President Trump kicked off the 2026 campaign with a rapid-fire recitation of his accomplishments this year, declaring that America is now poised for an “economic boom” in 2026 once his policies take full effect.
He said Americans are in for a windfall after suffering the soaring prices of the Biden years.
Speaking from the White House’s Diplomatic Room, Mr. Trump said he was bringing America back from the brink.
“Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” Mr. Trump said. “When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years – and some would say in the history of our country – which caused prices to be higher than ever before, making life unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans.”
“Over the past 11 months, we have brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in American history,” he said.
The president ticked off a list of complaints about Mr. Biden, from his handling of the economy, open borders, transgender men playing in women’s sports, bad trade deals, and a “sick and corrupt” federal government. Mr. Trump noted Mr. Biden’s frequent gripe that he couldn’t close the U.S. border without legislation from Congress.
“As it turned out, we didn’t need legislation,” he said. “We just needed a new president.”
Mr. Trump spent the bulk of his 20-minute speech arguing that he’s made substantial progress in lowering prices despite polls showing voters’ frustration with the cost of living. He said he’s brought down the cost of cars, gasoline, hotels, eggs and airfare under his leadership.
In this way, he tackled head-on the biggest issue of the burgeoning 2026 midterm races: Affordability.
“I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast,” Mr. Trump said.
The speech signalled a concerted effort by the White House to change the negative economic narrative from Democrats and the legacy news media.
Advisors fear that voters’ concerns about high prices will fuel a Democratic takeover in Congress, which would largely derail Mr. Trump’s agenda for the last two years of his presidency.
The affordability issue — that prices remain high — has already resulted in a string of Democratic wins in the off-year elections.
In recent weeks, Mr. Trump brushed off voters’ concerns about the economy, dismissing the topic of affordability as “a hoax.” He told Politico that he’d give himself an “A plus-plus-plus-plus-plus” on the economy.
Some in Mr. Trump’s Republican Party worry that the president hasn’t spent enough time talking to jittery voters about the cost of living. The prime-time speech and a recent campaign-style event in Pennsylvania promoting his economic policy appear to answer those concerns.
He has another campaign-style event on the economy scheduled for Friday in North Carolina.
Vice President JD Vance this week traveled to Pennsylvania, where he pleaded with voters to be patient, promising that economic good times were on their way.
The White House will be gauging voters’ reactions to Mr. Trump’s remarks. Recent polls show he has his work cut out for him.
An NBC News poll released Sunday found that 42% of voters have a negative view of the economy, while an AP-NORC poll last week found 31% of Americans approve of Mr. Trump’s handling of the economy. That’s down from 40% in March and the lowest mark of his two terms.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll from Tuesday shows that the president’s approval rating has slipped to 39%, down from 41% earlier in December.
Mr. Trump’s speech comes just over a month after Republicans suffered election losses in New Jersey, Virginia and New York City, with Democrats winning by much larger margins than expected. Voters in each of those locations cited affordability concerns.
Mr. Trump is facing a triple threat on the economy. Inflation remains elevated at about 3%. Labor Department data released Tuesday showed the U.S. added 64,000 jobs in November, but unemployment still ticked up to 4.6%, higher than expected. At the same time, more than 20 million Americans are likely to see their health insurance premiums spike in January when enhanced after enhanced Obamacare subsidies expire on Dec. 31.
Inflation soared to 9% under Mr. Biden, its highest level in nearly 40 years. Mr. Trump campaigned on taming inflation and bringing prices under control.
Inflation has cooled somewhat under Mr. Trump. Since taking office in January through September, prices are up about 1.6%, according to the latest data from the Labor Department. That would equate to a roughly 2.4% inflation pace, above the Federal Reserve Bank’s goal of a 2% inflation rate.
Gas prices have fallen below $3 per gallon in 36 states and below $2.75 per gallon in 20 states. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.19%, a 12% decline from when Mr. Trump took office in January, according to the Consumer Price Index.
But prices haven’t fallen as far or as fast as Mr. Trump promised during the 2024 campaign, leaving voters with sticker shock and the frustration of five years of rising prices.
Democrats and some industry trade groups have blamed Mr. Trump’s tariffs for the price increases, saying manufacturers are passing the costs onto consumers.
