Trump address plays to partisan lines: Republicans' praise and Democrats' attacks on economy

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump, facing an economy in which consumer confidence is down and anxiety is up for millions of Americans, promised Wednesday night that the impact of his economic policies would offer relief in the new year.

"We’re poised for an economic boom," Trump said in a prime-time televised speech delivered from the White House.

Long Island’s congressional delegation responded to the speech along expected party lines, with Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport) praising the remarks and Democrats arguing that more could have been said to address growing unease about the economy.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, "President Trump’s speech just showed he lives in a bubble completely disconnected from the reality everyday Americans are seeing and feeling."

"People are feeling squeezed harder and harder every day and tonight Donald Trump took a victory lap," Schumer said in a statement issued by his office after the speech. "The facts are that prices are going up. Unemployment is going up. And there’s no end in sight."

Trump's message came as recent polls show the majority of Americans have an unfavorable opinion of his handling of the economy, and after Democrats notched a number of major off-year election wins this fall rallying around a message of affordability.

Trump, with an eye on next year’s midterm elections, is expected to hit the road more frequently come January, headlining rallies aimed at delivering an assuring economic message.

Garbarino, the new chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, described Trump and the Republican-led Congress as having "a productive year."

"President Trump and Republicans in Congress have been focused on delivering real results for the American people by keeping our communities safe and ensuring a stable economy," Garbarino said in a statement to Newsday.

But Long Island's Democratic members of Congress said Trump is out of touch on the economy.

Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), in a statement to Newsday said: "I believe the President is making a serious mistake by failing to recognize that the cost of living is the most pressing issue facing Americans today. We should work together to lower health care costs, reexamine his tariffs, fix our broken immigration system, and keep communities safe."

Rep. Laura Gillen (D-Rockville Centre) told Newsday in an email: "Affordability continues to be the top concern of Long Islanders and Americans across the country. What we heard tonight is a lot of talk about bringing down costs but what we need to see is real action from this administration."

Gillen called on Trump "to extend the ACA tax credits to help lower skyrocketing health care premiums and follow through on his promise to fully restore the SALT deduction to lower taxes for Long Island families."

Gillen was referring to Trump’s promise on the 2024 campaign trail to restore the state and local tax deduction that was capped at $10,000 under his first administration. The tax-and-spending bill passed by the Republican controlled Congress this summer, and signed into law by Trump in July, increased the cap to $40,000 for most property owners through 2029, under a deal pushed by a coalition of Blue-state House Republicans facing opposition from Red-State Republicans opposed outright to the tax exemption.

Rep. Nick LaLota (R-Amityville) told Newsday on Wednesday night that he did not watch the speech but was "eager to hear more about our service members getting a $1,776 bonus and seeing about it applying to our" U.S. Coast Guard.

Trump announced a $1,776 bonus for more than 1.4 million U.S. servicemembers, saying the money would soon arrive and would be funded by tariff revenues, but the White House has not provided details about whether it will seek Congressional approval to appropriate the $2.5 billion needed for the bonuses.

Trump’s speech focused on a list of signature policies he has argued for months are benefiting the economy — namely his immigration crackdown and global tariffs — but also previewed some new policy priorities for the coming year.

The president said a "far better health insurance" plan is on its way, as Congress appears poised to break for the holidays without passing an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire on Dec. 31. The health care research outlet KFF estimates the average ACA enrollee will see their premiums more than double.

Trump also said he’ll "announce some of the most aggressive housing reform plans in American history," and said he planned to name a new chairman of the Federal Reserve Board who would lower interest rates, after months of publicly bashing current Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not agreeing to Trump’s deeper rate reduction demands. Powell has argued the post is historically independent from the office of the president, with decisions driven by data, not politics.

Trump, who won a second term largely due to his vows to reduce prices on "Day One," promised viewers on Wednesday they will see the impact of his policies "in your wallets and bank accounts, in the new year."

By Laura Figueroa Hernandez

laura.figueroa@newsday.com@Laura_Figueroa

Laura Figueroa Hernandez is the White House correspondent and previously covered New York City politics and government. She joined Newsday in 2012 after covering state and local politics for The Miami Herald.