Trump's 'Bah! Humbug!' address suggests he is feeling the chill of opinion polls [View all]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/18/trump-end-year-primetime-nation-address-opinion-polls-economy

Trump’s ‘Bah! Humbug!’ address suggests he is feeling the chill of opinion polls
Primetime speech – delivered with shouty spirit but no cheer – betrayed a figure dogged by a cost of living crisis and the looming release of the Epstein files
David Smith in Washington
Thu 18 Dec 2025 00.55 EST

It will go down in history as the “Bah! Humbug!” address.

Surrounded by Christmas trees and garlands before a fireplace, Donald Trump on Wednesday gave a convincing rendition of Ebenezer Scrooge, the elderly miser who despises Christmas and blames everyone but himself.

The US president sounded like a desperate man, pointing an accusing finger at Joe Biden and spreading the opposite of charity and cheer on issues such as immigration. So much for ’tis the season to be jolly.

Like Biden, Trump has abandoned the traditional end-of-year presidential press conference. He preferred to give a much-hyped 20-minute speech. If he had been sitting in the Oval Office, he might have got sleepy; instead he stood in the diplomatic room and ranted with monotone anger.

Wearing a blue suit, white shirt and red tie, Trump unleashed a shouty stream of consciousness with barely a pause or punctuation mark. Susie Wiles, his chief of staff, recently observed that he has an “alcoholic’s personality” but apparently this was a sugar high: just before the remarks started, according to a White House pool report, an usher brought in three Diet Cokes and ice.

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