President Donald Trump’s Wednesday night address from the White House had one thing everyone noticed. The volume. Critics immediately took to social media, asking why Trump appeared to be yelling his way through a 20-minute speech meant to calm economic anxieties.
“Why is he screaming?” asked Andrew Feinberg, White House correspondent for The Independent. CNN’s John King noted Trump was “shouting at times. He seemed a little angry.” Atlantic staff writer Jonathan Chait joked, “My fellow Americans, tonight I am here to say the same things I’ve been saying every day, except faster and louder.”
The speech came as Trump’s approval rating on the economy hit a new low of 36% in the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist Poll. Nearly half of Americans, 45%, said prices are their top economic concern. Two-thirds worry about the impact of tariffs on their personal finances.
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Trump’s response? A rapid-fire address filled with dubious claims. He said he’d cut drug prices by up to 600%. He claimed gasoline had fallen to under $2.50 a gallon in much of the country. Neither claim holds up to scrutiny.
“This isn’t a speech, this is a primal scream of panic,” said Atlantic writer Tom Nichols. David Frum, also from The Atlantic, wrote, “This speech reminds me of the Bass-o-matic commercial.”
The address had the feel of a Trump rally without the rally. Unlike sedate primetime addresses from past presidents, Trump spoke loudly throughout, at times seeming to shout. He opened with “Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I am fixing it,” then spent the next 18 minutes restating messages his White House has been pushing for months.
Trump did announce one new policy: nearly 1.5 million military service members will receive a “special warrior dividend” of $1,776, a reference to America’s founding. He said checks are “already on the way” before Christmas.
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But what the speech lacked was actual solutions to Americans’ cost-of-living concerns. Trump continued touting tariffs as a major accomplishment, despite the fact that his tariffs are driving prices higher. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reported last week that inflation growth is happening “entirely in sectors where there are tariffs.”
Trump promised “some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history” next year, but gave no details. He told Americans better economic times are ahead and stressed they’ll receive tax refunds from his “big, beautiful bill” in April.
The very fact that Trump chose to deliver this speech shows he knows most Americans aren’t convinced his presidency is working. What happened Wednesday night wasn’t what’ll fix that for him.
Sky News correspondent Mark Stone summed it up: “You know those people who argue that he is losing his marbles will point to tonight and say, ‘there you go. I told you so.'”
Trump gets another chance Friday when he speaks in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Maybe he’ll try a different approach. Or maybe he’ll just keep shouting.
