President Trump promised a speech Thursday night on pitfalls in election security.
He did that, but only after offering a full-throated commendation of his second-term agenda that served as a primetime ad for Republicans heading into a tough midterm election season.
With Democrats savoring the chance to retake the House and Senate, Mr. Trump led off his primetime address by ticking through his achievements and hopes for securing a major victory over the regime in Iran. The U.S. military is carrying out new strikes in hopes of preventing Tehran from getting a nuclear weapon.
“You will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly,” Mr. Trump said at the outset of his White House address to the nation. “America is back and doing really, really well.”
Mr. Trump promoted the benefits of the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, including provisions that exempt tipped income from taxes and Trump Accounts that are tax-advantaged savings accounts for children.
He highlighted more secure borders and a glowing inflation report this week.
“Our stock markets are at their highest point in many years, but we can actually say of all time,” Mr. Trump said.
And he pointed to his “most favored nations” policy that forced drug companies to slash drug prices for patients who pay for their drugs directly instead of using insurance.
Mr. Trump is betting these accomplishments will overcome the general trend, in which the party that controls the White House fares poorly in the midterm cycle.
Democrats expect to have the upper hand given poor polling around the war in Iran, persistently high prices and turbulence from Mr. Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff plans.
Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, said Mr. Trump is resorting to fear-mongering about the coming election because he cannot run on his record.
“The American people are fed up with Donald Trump. Americans are fed up with the chaos in their streets, fed up with the corruption in their government, fed up with sky-high costs in every part of their lives because of this administration’s policies,” he said. “Voters are sick of forking over their tax dollars to line Trump’s pockets and to fuel his failed war in Iran. Trump has given up on winning over hearts and minds. Now he’s focused on rigging rules and purging voter rolls.”
