White House 'trying to keep Grampa busy' with public appearances: report

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the U.S. economy and affordability at the Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pennsylvania, U.S. December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

A panel of New York Times columnists say the damage of Trump’s recent Pennsylvania speech suggest his aids are merely trying to keep him busy, regardless of the consequences.

“... [H]e’s making these claims about inflation that aren’t true, making these claims about wages that aren’t true, making these claims about costs that aren’t true — just a torrent of falsehoods,” said columnist Jamelle Bouie. “All clearly coming from a place of deep frustration that he isn’t as popular and well beloved as he believes he should be, which, on the one hand, is a sign that something of reality is penetrating this White House. On the other hand, it’s clear that they have no sense of how to respond to that.”

“The title of this, as best I could tell, was ‘Screw You All, You Whiners: The Economy’s Great, and if It’s Not, Blame Biden.’ said columnist Michelle Cottle. “That was it, again and again — oh, and ‘hate the immigrants.’ So I am just not sure what they’re hoping to accomplish with that, other than maybe to increase the calls for him to get another cognitive assessment. But I thought it was pretty magical.”

“Well, I think that the aim is just to give him something to do,” said Bouie. “You put him out there to give this 20-minute harangue, and then you tell him it was great and everyone loved it and this’ll turn things around, and then he just goes back to going to his clubs and hanging out in the Oval Office. But it’s not clear to me that this is meant to serve a particular objective. It’s not going to reverse any fortunes for the president.”

“Are you just suggesting they’re trying to keep Grandpa busy?” asked Cottle:

“I think they’re trying to keep Grandpa busy, and this is one way to do it.”Bouie replied.

Columnist David French called the speech “Banana Republic-flavored Soviet propaganda” but with less effectiveness.

“If you go back and you remember Soviet propaganda in the ’70s and the ’80s … Everything is always going so well, they’re going onto greater and higher achievements. And you always had this presentation of relentless forward momentum,” said French. “And then the reason I say ‘Banana Republic-flavored’ is because it was filtered through this demagogic figure who essentially … believes that he can basically talk his way out of anything: ‘Get me in front of the American people, I’ll fix this affordability thing. Get me in front of the American people, I’ll fix this political decline.’”

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