Trump set to address the nation in primetime White House speech as Americans report economic squeeze
President Donald Trump is set to deliver a primetime speech from the White House Wednesday that's anticipated to reflect on his administration's accomplishments in the past year, while simultaneously looking toward the next three years.
"My Fellow Americans: I will be giving an ADDRESS TO THE NATION tomorrow night, LIVE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE, at 9 P.M. EST. I look forward to 'seeing' you then. It has been a great year for our Country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME!" Trump wrote.
Trump did not specify exactly what he will discuss during the address. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, however, previewed on Fox News' "American Reports" Tuesday that he will address his accomplishments since reclaiming the Oval Office in January, while adding that he might "tease some policy that will be coming in the new year, as well."
"I was just in the Oval Office with the president discussing it," she said. "He's going to talk a lot about the accomplishments over the past 11 months, all that he's done to bring our country back to greatness and all he continues to plan to do, to continue delivering for the American people over the next three years."
TRUMP ANNOUNCES PRIMETIME ADDRESS TO THE NATION
Trump previously held a White House address in November, when two members of the National Guard were shot, killing one and seriously injuring the other in the attack. He also held another White House address in June, flanked by Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, when the U.S. military carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The speech comes after Trump traveled to Pennsylvania earlier in December as part of an anticipated tour promoting his economic policies. The administration has come under scrutiny for its messaging on the economy, most notably since the November off-year elections that handed left-wing Democrats ballot box wins after running on platforms of "affordability."
TRUMP ASKS WHEN HE'LL BE CREDITED WITH CREATING 'PERHAPS THE GREATEST ECONOMY' EVER IN US HISTORY
"They caused the high prices, and we're bringing them down," Trump told the crowd in attendance at a casino resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, in December. "Lower prices, bigger paychecks — you're getting lower prices, bigger paychecks, we're getting inflation — we're crushing it — and you're getting much higher wages. The only thing that is really going up big – it's called the stock market and your 401ks."
The president has celebrated that tariffs leveled on foreign nations, massive deals attracting businesses to open shop in the U.S., unleashing American energy by cutting red tape surrounding oil and other resources, tax cuts under the "big, beautiful bill," among other initiatives are already lowering prices or will in the coming weeks.
Voters, however, have reported that they are feeling an economic squeeze.
Some 76% of voters reported that they view the economy negatively, up from the 67% who reported the same in July, and the 70% who said the same at the end of former President Joe Biden’s term, a November Fox News national survey found.
The survey found that voters overwhelmingly blamed Trump over Biden for the economic anxiety. About twice as many voters polled reported that Trump, rather than Biden, is responsible for the current economy, with three times as many voters reporting that Trump’s economic policies have hurt them — on par with their feelings during Biden's final year in office.
In the fall, a handful of elections — most notably the Virginia gubernatorial, New Jersey gubernatorial and New York City mayoral races — handed Democrats sweeping wins. Each Democrat campaigned on the platform of affordability, vowing to address the housing crisis woes and prices at checkout lines while slamming Trump and other Republicans as promoting policies that hurt the average family's pocketbook.
Following the Democrat wins, the president and his administration increasingly have leaned into pinning blame for the economic concerns on policies from the Biden administration that have affected the economy in the long run.
WHITE HOUSE TURNS UP HEAT ON BIDEN’S ECONOMIC RECORD AS VOTERS SOUR ON ‘AFFORDABILITY’
"The word affordability ... I inherited a mess," Trump told Politico in December. "I inherited a total mess. Prices were at an all-time high when I came in. Prices are coming down substantially. Look at energy. You and I discussed before the interview, energy ... energy has come down incredibly. When energy comes down, everything... ’cause it’s so much bigger than any other subject. But energy has come down incredibly. Prices are all coming down. It’s been 10 months. It’s amazing what we’ve done."
Trump has floated sending payments of $2,000 from tariff revenues to Americans as he touts the nation's economic outlook, while administration officials have said that households will feel tax breaks from the one bug beautiful bill in 2026.
"The bill was passed in July," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said earlier in December. "Working Americans didn't change their withholding, so they're going to be getting very large refunds in the first quarter," Bessent told NBC10. "I think we're going to see $100 (billion)-$150 billion of refunds, which could be between $1,000 and $2,000 per household."
"Then they'll change their withholding, and they'll get a real increase in their wages. So I think 2026 can be a very good year," Bessent added.
Fox News Digital's Alec Schemmel and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.