He spoke from the Diplomatic Reception Room in the White House, not the Oval Office. He said that eleven months ago he had taken over a country in a bad state and that his government was gradually rectifying the situation.
The president complained about immigration, violent crime, and even transgender people competing in women's sports. He blamed former President Joe Biden, older trade deals, migrants and a "corrupt system" for the problems associated with this.
Although Trump claimed that his administration has made progress in reducing illegal immigration and the prices of some goods, he did not unveil many new concrete measures to address the high cost of living.
One of the few announced steps was the payment of $1,776 checks to some 1.45 million members of the U.S. armed forces.
He also backed a Republican proposal for the state to give people cash directly for health insurance instead of subsidies under Obamacare, although this proposal does not yet have sufficient support in Congress.
He was only marginally involved in foreign policy. He mentioned the Gaza conflict but did not talk about the war in Ukraine or tensions with Venezuela, although foreign affairs have featured more prominently in his previous speeches.
Before the speech, Trump's allies speculated about the extent to which he would focus on the escalating confrontation with Venezuela. However, they did not get an answer on whether Trump intends to try to overthrow the country's president, Nicolás Maduro.
Trump acknowledged that prices remain high, but argued that the economy is poised for rapid growth. He promised improvement next year thanks to tax cuts, tariffs and plans to replace the head of the Federal Reserve.
However, his assessment of the economy has been met with public scepticism - only a third of Americans approve of Trump's economic leadership, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Democrats said after the speech that the president offered no real solutions to the problems of ordinary people. They pointed out that, despite a slight recovery in economic growth, job growth has slowed, unemployment has risen to its highest level in four years and inflation is rising again.
(reuters, est)