President Donald Trump’s Oval Office address to the nation on Wednesday night will not only afford a chance to rattle off the promised delivered in his first year but also to offer a platform of bold new ideas to address the anxiety afflicting Americans over affordability in an economy that still has a lingering Biden hangover.Aides and members of Congress expect the 47th president to focus extensively on the affordability issue and to lay out a 2026 agenda on everything from launching an affordable housing boom akin to the post-WWII era to reducing the size of government.
The ideas expected to be raised may be as ambitious as the one he campaigned on in 2024 for his return to the White House. “I think it’ll be a real uplifting talk, and I think he will lay out his plan,” Rep. Ralph Norman, S.C., told Just the News on Tuesday night.
“And you know what he is so unbelievable at doing is bringing people together. He’s actively involved. I don’t know when the man sleeps,” Norman said.
“The man works 24/7, and at the end of the day, he just loves America, and America is seeing what somebody that loves a country is doing, and he’s making this happen as no other president that I know of can do, could have done,” he added.
Statistics vs. feelings
On paper, Trump has a first-year resumé that most American presidents would prize: prices for gas, prescription drugs and eggs are way down, the southern border is secure after four unsafe years, 2.6 million illegal immigrants have left the country voluntarily or via deportation, eight peace deals were struck around the globe, Iran’s nuclear weapons program was crippled and Americans will reap big tax cuts next year that include no taxes on tips and Social Security.
But like most improvements, the successes are showing up quicker in statistics and economic indicators than at the dinner table or water cooler. That has left employers cutting payroll and Americans anxious about their bottom line.
Bessent sees solid growth rate ahead
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent believes the negative sentiment will reverse by the second quarter of next year, especially if America’s economy ends 2025 with a crisp 3% growth rate as Bessent predicted.
“Democrats created scarcity, whether it was in energy or over-regulation, that we are now seeing this affordability problem, and I think next year we’re going to move on to prosperity,” Bessent said this month.
Meanwhile, the president’s aides and his outside advisers have been crafting big ideas to unveil in the speech and in the coming weeks to create confidence that Trump has a vision to keep the affordability improvements going and to ease the anxiety.
Just the News interviewed two dozen outside and internal advisers who have the president’s ear. Here are four big ideas that could be launched either in Wednesday night’s speech or in the weeks after.
Unveil an affordable housing policy like the GI Bill that unleashed the housing wave in the post-World War II era and declare a homeowners bill of rights that protects Americans from excessive local zoning regulations.
