President Donald Trump announced plans to send $1,776 in “warrior dividends” to more than 1 million U.S. service members in an unusual prime-time televised address to the nation Wednesday night.
“Thanks to tariffs and the One Big Beautiful Bill that just passed, I’m proud to announce tonight that more than 1.45 million service members will receive the Special Warrior Dividend before Christmas,” President Trump said in a speech in the White House Diplomatic Reception Room.
“And the checks are already in the mail,” he said.
President Trump began his speech by slamming his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, for “inheriting chaos” when he returned to the White House last January.
“And I’m fixing it,” he said.
President Trump emphasized his administration’s efforts to close the southern border, reduce costs and strengthen U.S. foreign policy.
President Trump said, “We were prepared to fail. We will fail completely. We are the hottest country in the world right now.”
US President Donald Trump addresses the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on December 17, 2025.
Doug Mills AFP | Getty Images
The speech came as President Trump’s approval ratings have slumped across the board on issues ranging from immigration to inflation, and as Republicans seek to maintain a majority in both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections.
“We are bringing our economy back from the brink of destruction,” President Trump said in his speech.
But the economy, once the president’s selling point, has become vulnerable as the president’s sweeping tariffs have created uncertainty and increased costs for some consumers and businesses.
President Trump recently called growing concerns about affordability a “Democrat hoax” and gave the economy an “A plus plus plus plus” rating on his podcast this month on Politico.
Meanwhile, 66% of Americans surveyed this month disapproved of President Trump’s response to rising inflation, according to CNBC’s National Economic Survey. As of April, his disapproval rating for inflation was 60%. A Marist poll released Wednesday found President Trump’s economic approval rating is 36%, but his overall approval rating is just 38%.
Democrats are trying to force President Trump to hurt the economy.
A group of Senate Democrats held a press conference on affordability Wednesday.
“Costs are going up, and in 2026, Democrats, you’re going to be asked about costs over and over again,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. “On the contrary, Donald Trump will try to talk about his accomplishments tonight, but it will be a very short speech.”
In his speech, President Trump predicted “the biggest tax refund season in history” thanks to the tax and spending packages he signed over the summer.
The president also highlighted his foreign policy successes, dubiously claiming he had ended eight wars since taking office, and pointing to his aggressive stance toward Venezuela.
President Trump said, “Narcotics coming in by sea and sea are now down 94%.”
In early September, the Trump administration began attacking drug-smuggling ships in the Eastern Pacific and Caribbean. In October, President Trump claimed without evidence that the ships were “responsible for the deaths of 25,000 Americans and the destruction of their families.”
As President Trump was about to begin his speech, US Southern Command announced on X News that it had attacked a ship engaged in a “drug-trafficking operation” in the Eastern Pacific. According to U.S. Southern Command, four men on the boat were killed.
Fentanyl is the leading cause of overdose deaths in the United States, with most coming from China and Mexico through the southern border, according to the Government Accountability Office.
On Tuesday, President Trump designated the Venezuelan government a “terrorist” organization and ordered a “complete and complete” blockade of sanctioned oil tankers traveling in and out of the country. He told Politico last week that he would not rule out a ground invasion of Venezuela.
“We have the most powerful military anywhere in the world, and we’re nowhere near them. I’m restoring America’s power,” Trump said.
