US President Donald Trump has launched a desperate bid to salvage his ailing presidency by peddling false claims about the economy and launching xenophobic attacks on immigrants in a rally-style speech that has sparked widespread condemnation.
The event, held at a casino in Pennsylvania, was billed as an opportunity for Trump to reclaim the economic narrative after a string of Republican election defeats. However, instead of offering a coherent plan to address the affordability crisis, Trump resorted to his usual tactics of divisiveness and misinformation.
In a speech that was more akin to a campaign rally than a serious policy address, Trump repeatedly claimed that the issue of affordability was a "hoax" and that he bore no responsibility for inflation. He also made baseless assertions about the economy, claiming that tariffs had led to hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue, without providing any credible evidence.
Moreover, Trump's speech was marked by racist attacks on Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia and has faced severe criticism for her comments on immigration. Trump referred to her as "Ilhan Omar, whatever the hell her name is," and claimed that she had married her brother, which is an "absolutely false and ridiculous" claim.
Trump's attempt to shift responsibility for the affordability crisis to his predecessor Joe Biden has also fallen flat. He displayed charts showing prices, mortgage rates, and real wages, but failed to provide any coherent explanation of how he plans to address these issues.
The president's speech was widely panned by Democrats in Pennsylvania, who described it as a "typical" Trump rally that featured false claims and racist attacks. The event also sparked criticism from economists and experts, who pointed out that the data Trump presented to support his claims was misleading or taken out of context.
Overall, Trump's latest attempt to reboot his presidency has only served to further erode trust in his leadership and highlight the deepening affordability crisis in the US.
The event, held at a casino in Pennsylvania, was billed as an opportunity for Trump to reclaim the economic narrative after a string of Republican election defeats. However, instead of offering a coherent plan to address the affordability crisis, Trump resorted to his usual tactics of divisiveness and misinformation.
In a speech that was more akin to a campaign rally than a serious policy address, Trump repeatedly claimed that the issue of affordability was a "hoax" and that he bore no responsibility for inflation. He also made baseless assertions about the economy, claiming that tariffs had led to hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue, without providing any credible evidence.
Moreover, Trump's speech was marked by racist attacks on Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who was born in Somalia and has faced severe criticism for her comments on immigration. Trump referred to her as "Ilhan Omar, whatever the hell her name is," and claimed that she had married her brother, which is an "absolutely false and ridiculous" claim.
Trump's attempt to shift responsibility for the affordability crisis to his predecessor Joe Biden has also fallen flat. He displayed charts showing prices, mortgage rates, and real wages, but failed to provide any coherent explanation of how he plans to address these issues.
The president's speech was widely panned by Democrats in Pennsylvania, who described it as a "typical" Trump rally that featured false claims and racist attacks. The event also sparked criticism from economists and experts, who pointed out that the data Trump presented to support his claims was misleading or taken out of context.
Overall, Trump's latest attempt to reboot his presidency has only served to further erode trust in his leadership and highlight the deepening affordability crisis in the US.