MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Trump sought to use his address to the nation last night to deliver something like his own year in review. Here he was at the start of his speech.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I'm fixing it.
MARTIN: The speech went on for roughly 20 minutes. It included, as we said, blame for Democrats and immigrants and promises for the future ahead of next year's midterm elections. The question is, did he do enough to ease the economic anxieties many Americans say they're feeling? Joining us to talk about this is senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro. Domenico, good morning.
DOMENICO MONTANARO, BYLINE: Hey. Good morning.
MARTIN: Also with us, White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben. Hello to you, Danielle.
DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE: Hey. Good morning.
MARTIN: And I'm going to start with you. What stood out to you from this address?
KURTZLEBEN: Well, one, this is not a president who seemed to be feeling people's pain. We all know cost of living is a huge worry for lots of people right now, and yet the tone we got here was angry. He really seemed to be shouting a lot of the time. And also, he just repeated his standby line that we all know by now - that any economic problems you are having are former President Joe Biden's fault. But also, my administration is unbelievably successful, which brings me to point No. 2 here, which is that Trump's approval is below 40%. His approval on the economy has slid. That shows something's not working, whether it's policy or communication or both. But amid all of that, did he turn over a new leaf? No.
MARTIN: What about you, Domenico? What stood out to you?
MONTANARO: Well, I mean, it was just a very defensive speech. I mean, he was basically saying the economy's fine, and if it's not, then it's the Democrats' and immigrants' fault. You know, went back to really familiar culture war talking points. But it's really removed from the reality of how people say they're feeling. You know, Deepa talked about the NPR/PBS News/Marist poll with him at 36% on his economic handling. Polls are showing that the economy really is his now, that people think that he can't continue to blame President Biden or anything else and that it's falling squarely on him. And Republicans and his base may be continuing to show support for him, but majorities of everyone else are not.
MARTIN: So the president painted a picture of an economy in rebound. Danielle, how does that square with the economic data that we have been getting?
KURTZLEBEN: Well, Trump brought out some familiar data points if you listen to the administration these days. He said that gas prices have fallen and wages are outstripping inflation. And both of those things are true, by the way. He is cherry-picking data here, as White Houses often do. And in the process, he's omitting a lot. For example, yeah, gas prices are down, but energy prices - a lot of Americans are seeing their electricity, natural gas bills going up. And yeah, wages are going up, but for one thing, that's not new under Trump. That was happening for a bit before he took office. And also, there's some recent evidence that that wage growth is more for higher-income people than everyone else. And finally, people are feeling bad and worried right now. And so you have to wonder if any amount of pointing to wage growth percentages is going to make people feel better.
MARTIN: And, Domenico, what about - say more about that, about how voters are experiencing this economy.
MONTANARO: You know, what Trump said last night is not reflective of how people are feeling. I mean, in our survey, 70% said that their expenses are either matching or exceeding their income. A quarter of people said that they're month to month, not making ends meet. That's tens of millions of people, and the remarks displayed little empathy for those very real situations from the president. Throughout this year, voters have punished Republicans for it - special elections, the elections in November. Democrats have outpaced 2024 performances by double digits. And those are real warning signs for Republicans coming up ahead of the next year's midterms.
MARTIN: You know, the tone of the speech also revealed a lot about Trump's take on history. In addition to the speech, we're learning how he's viewing past presidents. The White House unveiled plaques near the Oval Office yesterday that actually mock some of his recent Democratic predecessors. What is he saying about them?
KURTZLEBEN: Well, like you said, it's mocking. These plaques are insulting, which means they're pretty normal for Trump. Sometimes they're flat-out petty. On Bill Clinton's plaque, Trump notes that Hillary Clinton lost to Trump in 2016. And already, the Biden picture there was of an autopen, and this plaque talks about what it calls Biden's severe mental decline. But also, let's zoom out. This is yet another embellishment that Trump has added to the White House. In addition to the Rose Garden being remodeled, everything is covered in gold these days. Also, you may have heard, the East Wing is gone. So if you're an American paying even a moderate amount of attention here, it might strike you that he's paying attention to the White House renovations and maybe not as much as you'd like to the economy.
MARTIN: Let's go to one topic that we did not hear a lot of specifics about last night, and that is health care. Did the president miss an opportunity by not offering more of a plan?
KURTZLEBEN: I think you could say that. And it's not that he might have given you a whole bunch of specifics on a plan last night, but he also just didn't offer any reassurance that, yes, we get this. Yes, we need to get this done. We hear you. Instead, he really just insisted Democrats are the problem and had some vague talk about giving money to consumers.
MARTIN: Domenico?
MONTANARO: Yeah. And, you know, all the while here, there's a very real cliff when you're talking about health care with these Affordable Care Act subsidies that are expiring, you know, and that's going to lead to spiking premiums and many dropping coverage. Republicans have been unable or unwilling to compromise with Democrats or even get on the same page with themselves between the House and Senate to pass a bill that fixes that immediate reality for people.
MARTIN: So let's look ahead to 2026. Danielle, what's the message that this White House wants to get across ahead of the midterm elections?
KURTZLEBEN: Well, they're really trying to focus on the economy right now. And on the economy, they're saying, hey, things are great. But they're also trying to say, hey, things are going to improve. And one thing they're focusing on is tax refunds from the Big Beautiful Bill that passed this past year - that people are going to get refunds from those next year. Also, the White House keeps promising that tariffs are sooner or later here going to really show people effects in terms of new factories, new jobs. All that said, they keep hammering this message that Biden is still the problem, and I don't know how far into next year you can ride that.
MARTIN: Domenico, final thought?
MONTANARO: Yeah. And it's a lot of vague promises. Sound very reminiscent of what we hear from Trump all the time - going to be fixed on Day 1 or coming in two weeks. But what I'm hearing from a lot of moderate Republicans is a very different tone. They don't talk about these vague promises. When they're in their swing districts and then now when they're going on TV, you're hearing them talk about, you know, wanting to pass these subsidies and figure out other real tangible solutions because they're hearing it from their constituents back home. And they are on the front lines of those swing districts that potentially be the places where Republicans might wind up losing in next year's elections.
MARTIN: That is senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro and White House correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben. Thank you both.
MONTANARO: You're welcome.
KURTZLEBEN: Of course. Thanks, Michel.
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