United States next year.
Trump’s speech tried to make the case that he has brought the country back from the disastrous policies of the Biden years. Yet Trump’s poll numbers have sagged, including on the economy, once his top issue, with some prominent economists warning of stagflation. The latest jobs report showed a slowing market for employment in the latter half of the year, while surveys show that Americans continue to worry about the cost of a range of goods, from housing to electricity.
The president pointed to the cost of gas as evidence that prices are falling, but the overall inflation rate has hovered close to 3%. While below the highs of the Biden years, the data is actually a slight uptick from 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Trump argued that if prices haven’t fallen, they soon will. “Prices on electricity and everything else will fall dramatically,” he said.
Trump risks falling into the same trap that Biden did: Insisting that the economy is doing great, contradicting the cost-of-living pressures that individuals experience in their everyday lives.
Trump also blamed Democrats, falsely saying that they were insisting on big increases in health insurance premiums. In fact, Democrats are seeking to renew subsidies to halp offset premium increases for those who get insurance via the Affordable Care Act.
He also talked of reducing prescription drug prices by 400% to 600%, defying mathematics.
The speech was carried across the networks. Some veterans of the Obama administration noted that they had trouble getting the broadcasters give up airtime for a presidential address.
David Axelrod, Obama’s former senior adviser, wrote in X, “In the past, no broadcast network would have given a president a prime time address for what is a nakedly political speech. One more sign of the change Trump has wrought.”
Just hours before Trump’s address, the president threatened the networks. “The Public airwaves, which these Networks are using at no charge, should not be allowed to get away with this any longer! They should be properly licensed, and pay significant amounts of money for using this very valuable Public space.”
Trump delivered the speech in a loud, almost frenetic tone, with many of his remarks repeating what he often tells reporters in Oval Office gaggles or in presidential appearances.
California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote, “This could have been an email.”
