BarcelonaThe world was waiting for Donald Trump to declare war on Venezuela in a speech to the nation this Wednesday (already Thursday in Catalonia). But instead, the speech was devoted to reviewing and inflating the achievements of his term and blaming his predecessor in the presidency of the United States, Joe Biden, for all the ills. In particular, he held him responsible for rising prices, a problem that affects Americans more and more every day and that has caused his popularity to drop to historic lows. “Eleven months ago, I inherited a disaster and I’m fixing it,” the president defended in a speech that lasted less than 20 minutes and delivered at a surprisingly fast pace.
Anticipation before Trump’s speech was very high, because hours earlier the ultraconservative presenter Tucker Carlson had hinted that the president could use the moment to declare war on Nicolás Maduro. But it wasn’t like that. With a tone between offended and impatient, Trump charged against the “invasion” of migrants, violent crimes, and against the rights of transgender people. And for all of it, he blamed the policies of the Democratic Biden administration, which he considers responsible for previous trade deals and a “corrupt” system.
From the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, stuffed with Christmas decorations, Trump tried to take stock of his first year in office, in a speech that seemed more like a justification for his meager achievements in trying to stop inflation. He boasted about reduced immigration, lower prices for some goods and the fact that “wages are rising faster than inflation”. A statement that is partially true; since although payrolls have gone up by 4%, below the increase in prices, which is around 3%, a significant section of the population has not benefited from it and continues to suffer due to the high cost of living.
This, which many citizens attribute to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, has dropped the approval rating to the lowest level since the president returned to the White House. The Gallup polling website puts the percentage of Americans who approve of his job at 36%, just two points above the low he recorded in his first term, just after igniting the crowd that stormed the Capitol in January 2021.
One of the few announcements he made was that of a “warrior dividend,” a $1,776 bonus he will give to 1,450,000 members of the US military next week. He also announced health care reform to permanently defund Obamacare and supported a Republican proposal to send money directly to the public to offset the cost of health insurance instead of providing subsidies through the Affordable Care Act. “I want the money to go directly to the people so you can buy your own health care,” Trump said.
