ClosePresident Donald Trump touted his accomplishments during the past 11 months as he addressed the nation, following frustration from Americans over his handling of the economy.
Trump began his address Wednesday night from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House on familiar ground— by blaming his predecessor Joe Biden.
“When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say in the history of our country, which caused prices to be higher than ever before, making life unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans,” Trump said. “This happened during a Democrat administration.”
He also unveiled a “warrior dividend” for more than 1,450,000 military service members and said they would each receive $1,176. Trump claimed the checks are “already on the way.”
“Wages are up, prices are down. Our nation is strong. America is respected, and our country is back stronger than ever before. We are poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen,” Trump said.
Critics pointed out that the president used the national address to repeat “oft-debunked” claims, including that he “settled eight wars in 10 months” and that grocery prices were falling “rapidly.”
Others commented that Trump appeared to be “shouting” into the microphone during the address, which was carried live by several networks.
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Trump made 16 mentions of Biden and Democrats during 20 min speech
During his relatively short address tonight, President Donald Trump mentioned his predecessor Joe Biden seven times and the Democrats nine times, according to a transcript.
Trump spoke for just under 20 minutes, which is much shorter than most of his speeches.
The president had previewed that he intended to talk about how he had “inherited a mess” from the previous administration and he delivered on that.
He told the press pool after the address that he was told by chief of staff Susie Wiles that he must deliver the speech in 20 minutes.
“I told you 20 minutes, and you were 20 minutes on the dot,” Wiles said.
Rhian Lubin18 December 2025 03:40
Trump omits mention of Venezuela as Hegseth orders another strike on vessel
President Donald Trump made no mention of the rapidly growing tension with Venezuela during his speech tonight, despite speculation that he would address it.
On the same evening, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the U.S. military carried out another lethal strike on a vessel in the Pacific at his direction, killing four people.
So far, the administration’s strikes have killed at least 99 people.
“Intelligence confirmed that the vessel was transiting along a known narco-trafficking route in the Eastern Pacific and was engaged in narco-trafficking operations,” the U.S. Southern Command X account said. “A total of four male narco-terrorists were killed, and no U.S. military forces were harmed.”
The strike followed Trump calling for a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers.
Rhian Lubin18 December 2025 03:25
Survivor fans complain about missing parts of finale for Trump's address
Fans of Survivor are complaining online about missing parts of the show's three-hour finale Wednesday night, which was put on hold for the duration of the president's address to the nation.
“I'd rather be watching Survivor,” one X user claimed. Another said, “Why is my Survivor finale being interrupted by that orange felon…I'M CANADIAN.”
“Someone tell me when he's done yapping so I can go back to watching the finale,” said another.
CBS announced that the 3-hour finale would begin at 8 p.m. ET and “will resume where it left off immediately following the president’s address for Eastern and Central Time Zone viewers.”
The president spoke for almost half an hour.
Rhian Lubin18 December 2025 03:15
President touts his TrumpRx website on prescription drugs
President Donald Trump touted his TrumpRx website during his Wednesday night address to the nation, part of his plan, he says, is to save Americans money on prescription drugs.
“The first of these unprecedented price reductions will be available starting in January through a new website, TrumpRx.gov,” he said. “And these big price cuts will greatly reduce the cost of health care.”
He first announced the plan back in October.
Katie Hawkinson has the details.
How TrumpRx will work — and why insured Americans may not save any money
Pfizer will now sell drugs to Medicaid at ‘most-favored-nation’ prices, the White House announcedRhian Lubin18 December 2025 03:05
Trump’s national address left people questioning his state of mind
President Donald Trump gave a national address Wednesday night that came off as loud and angry, leaving people on social media to question his state of mind.
Former Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger wrote on X, “Someone come get grandpa he’s yelling again, and we’re concerned.”
“He's really losing it,” journalist John Hardwood said.
Jon Ralston, CEO of the Nevada Independent, wrote, “Just turned on the TV. You mad, bro?”
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s press team took the opportunity to make a sarcastic comment: “Many are saying that was a better speech than the Gettysburg Address.”
Rachel Dobkin18 December 2025 02:55
Trump misrepresents gas prices with big claims and promises
Energy prices, including gasoline, have dropped, and they will continue to drop more, Trump promises. But they aren’t at the levels he claims.
Trump claimed a national average gas price of $2.50 per gallon. The AAA average nationally is $2.90. Without providing evidence, Trump also said household energy costs have dropped by $3,000.
Trump promised that “within the nest 12 months” the U.S. will have opened 1,600 new electrical generating plants — reversing what he again called “the Democrat inflation disaster.”
Associated Press18 December 2025 02:45
Fact-checkers are out in force following Trump's claims
Fact-checkers have been quick to swoop on claims made by President Donald Trump during his address, most of which he has said before.
CNN’s Daniel Dale said that Trump “repeated some of his oft-debunked lies tonight.”
Trump repeated his claim that he “settled eight wars in 10 months,” including “ending the war in Gaza,” and said that grocery prices were falling “rapidly.”
“Trump hasn’t settled eight wars,” Dale said in a post on X. “He hasn't secured anything close to $18 trillion in investment; crime wasn’t anywhere close to record levels under Biden; Trump didn’t inherit anything close to the worst inflation in US history; nowhere close to 25 million migrants entered the US under Biden; while the price of eggs and some other products has fallen this year, it’s not true that “everything else is falling rapidly,” since overall prices and grocery prices continue to rise…”
Rhian Lubin18 December 2025 02:40
Full story: Trump holds national address in rally style speech blaming Biden for the state of his nation
President Donald Trump on Wednesday used a nationally-televised address to deliver a campaign-style rant in which he blamed his predecessor for the economic woes Americans are feeling a year into his presidency, while offering little in the way of proposals to address the higher prices caused in large part by the massive tariffs he has placed on almost all American imports, writes Andrew Feinberg.
Speaking from the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House, Trump opened by claiming to have “inherited a mess” that he was now “fixing.”
What followed was a partisan rant indistinguishable from the signature rallies that have been the centerpiece of his political movement, in which he rattled off a list of grievances while blaming his predecessor for the state of the country nearly a full year after he took the oath of office.
Read on…
Trump holds national address speech to blame Biden for the state of his nation
Rally-style series of boasts doesn’t include much in the way of plans to address affordability crisisAndrew Feinberg18 December 2025 02:30
Trump announces military members will get ‘warrior dividend’
President Donald Trump announced in his address to the nation Wednesday night that every service member in the military will get a “warrior dividend” worth nearly $2,000.
“More than 1,450,000 military service members will receive a special, we call, warrior dividend before Christmas,” Trump said. “We are sending every soldier $1,776 and the checks are already on their way.”
Trump said “nobody understood” the situation with checks until about 30 minutes before his speech.
Rachel Dobkin18 December 2025 02:22
Trump takes a victory lap during his address to the nation
“We are making America great again tonight,” Trump said.
“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.
“We're poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen. Soon, we will host the World Cup and the Olympics, both of which I got but most importantly, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
“There could be no more fitting tribute to this epic milestone, than to complete the comeback of America that began just one year ago.”
