Takeaways from Trump’s year-end address to the nation

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 portray 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 night’s central theme: “Good evening, America. Eleven months ago, I found a mess, and I’m fixing it.”

In other words: it’s not my fault.

The president, responding to voters’ concerns about the cost of living, laid the blame at the feet of former President Joe Biden and mentioned him by name seven times in the next 20 minutes. The economy? Biden’s mistake. Crime? Biden. Health care? Biden. Wrong immigration policy? You guessed it.

Trump has repeatedly blamed Biden for problems during his first year in office, from Russia’s war in Ukraine to eyes on offshore wind farms. He followed that playbook again on Wednesday, especially when it came to the high cost of living, which he tried to cast as a momentary — as Biden once did — when prices soared.

“A year makes a difference,” Trump said, dismissing the consumer mood, adding that America is “poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen.”

Festive setting, little cheer

Trump chose to deliver the address from the White House’s Diplomatic Reception Room rather than the Oval Office, and the setting allowed him to speak as in his signature rally: behind a podium, standing.

The President, holding the podium between two flags and standing against a backdrop of green garlands, delivered the points of his speech at a blistering pace.

Yet Trump offered little cheer or empathy for Americans struggling with the high costs of food, housing and holiday gifts. And his only holiday-themed greeting came at the end with a brief “Merry Christmas” and “Happy New Year” to the audience.

No major new policies

Although White House spokeswoman Carolyn Levitt told reporters that Trump might tease the new policy in his speech, the president gave little indication of his upcoming plans.

He said his administration would pursue aggressive new housing policies next year, promised to name a new Federal Reserve chairman soon and unveiled plans to send a check for $1,776 to the U.S. military.

Otherwise, the topics of his speeches reflect the greatest hits version of his political rallies. He railed against the Somalis in Minnesota, whom he accused of stealing from the United States; talked about men playing in women’s sports; And repeated his oft-used remark that the country was “dead” a year ago.

Guns and butter

Notably absent from the speech was a key focus on the foreign policy issues that have occupied a significant portion of Trump’s second term in office.

Heading into the remarks, Trump aides speculated how prominently the speech would focus on the escalating confrontation with Venezuela.

Trump has stepped up pressure on the South American nation’s leadership in recent weeks, and on Tuesday he ordered a “blockade” of all sanctioned oil tankers entering and leaving the country. It is unclear whether Trump intends to try to force out the country’s president, Nicolas Maduro.

He could not answer that question on Wednesday. Instead, Trump focused largely on the economy, giving himself only a brief victory lap for his work in the Middle East and peacemaking in general.

Trump aides have warned aides in recent weeks that he needs to shift his focus from international conflicts to kitchen-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 heed the advice.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt and Jeff Mason; Additional reporting by Steve Holland, Editing by Colin Jenkins, Paul Thomas and Deepa Bebbington)