In a 19-minute address to the nation on Wednesday night, United States President Donald Trump made no major announcements, as presidents are usually wont to do. Instead, he took the opportunity to further denigrate immigrants, highlight his perceived personal achievements and make grandiose promises of prosperity to come.
“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,” he said.
Members of the Democratic Party were quick to capitalise on Trump’s flagging approval ratings and popular concerns about affordability.
“Quickly lost track of how many lies Trump shouted out tonight, but the main takeaway is that he has clearly lost touch with reality. Delusional,” Senator Chris Van Hollen said. “The most honest thing he said was, ‘No one can believe what’s going on.’”
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a potential future presidential contender who frequently needles Trump in his social media posts, mocked him for giving a speech focused on “Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me”.
Here are five key takeaways from his address:
He blamed immigrants for the US’s problems
The US president took aim at immigrants, blaming them for the housing crisis and economic problems.
“Illegal aliens stole American jobs and flooded emergency rooms getting free healthcare and education paid for by you – the American taxpayer,” Trump said.
“They also increased the cost of law enforcement by numbers so high that they are not even to be mentioned.”
The US president, who recently called the Somali community “garbage” in a racist tirade, falsely claimed that Somalis “took over the economics” of the state of Minnesota and stole “billions and billions of dollars”.
Repeated studies have shown that immigrants contribute more to the economy than they take from it, and provide labour in vital sectors, including agriculture and construction. In the US as well, immigrant labour, including by undocumented workers, has long propped up the childcare, home care and elder care industries.
He promised an ‘economic boom’ in 2026
Recent polling has shown that Americans are increasingly concerned about the cost of living and Trump’s handling of the economy.
An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released on Wednesday found that just 36 percent approve of Trump’s economic record, and 45 percent say that prices are their primary issue when it comes to economic concerns. More than half said they believed the country was already in a recession.
The president tackled this head-on with assurances that his policies are working and the economy is on track to experience a boom.
He added that the next chief of the Federal Reserve will agree to bring down interest rates “by a lot”. Current chair Jerome Powell’s term comes to an end in May 2026 and Trump is expected to announce a successor soon. This year, he has pressured the US central bank to reduce interest rates, and even suggested he could fire Powell over the issue.
He did address the issue of rising medical costs, which Democrats say will soar when key healthcare subsidies for people on low incomes expire at the end of this year. To counter this, Trump pointed to his efforts to lower the cost of prescription drugs through a series of agreements he has made with pharmaceutical companies to sell drugs direct to consumers on his new website, TrumpRx.
“There has never been anything like this in the history of our country,” he said. “Drugs have only gone up, but now they’ll be going down by numbers never conceived possible,” Trump said, stating that new price reductions would become available in January and “greatly reduce the costs of healthcare”.
But he stayed away from some other key concerns among voters – namely, energy and grocery prices, something he pledged to get under control, having slammed the Joe Biden administration for soaring inflation. He has yet to do so.
Reporting from Washington, DC, Al Jazeera’s Kimberly Halkett said: “He was arguing that since he’s
