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(CNN)-- US President Donald Trump said on Friday in a speech to the American people that the United States 'was like a dead entity two years ago, but today it enjoys unprecedented respect.'

Trump added: 'I am pleased to announce that our country has become safer, stronger, and richer than ever before. Less than two years ago, we inherited an economic and social disaster; we suffered from the worst inflation rate in 48 years, and from wide-open borders through which millions poured in from all over the world - including criminals of all kinds.'

He continued: 'We faced the spread of crime in our cities, while the whole world mocked us as a nation. But all that is over.'