Trump's USA Trump's speech to the nation

Expert: Trump's boasting doesn't work to reverse the trend

In his speech to the nation last night, Donald Trump praised the developments in the USA during his time in power. Trump claimed, among other things, that the USA is "safer, stronger and richer than ever".

Political scientist and US expert Hilmar Mjelde does not believe that the speech will have any major effect, either on Trump's opinion figures or on how the midterm elections are going.

- Trump is in trouble ahead of the autumn midterm elections and presented a boasting list to reverse the negative opinion trend, Mjelde tells Norwegian TV2, adding that the tactic is unlikely to work.

According to a recent opinion poll from the Washington Post/Ipsos, only 37 percent of Americans think that Trump is doing a good job. These are the same figures as in 2021 - after he lost the election and his supporters stormed Congress.

It is primarily the handling of the economy and the Iran war that is weighing on the president's opinion figures, writes the Washington Post.

China calls Trump's remarks "malicious smear"

The Chinese Foreign Ministry does not mince words when responding to Donald Trump's accusation that China tried to influence the 2020 presidential election.

- The claims from the United States are malicious smear and pure fabrications that have long been proven to be baseless, says Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian according to the AFP news agency.

It was during his speech to the nation last night that the president alleged that China was trying to interfere in the 2020 election, including by obtaining large amounts of data on American voters.

Analysis: Trump is obsessed – and it's hurting his party

Donald Trump lacks support for his claims about election fraud and Chinese influence on American elections. This is confirmed by several liberal American newspapers in their analyses of the speech to the nation that the president gave on Friday night.

White House correspondent Peter Baker writes in the New York Times that Trump is obsessed with the 2020 election and that he is now trying to discredit the result of this autumn's upcoming midterm elections in advance. An election that the Republicans currently look set to lose.

At the same time, David Frum writes in The Atlantic that Trump's speech could paradoxically lead to an even worse election result for the Republicans.

According to Frum – who previously worked as a speechwriter for George W Bush – it could give voters the feeling that it doesn't matter whether they vote or not.

“Thanks to the Chinese, the illegal immigrants and the much-hated liberal media, your vote probably won’t count,” Frum writes wryly.

None of the major conservative media outlets – such as the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post and The Dispatch – have yet published any analysis of the speech.