President Trump delivered a nationally televised, prime-time address from the White House on Wednesday evening, billing it as a year-end message about the economy and immigration and framing 2025 as "a great year for our Country" with stronger growth ahead in 2026. In the speech, carried live by major networks, he repeatedly argued that high prices and economic challenges stemmed from decisions made under former President Joe Biden, while saying his administration is now bringing costs down and restoring prosperity. The president highlighted selected data and charts to claim that inflation had been "stopped," gas prices had fallen sharply, grocery costs were dropping and investment was surging, but multiple fact-checks published shortly afterward concluded that several of those assertions were inaccurate or overstated. Trump also announced a $1,776 Christmas bonus for U.S. troops, presenting it as a patriotic thank-you for their service during the holiday season.

Highlights:

• Speech logistics: Networks scheduled the address for 9 p.m. Eastern, with at least one outlet promoting advance live coverage and real-time analysis for viewers at home.
• Trump’s preview: Ahead of the event, President Trump used Truth Social to call 2025 "a great year" and promise that "THE BEST IS YET TO COME!" without providing detailed policy hints.
• Public opinion backdrop: The address came as a recent poll showed a majority of Americans disapproving of Trump’s handling of the economy despite his optimistic forecasts for 2026.
• Bonus specifics: The president framed the one-time $1,776 payment for service members explicitly as a Christmas bonus, tying the number symbolically to the year of U.S. independence.
• Fact-check focus: Post-speech fact checks from major outlets scrutinized his claims on inflation, gas prices, drug costs, egg prices, and trillions in investment, finding multiple figures either misleading or mathematically impossible as stated.

It has been a great year for our Country, and THE BEST IS YET TO COME! - President Donald Trump

Perspectives:

• President Trump: Trump cast his first year back in office as a turnaround from economic problems he linked to the Biden era, telling Americans in advance that it had been a great year and that even better results were coming. (The Hill)
• New York Times fact-checkers: New York Times reporters concluded that the president’s televised economic claims leaned on misleading statistics, including his insistence that prices were broadly falling when official data showed continued inflation in many categories. (The New York Times)
• CNN fact-checker Daniel Dale: CNN’s Daniel Dale described several of Trump’s headline assertions on inflation, drug prices, gas costs and trillions in investment as "wild exaggerations" or "total fiction," emphasizing that some figures were mathematically impossible or far above the administration’s own published numbers. (Alternet)
• Le Monde analysis: French newspaper Le Monde noted that Trump’s optimistic promise of an economic boom in 2026 came even as polling showed most Americans unhappy with his current economic stewardship, underlining a gap between his rhetoric and public sentiment. (Le Monde)

Sources:

• How to watch Trump's prime-time address to the nation - cbsnews.com
• Trump’s National Address: What Time and What to Expect - nytimes.com
• Watch live: Trump gives address to the nation - thehill.com
• President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the White House - chicagotribune.com
• WATCH: Trump addresses the nation from the White House | PBS News special coverage - pbs.org
• Trump holds national address speech to blame Biden for the state of his nation - reddit.com
• Trump tells America: ‘I’m fixing’ Biden’s mess in chart-filled primetime address - nypost.com
• Trump promises economic boom in 2026 in address to Americans - lemonde.fr
• 'Total fiction': CNN fact-checker demolishes 8 'wild exaggerations' in Trump's speech - alternet.org