U.S. President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation from the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 17, 2025. Doug Mills/Pool via REUTERS
President Donald Trump's Wednesday speech went over like a lead balloon, according to CNN's Stephen Collinson.
"Donald Trump put a dark new spin on the tradition of national presidential addresses Wednesday, conjuring a hellscape of a 'dead' nation he claims he was handed by former President Joe Biden," Collinson wrote.
CNN's Stephen Collinson called Trump's speech the "nightmare before Christmas."
"His goal was obvious — to distract from his own political slump," wrote Collinson.
It isn't unusual for the president to deliver a speech or give a press conference before the holiday break, but this was something different, according to Collinson. When presidents ask for time to make big announcements, it's usually something significant, like the bombing of Iraq or the killing and capture of Osama bin Laden.
"Trump’s Yuletide message lacked such poetry," wrote Collinson. "Instead, he shouted out a seasonal dose of his most dystopian rhetoric."
The real crisis, the columnist wrote, is that Trump's approval has slumped to 39 percent, according to CNN’s Poll of Polls.
The speech itself recycled some of Trump's favorite applause lines, which he gets from his supporters at campaign rallies. Unlike his rallies, however, there were no cheers for him to feed off of.
"Trump did not look like a leader in control of either his own political fate or the nation’s destiny," Collinson said. It was more like one of his Truth Social rage-posts "come to life."
The biggest problem, however, is continuing to blame Biden, Collinson argued. Trump takes credit for successes while passing the buck for failures at the same time. Polls show the "blame Biden" message hasn't worked since July." And as of late November, Americans still aren't buying the spin.
"He left no doubt of his message that anything still going wrong is Biden’s fault. But telling people over and over again that things are great, in an increasingly loud voice, seems like a political strategy doomed to failure," the column continued.
In the past, Trump has been able to convince his supporters of anything, even that the 2020 election was "stolen." But this time around it might be a heavier lift. "Trump is likely to see diminishing returns for incessantly dumping on his predecessor," predicted Collinson.
"There’s also a sense that the iron grip of a president who built his brand on dominance, and who seeks limitless executive power, is slipping," the column said.
It's making it appear increasingly likely that the GOP should prepare for heavy losses at the midterm elections.
While the speech "will please grassroots Republicans," Collinson said, "after Wednesday night’s angry lecture, Democrats might be more delighted to have Trump metaphorically insert himself on the 2026 ballot than GOP leaders."
