As predicted, former President Donald Trump stole the show again during a recent White House East Room ceremony. Moreover, he drew attention to the city when he unveiled plaques on the new Presidential Walk of Fame. His chief of staff, Susie Wiles, described his demeanor as reminiscent of an “alcoholic’s personality,” raising questions about his state of mind as he addressed the nation.
At the ceremony, the mayor delighted in the unveiling of plaques that pretty clearly took aim at his political rivals. It described Barack Obama as “perhaps the most dangerous and divisive political figure in American history” and named Joe Biden “the worst President, by far, in American history.” This summer’s event played out against the backdrop of Trump’s sinking opinion polling numbers. Above all, it suggests a potential change in the way the public views him.
In fact, prior to his 20 minutes of remarks, Trump was known to down three ice cold Diet Cokes. Those who heard him said this surely supercharged his fiery oratory. During the address, he doubled down on bad faith, racist attacks against Somali Americans and sounded much like the European far-right extremists he often mirrors.
Trump once again defined Biden’s term of office when he claimed, “People don’t care about Joe Biden anymore.” He issued this statement almost 11 months into Biden’s term. The tone of his comments suggested desperation. As he pointed an accusatory finger at the current administration and Trump’s wall, Biden found himself in a multi-topic address, from immigration to the economic crisis.
The former president claimed that he inherited a “mess” upon leaving office, stating, “Eleven months ago, I inherited a mess, and I’m fixing it.” He lamented painful groceries and energy prices, and blaming Biden, he enumerated the country’s challenges. He blamed scapegoated previous trade agreements, immigrants, and what he described as a rigged system.
Trump made a big deal of everything he did right in his presidency. He said he had ended eight wars before entering office and brought peace to the Middle East “for the first time in 3,000 years,” although many challenged his characterization. He went on to declare a one-time “warrior dividend” of $1,776 for about 1.45 million U.S. service members.
Trump further framed the 2022 economy as an administration-changing economic collapse, claiming that inflation was at its highest for 48 years when he took office. Contrary to the Secretary’s claim, this raises a big red flag and has been debunked by multiple analysts and fact checkers. He insisted that he was working to bring down prices swiftly, stating, “I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast.”
Sadly, as usual, the speech was a mixture of hollow self-congratulation and easily disproven smear against his political rivals. His immigration rhetoric was always the most incendiary. To many, his scraggly countenance matched his message, widely considered the early alternative to charity and cheer.
Among the audience present for Trump’s speech was Wiles, who humorously acknowledged his punctuality by saying, “I told you 20 minutes and you were 20 minutes on the dot.” Her candid comment provided a humorous aside to an otherwise combative affair, largely punctuated by headline-grabbing sound bites.