On Wednesday (December 17), President Donald Trump gave a presidential address to the nation in an attempt to quell growing discontent with the first year of his second term. Judging by the reactions during and after the speech, it appears to have fallen flat.
The address was carried by ABC, NBC, and CBS – which delayed the season finale of its hit show, Survivor, to air it. Trump would go on to make the address a recap of the first year in office. “Over the past 11 months, we have brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in American history. There has never been anything like it. I think most would agree,” he said. But critics found the speech riddled with false claims. Here’s five distinct takeaways from the speech.
1. Trump Blames Joe Biden and the Democrats For Everything.Again.
Trump heaped a lot of blame on former President Joe Biden, stating: “Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it.” It wasn’t lost on social media viewers, with one account on X, formerly Twitter using a mock newspaper to sum up the situation.
During the 18-minute speech, he also accused Democrats of wanting higher health insurance premiums related to the Affordable Care Act, which he trashed. There is tension on Capitol Hill as Democrats in the House of Representatives forced a vote on expiring ACA subsidies, which the GOP has attempted to block.
2. The Math Isn’t Mathing.
Trump threw out numbers to further attack Biden, claiming that gasoline prices rose 30 to 50%, hotel rates rose 37% and airfares rose 31% during Biden’s time in office. According to fact checking from Yahoo News, airfare prices rose 3.2% since last year. Hotel rates are down .8%, and gasoline prices are down from a high of $5.016 per gallon to about $2.99 according to statistics from AAA. But that decline in price took place during the rest of Biden’s term. Trump also claimed he would reduce prescription drug prices “as much as 400, 500, and even 600%”, which is mathematically impossible, and mocked by political observer Kevin M. Kruse on Bluesky.
3. Trump’s Tone.
During the entire speech, Trump’s voice was loud and at times, frenzied. He also stated after the speech ended that White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles told him he had to give an address. Trump also said she advised him to keep it within 20 minutes. California Governor Gavin Newsom hit Trump on his tone in a post on X, using one word.
4. His Immigration and Foreign Policy Claims.
Trump repeated his false claims of other nations sending illegal immigrants into the U.S., stating that an “army of 25 million people” were “from prisons and jails, mental institutions and insane asylums.” He also used the false claim to blast Biden again. “For the past seven months, zero illegal aliens have been allowed into our country, a feat which everyone said was absolutely impossible,” he said. “Do you remember when Joe Biden said that he needed Congress to pass legislation to help close the border?”
5. The “Warrior Dividend.“
“We made a lot more money than anybody thought because of tariffs,” Trump said, and it was the impetus behind his decision to issue “warrior dividends” to the military. The $1,776 check will be issued to 1.4 million military service members “before Christmas”, after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth authorized a one-time $2.6 billion payment from monies reportedly saved from the passage of the GOP’s “Big, Beautiful” bill earlier this year. But it also taps into $2.9 billion which was previously approved for military housing supplements, according to Politico, leading some to question if Trump mischaracterized the situation.
