Donald Trump's address to the nation portrayed the president as "a desperate man" according to a political analyst.
The president made a 20-minute speech which laid the blame of economic hardships at the feet of the previous administration. While Trump may be keen to still blame President Joe Biden for the cost of living crisis, political analyst David Smith, writing in The Guardian, suggested Trump knew he was failing to convince the country of this.
Smith would describe Trump's delivery as "monotone anger" and went on to say the president had once more pointed "an accusing finger" at the previous administration. A comparison between Trump and Ebenezer Scrooge, the curmudgeonly banker from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol was also made.
Smith wrote, "Surrounded by Christmas trees and garlands before a fireplace, Donald Trump on Wednesday gave a convincing rendition of Ebenezer Scrooge, the elderly miser who despises Christmas and blames everyone but himself."
"The US president sounded like a desperate man, pointing an accusing finger at Joe Biden and spreading the opposite of charity and cheer on issues such as immigration. So much for ’tis the season to be jolly."
Elsewhere in his commentary, Smith pointed out the location of the address, joking it could not have been held in the Oval Office as Trump "might have got sleepy; instead he stood in the diplomatic room and ranted with monotone anger."
Smith believes the reason for the anger found in the address is because Trump has seen his approval rating slip in a series of opinion polls. He wrote, "But this was not an address by a self-confident man dishing out Christmas presents to the nation."
"It smacked of desperation from one who can feel the December windchill of opinion polls – a Reuters/ Ipsos poll on Tuesday showed just 33% of US adults approve of how Trump has handled the economy – dissent in his own Republican ranks and the Jeffrey Epstein files looming on Friday."
It comes as former White House cardiologist Dr. Jonathan Reiner says Trump looked "unwell" during the address and that he was sincerely concerned for the president's health.
Dr. Reiner wrote, "No one should be happy to see the president like this. He looks unwell." In a post shortly before this, Dr Reiner had written, "I'm seriously concerned about the health of the president."
Two further posts were shared by Dr. Reiner, one reading, "The pace of this address is manic." Another post from the cardiologist noted the dissonance between Trump's speech and the festive background. Dr. Reiner wrote, "The tone of this speech doesn't quite match the festive background."