Trump channels Scrooge when the country could use more Santa | Opinion

Teasing his Dec. 17 prime-time address, President Donald Trump posted this on Truth Social: 

“It has been a great year for our Country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!”

That was not the energy he brought, however, to his terse, 20-minute scripted diatribe.

Trump sounded angry and defensive, a stark contrast to the festive Christmas decorations in the background. 

In other words, the president was Scrooge at a time when we could have used more Santa. 

Trump delivered a stump speech in robotic fashion that sought to remind Americans of what he has accomplished in the first year of his second term. Trump sprinkled in many of his characteristic superlatives (“There’s never been anything like it”; “Never seen before”; “More than anyone could have imagined”; “We are respected again like we have never been respected before”) without imbuing them with optimism.   

Affordability dominated his remarks, a recognition of the lingering concern voters feel over inflation and high prices. 

Yet, rather than assure the country that better days are ahead, he seemed to be scolding citizens for a lack of patience. 

That wasn’t the tone the country needed. 

Trump has done a lot in Year 1. But the president can't ignore cost concerns. 

“Eleven months ago I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” Trump said at the beginning of his remarks. 

And he’s right. He did inherit a mess. Inflation had reached historic highs under the Biden administration, and an open border had created chaos throughout the country. 

Within a matter of weeks, Trump effectively closed the border, proving former President Joe Biden’s inaction was a choice. 

At his triumphant joint address to Congress in March, Trump quipped, “It turned out that all we really needed was a new president.” This was a stand-out line in his speech, and it drew attention to his administration’s quick action to fix a glaring problem that voters had cared about.

Fast-forward to now, Trump tried to revisit that same line – and it fell flat. 

“Do you remember when Joe Biden said that he needed Congress to pass legislation to help close the border?” Trump said. “He was always blaming Congress and everyone else. As it turned out, we didn't need legislation. We just needed a new president.”

A year into his second term, though, Trump is no longer the “new” president. And while the economy is improving and costs are stabilizing, Trump hasn’t fixed affordability – one of his chief selling points during his reelection campaign. As he noted in his speech, it will take time for some of the tax reforms in the “great, big, beautiful bill” that passed earlier this year to reach taxpayers. 

With the midterm elections less than a year away, Trump and Republicans don’t have a lot of time to convince voters their lives are better off. 

A new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll found Trump’s approval rating on the economy at a record low of 36%, with many Americans saying high costs remain their top concern. 

Trump’s overall approval rating stands at 43.4%. That’s not a stellar number, yet it is in line – and slightly above – with where former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama were at this point in their second terms. 

Trump's speech was a nothingburger. That's a good thing. 

Other than announcing “a warrior dividend” Christmas bonus for military service members, there wasn’t any news in Trump’s nationwide address. 

That was something of a relief, given one can never be sure what Trump is going to announce. 

Rather, he used the airwaves to recap what he sees as his greatest hits to date. 

It was a classic nothingburger. 

Toward the end, Trump noted the upcoming 250th anniversary of the country:

“When the world looks at us next year, let them see a nation that is loyal to its citizens, faithful to its workers, confident to its identity, certain to its destiny.”

That’s a hopeful message. Trump should have delivered it with a little more “ho, ho, ho” and less “bah humbug.” 

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or on X: @Ingrid_Jacques