Insanity on display.....

Trump kicks off speech with bravado over accomplishments

“Our country is winning again,” he said. “Bigger than ever.”

Cheyenne Haslett

President Donald Trump began his speech with a surge of bravado, ticking through his administration’s accomplishments to partisan applause and then bringing most of the room to their feet when he gave a shout out to the U.S. Men’s Hockey team, fresh off a gold medal.

“Our country is winning again,” he said. “Bigger than ever. And to prove that point, to prove that point, here with us tonight is a group of winners who just made the entire nation proud.”

The team received a loud round of applause.

The speech so far mirrors his 2026 rallies, with a lot of hype for the economy to refute Democrats’ attacks over affordability and voters’ own concerns about high prices.

Trump listed falling mortgage rates, stock market highs and low unemployment as reasons the U.S. is “the hottest country anywhere in the world.”

Trump also touted gasoline prices below $2.30 a gallon in “most states” and said he saw prices for $1.85 a gallon during a trip to Iowa last month. Though gas prices have fallen, that’s an exaggeration — according to AAA, gas prices averaged $2.95 nationwide and $2.55 in Iowa on Tuesday.

A December POLITICO poll showed that the president has work to do in convincing Americans that the country is as “hot” as he says. Almost half — 46 percent — say the cost of living in the U.S. is the worst they can ever remember it being, a view held by 37 percent of 2024 Trump voters.