There were more than 18 minutes of screaming at the television with that movement of the shoulders and torso that is so characteristic of him. If Donald Trump intended to bring peace of mind to the American people, he succeeded in increasing the stress of those who saw his speech to the nation this Wednesday evening. Far from broadcasting a Christmas message of harmony for all citizens, the American president has chosen to represent an augmented reality of himself, accusing the administration of Joe Biden of all evils, claiming with false data that gasoline prices have fallen more than they actually have, and announcing that the MAGA greatness promised a year ago is delayed, that it is still to come, that 2026 will be the year of prosperity.
Donald Trump delivered a speech in which he showed that he is bleeding from the wound of a mandate that has dominated all political conversations since last November, when the Democrats, led by Zohran Mamdani in New York, advanced positions with the flag of affordability. That is, the cost of living, the same campaign centerpiece a year ago that helped Trump defeat a Kamala Harris weighed down by good macroeconomic data that didn’t translate into the pockets of American citizens.
Trump has decided to enter the living room of all Americans at 9 p.m. this Wednesday evening because he knows he is losing the political battle, because his tariffs are raising prices and slowing employment, because immigration policies are reducing the workforce available for certain jobs in the service sector, construction and agriculture. And because a socialist will be mayor of New York and Seattle, because the Republicans lost Miami after 30 years, the Democrats won New Jersey and Virginia and the legislative elections of November 2026 are difficult.
And the President of the United States, for this reason, was capable of one thing and the opposite: to say, as he does every day, that the United States is the hottest country in the world with prices falling – despite inflation reaching 3% – while asserting that the best is yet to come, that the promised greatness will take another year to arrive, including “the most ambitious housing reform plans in American history.”
And meanwhile, while boasting about the so-called peace sown in the world, the American president has not said a single word about the open conflict on his own continent with the siege of Venezuela.
Trump, of course, remained faithful to his habit of covering his speeches with false data and half-truths. So, for example, he said gasoline costs less than $2.50 a gallon — 3.78 liters — in much of the country and is even $1.99 a gallon in many states. As the New York Times recalls, the average price of gasoline was $2.90 per gallon during the week ending December 15, according to the Energy Information Administration, a government statistical agency. And in no state has it been lower than $1.99, a figure repeated by Trump.
The US president also promised a “warrior” bonus of $1,776 for each soldier, which would come from customs revenue. However, explains the New York Times, these revenues are not intended for the president; This is a power of Congress. He also talked about giving $2,000 to all but the richest citizens and assured that income taxes would decrease over time. The promises far exceed disposable income.
Trump also claimed to have raised $18 billion in investments through tariff threats. But that claim is almost double the $9.8 trillion estimated by his own White House press office.
This figure also includes previously announced promises and projects. Furthermore, much of this investment comes from promises from foreign countries that are likely unrealistic (for example, investment pledges from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, amounting to billions of dollars, exceed their annual gross domestic product, explains the New York Times).
At the same time, Trump claimed that there are more people working today than at any other time in U.S. history, although he did not explain that the U.S. population has also increased over time or that the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% in November, the highest in four years.
About The Author
