The Independent: Trump holds national address in rally style speech blaming Biden for the state of his nation. Over the course of the more than 10 minutes of shouted boasts he delivered, the president also offered up a series of demonstrably false claims and baseless assertions about his economic record.
The Atlantic: The president of the United States just barged into America’s living rooms like an angry, confused grandfather to tell us all that we are ungrateful whelps.
New York Times: Mr. Trump, always more comfortable with what he calls his “weave” of free association rather than reading from a teleprompter, raced through his talk as if he was late to an important dinner. There were no digressions, unlike his speech in Pennsylvania a week ago when he repeatedly veered from the topic. At times he seemed to be yelling — almost as if he didn’t believe he had to take the time to convince his audience of how well his first 11 months had gone.
Washington Post: Trump crammed his usual 90-minute rally routine into 18 minutes of prime-time broadcast television on Wednesday, perplexing “Survivor” finale viewers and his own allies alike. “He spoke more than 2,600 words in that time, markedly faster than his usual plodding pace at the teleprompter. His purpose was to ease concerns about the economy and to persuade Americans that he gets it. Afterward, even his own allies puzzled over whether the president did more harm than good with his rushed delivery and harsh tone.
Aljazeera: “Quickly lost track of how many lies Trump shouted out tonight, but the main takeaway is that he has clearly lost touch with reality. Delusional,” Senator Chris Van Hollen said. “The most honest thing he said was, ‘No one can believe what’s going on.’” California Governor Gavin Newsom, a potential future presidential contender who frequently needles Trump in his social media posts, mocked him for giving a speech focused on “Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me.”
USA Today: Trump is accustomed to giving long, meandering rally-style speeches that go off script and touch on a wide range of topics – whatever comes to Trump’s mind. But as he stuck to the teleprompter during Wednesday night address, Trump seemed to barely catch his breath. Trump recited his speech with furious speed, sometimes making it difficult to tell when he was jumping from one topic and moving to the next.
It was a different sounding Trump before a primetime audience than Trump at his campaign rallies.
The Independent: President Donald Trump claimed Susie Wiles, his chief of staff, made him deliver Wednesday’s primetime address…Following the brief address, Trump told reporters that his chief of staff informed him he “had” to give the address. Pressed as to whether she would stay in the role, the president said: “Yes. She’s doing a great job.”
