Extra checks. New holidays. A return to the moon.
In less than 24 hours, President Donald Trump announced a series of measures with popular appeal — promising even more news — as he faces a drop in popularity and uncertainty in the economy.
Trump authorized the sending of $1,776 checks to active-duty soldiers and declared the days before and after Christmas federal holidays in 2025, a surprise that caught many Americans just as they are wrapping up work and school to spend time with family.
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This Thursday (18), Trump also gave a boost to his allies in the marijuana and space industries, signing long-awaited executive orders that have popular appeal: and sending astronauts back to the moon.
The president even received a gift for himself. The board of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts — made up of Trump’s chosen allies — on Thursday approved , now called the Trump-Kennedy Center.
These attempts to cheer up at least some groups come after a series of bad news for Trump: falling polls, a weak jobs report and growing concern among Republicans that they could suffer a defeat in the 2026 midterm elections. The negative economic outlook and discontent within the party increase pressure for Trump to use his executive power to change the narrative.
“Republicans know they are going to struggle with the cost of living issue and the midterm elections,” party strategist Annalyse Keller told Bloomberg on Thursday.
In addition to economic pressures, other unpleasant news emerged this week. There was a controversial profile of Trump’s chief of staff and criticism of his comments about the death of director Rob Reiner. This Friday is the deadline for the Justice Department to release a large quantity of documents linked to financier Jeffrey Epstein, a move that Trump resisted for months but ended up giving in to public pressure.
Hundreds of thousands of files will be released on Friday, with more expected in the coming weeks, according to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.
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Pending issues
Trump’s efforts to focus on the domestic economy come after weeks dominated by international issues: a military buildup in the Caribbean with rising tensions with Venezuela, a major trip to Asia to discuss trade with foreign leaders and the still-unresolved war in Ukraine.
Trump took office less than a year ago promising to drastically cut energy and food prices and end conflicts abroad. But delivering on those promises has been difficult, and voters are realizing that. His approval rating fell to 39%, according to an Ipsos poll this week, showing a loss of support among Republicans.
On Wednesday, Trump gave an almost formal, almost 20-minute speech in prime time — different from his daily appearances in the Oval Office, where he usually speaks more spontaneously and at length.
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The speech focused mainly on economic issues that his advisers want him to highlight. The president guaranteed that inflation “stopped”. (The consumer price index rose 2.6% in November, a rate that economists say is an underestimate.)
Trump also predicted that prices for “electricity and everything else are going to go down a lot.” This means he will have to reverse the rise in energy tariffs, which rose more than 10% in the first eight months of 2025, one of the biggest increases in more than a decade.
He also promised to soon present a plan to reform the housing sector and resolve the affordable housing crisis.
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On Friday, Trump is expected to announce a new agreement for manufacturers to sell discounted drugs through a government website that will launch next year.
Housing, energy prices and the cost of living should be the central themes of the mid-term elections in 2026. Trump, even though he is not running, has an interest in the result. If Republicans lose control of one or both houses of Congress, Democrats will have more power to investigate the White House — and perhaps even impeach him for a third time.
Trump has already considered even bigger plans than those announced this week to face the economic crisis. He talked about a R$2,000 check for all Americans, financed by tariffs, ending income taxes forever and reducing interest rates to zero.
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But he cannot implement these ideas alone. Congress controls most fiscal policy, and the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee decides interest rates.
Furthermore, some of Trump’s plans would increase the public deficit or require difficult measures to increase revenue, while others were dismissed by parliamentarians as not very serious.
© 2025 Bloomberg L.P.
