Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it: Trump

Washington: US President Donald Trump said his administration has reversed what he described as economic decline and secured the southern border, restoring American strength at home and abroad within the first 11 months of his new term, while placing blame for inflation, migration, and global instability on the previous Democratic administration.

“Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it,” Trump said at the start of the speech on Wednesday (local time), arguing that when he took office, inflation was “the worst in 48 years, and some would say in the history of our country,” making life “unaffordable for millions and millions of Americans.

He accused the Biden administration of allowing an “open” border, claiming the country was “being invaded by an army of 25 million people”, including criminals and violent offenders, a situation he said “can never be allowed to happen again”.

Trump said his administration had delivered sweeping change in Washington, declaring, “Over the past 11 months, we have brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in American history.” He said he had been elected “in a landslide,” with a mandate to confront what he called “a sick and corrupt system”.

On immigration, Trump said that for the past seven months, “zero illegal aliens have been allowed into our country”, adding that the United States had moved “from worst to best” in border security without new legislation. “We didn’t need legislation. We just needed a new president,” he said.

He also said his administration was deporting criminals, restoring safety in cities, and weakening foreign drug cartels, claiming that drugs brought in “by ocean and by air are now down 94 per cent.” Trump said control of schools had been returned to states and asserted that the US military was now “the most powerful military anywhere in the world”.

On foreign policy, Trump said he had “settled eight wars in 10 months”, “destroyed the Iran nuclear threat”, and “ended the war in Gaza”, bringing “peace to the Middle East” and securing the release of hostages.

Turning to the economy, Trump said prices that rose under the Biden administration were now falling. He cited declines in car prices, gasoline, hotel rates, and airfares, and said grocery prices were easing, noting that the price of a Thanksgiving turkey was “down 33 per cent” and eggs were “down 82 per cent since March”.

He said wages were now rising faster than inflation, with factory workers seeing increases of $1,300, construction workers $1,800, and miners $3,300, while “100 per cent of all jobs created since I took office have been in the private sector”.

Trump also said he had secured a “record-breaking $18 trillion of investment” into the United States, crediting tariffs for encouraging companies to build factories at home. He described tariffs as his “favourite word”, arguing they were driving a resurgence in manufacturing, including in artificial intelligence and automobiles.

He highlighted what he called the “largest tax cuts in American history,” including no tax on tips, overtime, or Social Security, and announced a “Warrior Dividend” of $1,000 for more than 1.45 million military service members before Christmas.

On healthcare, Trump said he had negotiated sharp reductions in prescription drug prices under a “Most Favoured Nation” approach, with cuts of “400, 500, and even 600 per cent,” and announced that reduced prices would be available starting in January through a new website, TrumpRx.gov.

Criticising the Affordable Care Act, which he called the “Unaffordable Care Act,” Trump pledged to redirect money directly to individuals to buy insurance, while targeting what he described as excessive profits by insurers.

On energy, Trump said he had declared a national energy emergency, claiming gasoline prices were now under $2.50 a gallon in much of the country and had reached $1.99 in some states. He said 1,600 new power plants would be opened within 12 months, driving down electricity prices.

Trump linked housing costs to immigration, saying mortgage costs had risen sharply under Democrats but were already down $3,000 annually, with further reductions expected.

He said “reverse migration” was now underway, easing pressure on housing and jobs, and claimed all net job creation since his return to office had gone to American-born citizens.

Trump said the border was secure, inflation had stopped, wages were up, and America was “respected” again. He looked ahead to hosting the World Cup and the Olympics and to the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, urging Americans to see the coming year as the completion of a “national comeback”.

IANS