Trump Screams at Americans to Like Him in White House Address to Nation
Several Trump allies told Zeteo they were surprised anyone in the White House would think Trump’s primetime address was a good idea.
Donald Trump gave a White House address Wednesday night in which he screamed at Americans to like him and lied to the nation repeatedly about the job he is doing and how bad things were under Democrats. The president – whose poll numbers continue to crater – also spent his roughly 20-minute speech practically begging the American people not to believe their lying eyes, and instead convince themselves that the Trump economy is rip-roaring. (It isn’t.)
So far, the speech isn’t even a hit in Trumpland. As they watched it live, several Trump allies told Zeteo that they were surprised that any senior aide in the White House would think Trump’s primetime address was a good idea.
The speech was not the worst case scenario, as the president did not announce an invasion or bombing of Venezuela. In the days leading up to this short speech, the White House and other administration officials kept reporters guessing about what Trump would ultimately say. It could have been big.
Instead, the president used a national, televised, primetime White House address to offer an embarrassing, limp political campaign speech filled with barefaced lies to defend his record. It was also loaded with the kind of comically excessive self-mythologizing that Trump’s vast personality cult has become famous for – no matter how few people buy the myths.
For starters, the president claimed to have brought peace to the Middle East for the first time in “3,000 years.” It feels bizarre to even try to fact-check that, as it would be akin to fact-checking a president saying that the moon is made of Velveeta.
He said Americans had just begun “hearing the word ‘affordability’” under Joe Biden’s administration – suggesting, it seems, that people did not previously consider the concept of whether they could afford things.
On a more factual level, Trump claimed to be bringing prices down “very fast,” claiming awkwardly: “The price of a Thanksgiving turkey was down 33% compared to the Biden last year.” The New York Times has previously declared this claim false – the price of turkey is up, according to the agency the president has cited.
“You will see in your wallets and bank accounts in the new year, after years of record setting, falling incomes, our policies are boosting take-home pay at a historic pace,” Trump said. He claimed that people would soon feel the benefits of the “largest tax cuts in American history,” under his “Big Beautiful Bill.”
But the law is primarily designed to benefit the rich. It partially finances tax cuts for the wealthy by slashing healthcare and food assistance benefits for the poor, to the point that the bottom 40% of US households are expected to see their after-tax incomes decline under the law.
Trump credited “tariffs,” his “favorite word,” with much of his economic success. Polls show voters want Trump to roll these tariffs back.
The president lied about who’s responsible for allowing health insurance costs to skyrocket for millions of Americans, blaming Democrats and saying “it’s their fault.” Trump claimed that Democrats are “demanding” insurance premiums go up, when he and the GOP have refused to renew subsidies helping over 20 million Americans buy coverage. The subsidies have now expired; healthcare costs go up in January.
Several close Trump allies independently told Zeteo on Wednesday night that it was shocking – or at least puzzling – that anyone in the White House would think that this speech was a wise idea. As they put it: The speech didn’t refocus the national conversation. It wouldn’t move the needle. And it did not look like the strategic move of somebody operating from a position of strength.
“Control the agenda,” Trump has instructed his political and legal advisers many times over the years, referring to their collective determination to flood the media with their preferred narrative, to exert control over the national story.
In recent months – whether it has to do with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, the economy, or something as simple as his White House chief of staff blabbing to a glossy magazine – Trump has clearly lost control. On Wednesday night, he tried to regain it. He almost certainly failed.
Have a tip for Swin and Andrew? Send via Signal to swin24.68 or aperez.03.
Check out more from Zeteo:
I couldn’t quite bring myself to watch the speech, so thanks for doing it for me. Glad to hear we have not yet invaded Venezuela, which I feared would be the main subject of the speech.
That was one of the most pleasingly snarky posts I’ve read in a while. Thanks, gentlemen!