- Trump addresses 2025 achievements amid low approval ratings.
- A poll shows that only 33% approve of Trump’s economic handling.
- Speech can present policies coming next year.
In a rare evening speech from the White House, US President Donald Trump on Wednesday touted his achievements and blamed his Democratic predecessor for soaring consumer prices as his party prepares for a tough midterm election next year.
“Eleven months ago I inherited a mess and I’m fixing it,” Trump said in his opening remarks.
The Republican president, who regularly complains that he doesn’t get credit for his accomplishments, touted his administration’s work this year on a range of issues from reducing border crossings to lowering prices on some goods.
The address offered an opportunity for the president, if he could stay on message, to address people’s concerns about affordability, an issue Trump, a Republican, has repeatedly called a Democratic hoax. And again on Wednesday, he blamed the previous administration led by former President Joe Biden, even as Trump admitted that prices remain high.
“I’m bringing the high prices down and bringing them down very quickly,” he said.
Trump’s Republicans are seeking to retain control of the House and Senate in elections next November, while Democrats are highlighting concerns about affordability and disparities in health care policy in a bid to wrest power.
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 policy this year has created uncertainty and raised prices in an economy that has now been overseen by his administration for nearly a year – and Trump, like Biden before him, has struggled to convince Americans that the economy is healthy.
A new one Reuters/ Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed that only 33% of American 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 speeches often do.
Before the speech, the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, claimed that Trump had not lived up to his campaign promises.
“He promised he would bring costs down on day one. That was his number one promise. That was the number one reason he won the election. And the costs are going up and up and up,” Schumer said at a news conference on Capitol Hill.
