Updates: Trump promises ‘economic boom’ in 2026, touts immigration record

If you’d like to read more about escalating US threats against Venezuela, you can read our story on the administration’s claims that the country’s oil should belong to the US here.

You can also find out more about the massive military budget that Trump is expected to sign into law, after it was passed by the US Senate earlier today, here.

We will be closing the live page soon. Here’s a quick review of the day’s main events:

• US President Donald Trump delivered brief remarks from the White House, touting his record since returning to office and promising an economic boom in the coming year.
• Recent polling shows that the president faces flagging approval ratings and worsening concerns about the state of the economy. Trump received his worst approval ratings ever for his handling of the economy in a new NPR/PBS News/Marist poll, with just 36 percent approving of his handling of the economy.
• The Trump administration has continued to step up threats against Venezuela, with Trump and top aide Stephen Miller doubling down on claims that the country’s massive oil reserves should belong to the US.
• The US Senate passed a massive $901bn military spending package, far and away the largest defence budget of any country in the world. The bill included provisions on a number of other issues, including the suspension of “Caesar sanctions” against Syria. President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law.

US and Russian officials will convene in Miami, Florida, over the weekend to discuss Trump’s plan to bring the war in Ukraine to an end, according to media reports.

Politico reported earlier in the day that US special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner will take part on the US side, citing two sources familiar with the matter. Russia’s sovereign wealth fund head Kirill Dmitriev is expected to participate on the Russian side.

The news service AFP reported later that a White House official had confirmed the planned meeting. The reports follow talks in Berlin earlier this week between US and Ukrainian officials, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said progress is being made but warned that Russia was planning for a “new year of war”.

Officials and lawmakers from the Democratic Party have criticised Trump’s speech seeking to bolster confidence in the economy, as the party senses an opportunity to go on the offensive amid Trump’s flagging approval rating and growing concerns about affordability.

“Quickly lost track of how many lies Trump shouted out tonight, but the main takeaway is that he has clearly lost touch with reality. Delusional,” Senator Chris Van Hollen said. “The most honest thing he said was, ‘no one can believe what’s going on.'”

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a potential future presidential contender who frequently needles Trump in his social media posts, mocked him for giving a speech focused on “Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me Me”.

Taiwan’s presidential office offered “sincere thanks” to the US for approving an arms sale package worth about $11.1bn, the largest ever.

“Peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are indispensable to the security and prosperity of the international community,” presidential office spokesperson Karen Kuo said in a statement.

Taiwan’s Defence Ministry said that the arms package would help build “strong deterrent power” and “asymmetric warfare advantages” as the island comes under greater pressure from China.

The US president’s speech focused on communicating a simple message to the country: Despite inheriting a tough situation, Trump’s policies are working, prices are starting to come down, and the economy is on track to experience a boom.

It is a message increasingly at odds with the views expressed by most Americans, with recent polling finding growing anxiety about cost-of-living issues and low approval of Trump’s handling of the economy.

An NPR/PBS News/Marist poll released on Wednesday found that just 36 percent of people approve of Trump’s economic record, and 45 percent say that prices are their primary issue when it comes to economic concerns. About 60 percent said they felt pessimistic about the coming year, and more than half said they believed the country was already in a recession.

The US president says that the country has much to look forward to in 2026, including hosting the football World Cup and the Olympics in a year that will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the signing 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,” Trump said.

The upcoming World Cup has become a subject of controversy, with angst over sky-high ticket prices, concerns that the country’s hardline anti-immigration policies could make it difficult for people from around the world to attend, and criticism of FIFA’s decision to invent a peace prize and give it to Trump, which many saw as a blatant effort to flatter the US leader.

Democratic Representative Jim McGovern has slammed Republican lawmakers and “spineless” Democrats who joined them to defeat a bill that would have asserted greater congressional control over Trump’s military actions in Latin America.

One Democrat, Representative Henry Cuellar, who was recently pardoned by Trump of federal corruption charges, joined Republicans to defeat McGovern’s bill, which would have required congressional support for any military actions against Venezuela. Several similar efforts have been voted down by Republican lawmakers in recent months.

“I’m furious that cowardly lawmakers have once again surrendered Congress’ Constitutional responsibility on matters of war to a wannabe dictator in the White House,” McGovern said in a statement.

The announcement of the US president’s White House speech amid skyrocketing tensions with Venezuela had sparked speculation that he may announce military action against the country or at least make the case for a future war.

But Trump – who has imposed an oil blockade on Venezuela and amassed US military assets near the country – did not address the crisis with the Latin American nation.

He also only vaguely alluded to his campaign of military strikes against alleged boats in the Caribbean and the Pacific, saying that the US “decimated the bloodthirsty foreign drug cartels”.

The US president said in his remarks that the next pick to lead the Federal Reserve will agree to bring down interest rates “by a lot”.

Trump has frequently pressured the US central bank to slash interest rates, suggesting at times that he could fire current Chair Jerome Powell if he does not do so. Those actions raised concerns about Trump’s efforts to reduce the bank’s independence.

Powell’s term ends in May 2026, and Trump said in his speech that he will announce a successor soon.

There’s no question that the president focused on his domestic agenda, which many have argued has been a lesser priority and that the president has been focusing too much on foreign policy these last 11 months.

The US president was making an excuse for that in his speech, arguing that he inherited all of these problems from his predecessor, Joe Biden. And he was arguing that since he’s taken office, many things, including the main concern for most Americans, which is the affordability of energy as well as food prices, have turned around.

But if you’ll notice, as the US president was talking, he didn’t mention anything about energy prices, which are still relatively high for most consumers.

And when it comes to the affordability of groceries and food items, going out to restaurants, these are still very high for most Americans, and that has a lot to do with the president’s tariffs, which he says are bringing an enormous amount of revenue into the country.

The US president took a usual shot at immigrants, scapegoating them for the housing crisis and economic problems.

“At the same time, illegal aliens stole American jobs and flooded emergency rooms getting free healthcare and education paid for by you – the American taxpayer,” Trump said.

“They also increased the cost of law enforcement by numbers so high that they are not even to be mentioned.”

Numerous studies have shown that immigrants contribute far more to the economy than they take from it, powering vital sectors, including agriculture to feed the country and construction to build new homes.

The US president, who recently called the Somali community “garbage”, also falsely claimed that Somalis “took over the economics” of the state of Minnesota and stole “billions and billions of dollars”.