Trump Touts His Administration’s Successes In First Year During Primetime Address To The Nation
on Dec 17, 2025
The President Unveiled Military Dividend Payments During Primetime Address To The Nation
In the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in the evening of Wednesday, Dec. 17, President Donald Trump delivered a primetime address to the nation.
This address comes as Trump is nearly one month shy of having served as the 47th president for one year, and was issued to celebrate the administration’s accomplishments since inauguration day.
Here, the president highlighted his tight border control policy, which he says has led to no illegal migrants entering the country in the past seven months.
He also championed inventive efforts taken by his administration to increase wealth for the American people.
Among those was the surprise announcement of the Warrior Dividend, which will be given to every member of the military.
“Tonight, I am also proud to announce that … 1,450,000 military service members will receive a special Warrior Dividend before Christmas.”
Trump added, “In honor of our nation’s founding in 1776, we are sending every soldier $1,776. Think of that. The checks are already on the way.”
The president went on to attribute the reality of this dividend payout to active military members to the success of tariffs.
Back in November, Trump announced there will be a $2,000 tariff dividend awarded to every American, but the rollout of that dividend to civilians was not discussed in his Dec. 17 speech.
Trump also unveiled a new website, TrumpRX.gov, which will be where Americans can find decreased prescription costs from the Most Favored Nations Policy.
“I want the money to go directly to the people, so you can buy your own healthcare,” Trump said. “You’ll get much better healthcare at a much lower price. The only losers will be insurance companies that have gotten rich in the Democrat party.”
Trump Touts Changes Since End Of Biden Administration
Looking back to the administration of his predecessor, President Joe Biden, Trump touted his administration’s efforts since January 20, saying, “Over the past 11 months, we have brought more positive change to Washington than any administration in American history.”
Among these changes, Trump listed bad trade deals, transgender athletes, and a surge of 25 million illegal migrants allowed to enter the country by the Biden policies.
“Starting on day 1, I took immediate action to stop the invasion of our Southern border,” Trump said, noting he declared a national emergency at the border.
Beyond the border, Trump looked to the development of a strong and diverse economy.
“One year ago, our nation was dead … now, we’re the hottest country anywhere in the world,” he said.
“Back home, we’re bringing our economy back from the brink of ruin,” he said, directing blame at the Biden administration and its allies, he accused them of having “looted our treasury” which have driven up prices.
Contributing to a wider range of price options is the Trump administration’s focus on the private sector. Since Trump has been sworn in for his second term, he said that 100% of all new jobs created in the nation have been in the private sector.
With the tax cuts outlined in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, he said many families will be saving between $11,000 and $20,000. Further, he said that this coming spring is projected to be “the largest tax refund season” on record.
Nearing the conclusion of his message, saying, “Tonight, after 11 months, our border is secure, inflation is stopped, wages are up, prices are down, our nation is strong, America is respected, and our nation is back — stronger than ever before!”
Trump added, “We are poised for an economic boom, the likes of which the world has never seen … but, most importantly, we will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. There could be no more fitting tribute to this epic milestone than to complete the comeback of America that began just one year ago.”
Ending his remarks, he said, “When the world looks at us next year, let them see a nation that is loyal to its citizens, faithful to its workers, confident to its identity, certain to its destiny, and the envy of the entire globe.”
Watch the full primetime address, here:
RELATED: LIST: How Many Wars Has Trump Ended In His Second Term?
Speech Comes During Moment Of Division
However, it also comes at a moment of great political strife, as the Trump administration is receiving pushback on a few fronts.
On Dec. 16, the Trump administration’s armed conflict against Venezuelan narcoterrorists under the Maduro regime reached a crescendo as the president revealed in a Truth Social post that the nation is “completely surrounded by the largest Armada ever assembled in the History of South America.”
Trump continued, writing:
“For the theft of our Assets, and many other reasons, including Terrorism, Drug Smuggling, and Human Trafficking, the Venezuelan Regime has been designated a FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION. Therefore, today, I am ordering A TOTAL AND COMPLETE BLOCKADE OF ALL SANCTIONED OIL TANKERS going into, and out of, Venezuela.”
Starting back in September, the military began conducting airstrikes on boats from Venezuela that were allegedly smuggling drugs into America.
Looking within America’s borders, the Trump administration’s economic policy has also been questioned, with the legality of the tariff policy still looming large as it’s deliberated over by the Supreme Court.
Further, the job growth and unemployment numbers for November were released this week, with the nation adding 64,000 jobs as unemployment rose to 4.6%. Due to the longest government shutdown in American history extending through all of October, the previous unemployment numbers are from September, with the rate at 4.4%.
Trump’s primetime address also comes two days before the Dec. 19 deadline for the Department of Justice to release the files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
