WASHINGTON —President Trump came out swinging against his predecessor in a rare address to the nation while touting the progress he’s made this year — saying that the best was yet to come in 2026.
“Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” Trump declared on Wednesday night in a year-end recap beamed live into millions of homes.
“We had the worst trade deals ever made, and our country was laughed at from all over the world, but they’re not laughing anymore.”
“Over the past 11 months, we have brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in American history,” Trump declared, focusing heavily on Americans’ economic concerns.
Trump whipped out a chart to show price decreases and wage increases under his watch — with real private-sector wage growth averaging $1,048 since he returned to the White House, versus losses of $2,919 under Joe Biden.
“Let’s look at the facts. Under the Biden administration, car prices rose 22% and in many states 30% or more,” Trump said, ticking through data displayed on other charts.
“Democrat politicians also set the cost of groceries. Sorry, but we are solving that too.”
During the national address, Trump sought to flip Democrats’ script on affordability, pinning the blame on Democrats for rising health insurance costs.
“The current Unaffordable Care Act was created to make insurance companies rich,” Trump chided. “You see that now in the steep increase in premiums being demanded by the Democrats and they are demanding those increases and it’s their fault.
“It is not the Republicans’ fault, it’s the Democrats’ fault, it’s the Unaffordable Care Act.”
Democrats led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) forced a 43-day government shutdown in October and November in an attempt to force an extension of pandemic-era insurance subsidies for 22 million people effective Dec. 31.
Trump’s approval rating dipped to first-term lows during the shutdown, but have since rebounded slightly.
The House of Representatives is due to vote on an extension of the health insurance subsidies following a successful bipartisan discharge position, but it’s unclear if the Republican-led Senate would pass a temporary extension or if Trump would sign it.
Trump repeated his contention that health care subsidies should go directly to people rather than to insurance companies.
The president’s 9 p.m. address was light on news — with Trump trotting out a single new initiative, giving 1.45 million military service members a $1,776 Christmas bonus paid for by revenue from his tariffs.
But the rare primetime billing let Trump reach a broad national audience, giving him an opportunity to reframe a pessimistic national mood as polls show Democrats favored to win next year’s midterm elections.
Trump urged Americans to stick with him and look forward to a range of new economic initiatives in 2026, including on:
Pharmaceutics
Trump touted the looming January launch of the TrumpRX website through which drug companies will sell medicine at discounts to Americans after he threatened them with tariffs. “In other words, your drug costs will be plummeting downward,” he said.
Tax cuts
The president noted implementation of exemptions for tips, overtime and Social Security benefits, which Congress passed earlier this year. “Under these cuts, many families will be saving between $11,000 and $20,000 a year, and next spring is projected to be the largest tax refund season of all time,” he said.
Electricity
Trump said that he would reduce rapidly rising costs associated with artificial intelligence thanks to rapid approval of new production. “Within the next 12 months, we will have opened 1,600 new electrical generating plants, a record,” Trump said. “Very soon, prices on electricity and everything else will fall dramatically.”
Rent
Trump said “over 60% of growth in the rental market came from foreign migrants” under Biden and that his mass deportation campaign would reduce costs.
Homebuying
Trump said that the annual cost of new mortgages soared $15,000 under Biden and dropped $3,000 on his watch. “It’s coming down a lot lower… The numbers are going to be shocking. And I’ll soon announce our next chairman of the Federal Reserve, someone who believes in lower interest rates by a lot. And mortgage payments will be coming down even further early next year.”
Overall, Trump proclaimed he was “making America great again.”
“Tonight, after 11 months, our border is secure, inflation has stopped, wages are up, prices are down. Our nation is strong. America is respected, and our country is back, stronger than ever before,” he said.
“We’re poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen.”
