It will go down in history as the “Bah! Humbug!” address.
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.
The speech also revealed Trump’s need for a reliable foil. Over the years Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have been useful nemeses for a man and movement defined less by what they are for than what they are against.
The author of the piece would have been better served leaving out the attempts to portray drinking Diet Coke as bad or weird behaviour. Lots of people drink Diet Coke without forming fascist governments. Mentioning it multiple times in one article makes it sound like you’re desperately reaching, which isn’t necessary.