In White House speech, Trump highlights victories amid sinking approval ratings

• Trump addresses 2025 accomplishments amid low approval ratings.
• Poll shows only 33% approve of Trump's economic handling.
• Speech may tout policies to come next year.
  

In a rare evening address from the White House, US President Donald Trump boasted on Wednesday of his accomplishments and blamed his Democratic predecessor for soaring consumer prices as his party braces for a tough midterm election next year.

"Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I'm fixing it," Trump said in a speech that lasted less than 20 minutes and was delivered at rapid-fire pace.

The Republican president, who regularly complains that he does not get credit for his accomplishments, offered few new policy initiatives to address high costs. Instead, he placed blame at the feet of former President Joe Biden, previous trade deals, immigrants and what he described as a corrupt system.

The Republican president, who regularly complains that he does not get credit for his accomplishments, touted his administration's work this year on a range of issues from reducing border crossings to bringing down prices of some goods.

Trump announced his administration would send a "warrior dividend" of $1,776 to 1.45 million US service members in the coming week. He also backed a Republican proposal to send cash directly to the public to offset the cost of health insurance rather than provide subsidies through the Affordable Care Act, a proposal that has yet to receive enough support in Congress.

"I want the money to go directly to the people so you can buy your own healthcare," Trump said, the room behind him festooned with holiday decor. "The only losers will be the insurance companies."

Trump gets poor marks on economy

The address offered an opportunity for the president to address people's concerns about affordability, an issue that Trump, a Republican, has repeatedly referred to as a Democratic hoax. On Wednesday, while casting blame on Biden's presidency, Trump conceded that prices remain high while arguing that the nation was "poised" for an economic boom.

"I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast," he said.

Trump's Republicans are seeking to maintain control of the House of Representatives and Senate in November elections next year, while Democrats are highlighting affordability concerns and differences over healthcare policy in an attempt to wrest power away.

High inflation during Biden's four years in office helped Trump beat former Vice President Kamala Harris in last year's election. But Trump's tariff policies this year have created uncertainty and lifted prices in an economy that has now been overseen by his administration for nearly a year - and Trump, like Biden before him, has been struggling to persuade Americans that the economy is healthy.

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed just 33% of US adults approve of how Trump has handled the economy.

Trump's remarks took place in the White House's Diplomatic Reception Room and not the Oval Office as presidential addresses often do.

'Hottest country anywhere'

In his remarks, Trump said he had attracted $18 trillion in investments that will create jobs and open factories. He credited his tariff policy as a leading factor: "One year ago our country was dead... Now we're the hottest country anywhere in the world."

He also said he would announce the next chair of the Federal Reserve soon, “someone who believes in lower interest rates, by a lot, and mortgage payments will be coming down even further."

The speech came just a day before a closely watched update on inflation from the Bureau of Labour Statistics.

After touching a four-year low of 2.3% in April just three months into Trump's second term, annual inflation since then has been grinding higher.

In September - the latest data available because of reporting disruptions caused by the record-long government shutdown - the Consumer Price Index was up 3.0% year-over-year, the highest since January and higher than at any time during Trump's first term.

Still, the inflation impact from Trump's tariffs has not been as significant as many economists had predicted early in his term, with the cost of the import taxes spread among foreign producers, goods importers and end users, including consumers.

Prior to the speech, the Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, contended that Trump had failed to live up to his campaign promises.

"He promised he'd bring costs down on day one. That was his number-one promise. That was the number-one reason he won the election. And costs are going up and up and up," Schumer said at a news conference on Capitol Hill.