President Donald Trump’s Tuesday evening handle to a joint session of Congress highlighted a number of of the initiatives he’s began in his first six weeks in workplace, however a lot of his feedback included false and deceptive data.
Right here’s a have a look at the details.
Learn Extra: The Greatest Moments From Trump’s Tackle to Congress
He overstated the numbers on his immigration crackdown
TRUMP: “Unlawful border crossings final month have been by far the bottom ever recorded. Ever.”
THE FACTS: Trump wrote in a Reality Social submit on Saturday that Border Patrol apprehended 8,326 individuals on the U.S.-Mexico border final month. However U.S. authorities knowledge present that Border Patrol routinely averaged beneath that quantity within the Sixties.
Whereas February marked the bottom arrest whole in many years, Border Patrol averaged lower than February 2025 for the primary seven years of the Sixties. The federal government web site doesn’t observe U.S.-Mexico border totals earlier than 1960. Border Patrol’s month-to-month common was 1,752 arrests in 1961.
Learn Extra: Trump Makes use of Massive Speech to Spin Alternate Actuality of ‘Astronomical Achievements’
He inflated the quantity of people that entered the U.S. illegally underneath President Joe Biden
TRUMP: “Over the previous 4 years, 21 million individuals poured into america. A lot of them have been murderers, human traffickers, gang members.”
THE FACTS: That determine, which Trump cites commonly, is very inflated. U.S. Customs and Border Safety reported greater than 10.8 million arrests for unlawful crossings from Mexico from January 2021 via December 2024.
However that’s arrests, not individuals. Underneath asylum restrictions in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, many individuals crossed greater than as soon as till they succeeded as a result of there have been no authorized penalties for getting turned again to Mexico. So the variety of individuals is decrease than the variety of arrests.
There isn’t any proof different nations are sending their criminals or individuals with psychological sickness throughout the border, regardless of this frequent line from Trump.
Learn Extra: Troller in Chief: How Trump Used His Speech to Demean Democrats
Economists differ with Trump on tariffs
TRUMP: “Tariffs are about making America wealthy once more and making America nice once more. And it’s occurring. And it’ll occur moderately shortly. There’ll be just a little disturbance, however we’re OK with that. It received’t be a lot.”
THE FACTS: Trump is banking on the concept taxing imports is the highway to riches for america. Most economists say Trump’s tariffs would damage the nation, as they’re tax will increase that might increase the prices of products in ways in which might additionally hurt financial progress. Trump means that the influence on inflation could be minimal.
When the Yale College Price range Lab seemed on the tariffs that Trump imposed Tuesday on Canada, Mexico and China, it discovered that inflation would enhance a full proportion level, progress would fall by half a proportion level and the typical family would lose about $1,600 in disposable revenue.
Learn Extra: Farmers Worry Extra Ache From Trump’s Commerce Conflict
There’s no proof Social Safety cash is being paid to many individuals over age 100
TRUMP: “Consider it or not, authorities databases record 4.7 million Social Safety members from individuals aged 100 to 109 years outdated. It lists 3.6 million individuals from ages 110 to 119. … 3.47 million individuals from ages 120 to 129. 3.9 million individuals from ages 130 to 139. 3.5 million individuals from ages 140 to 149. And cash is being paid to a lot of them, and we’re looking proper now.”
THE FACTS: The databases might record these individuals, however that doesn’t imply they’re getting paid advantages.
A part of the confusion comes from Social Safety’s software program system based mostly on the COBOL programming language, which doesn’t use a particular format for dates. Which means that some entries with lacking or incomplete birthdates will default to a reference level of greater than 150 years in the past. The information group Wired first reported on using COBOL programming language on the Social Safety Administration.
Moreover, a collection of stories from the Social Safety Administration’s inspector common in March 2023 and July 2024 state that the company has not established a brand new system to correctly annotate dying data in its database, which included roughly 18.9 million Social Safety numbers of individuals born in 1920 or earlier however weren’t marked as deceased. This doesn’t imply, nevertheless, that these individuals have been receiving advantages.
The company determined to not replace the database due to the fee to take action, which might run upward of $9 million. As of September 2015, the company routinely stops funds to people who find themselves older than 115 years outdated.
Learn Extra: What to Know In regards to the Democratic Lawmaker Ejected for Protesting Trump’s Speech
Trump didn’t inherit an ‘financial disaster’
TRUMP: “Amongst my very highest priorities is to rescue our economic system and get dramatic and instant reduction to working households. As , we inherited from the final administration an financial disaster and an inflation nightmare.”
THE FACTS: Inflation peaked at 9.1% in 2022 underneath President Joe Biden, however Trump didn’t inherit a disastrous economic system by any measure. The unemployment fee ticked right down to a low 4% in January, the month he took workplace, whereas the economic system expanded a wholesome 2.8% in 2024. Inflation-adjusted incomes have grown steadily since mid-2023. And inflation, whereas exhibiting indicators of stickiness in current months and nonetheless elevated at 3% in January, is down from its 2022 peak.
Learn Extra: Democrat Elissa Slotkin Delivers ‘Starmaking’ Rebuttal to Trump
Trump’s reference to an ‘EV mandate’ is inaccurate
TRUMP: “We ended the final administration’s insane electrical automobile mandate, saving our auto staff and firms from financial destruction.”
THE FACTS: There was no federal mandate to drive the acquisition of EVs, as Trump has falsely claimed many occasions earlier than.
Biden had arrange a non-binding objective that EVs make up half of recent automobiles offered by 2030. Trump issued an govt order on his first day in workplace revoking that objective.
Biden’s insurance policies tightened restrictions on air pollution from gas-powered automobiles and vehicles in an effort to encourage Individuals to purchase EVs and automobile firms to shift from gas-powered autos to electrical automobiles.
Learn Extra: Learn the Transcript of Trump’s 2025 Speech to Congress Right here
A more in-depth have a look at Military recruitment numbers
TRUMP: “I’m happy to report that in January, the U.S. Military had its single finest recruiting month in 15 years.”
THE FACTS: Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Military’s recruiting turnaround is tied to his time in workplace.
In reality, based on Military knowledge, recruiting numbers have been rising steadily over the previous yr, with the best whole coming in August 2024—earlier than the November election. Military officers intently observe recruiting numbers.
A big driver of the recruiting success was the Military’s choice to launch the Future Soldier Prep Course at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in August 2022. That program offers lower-performing recruits as much as 90 days of educational or health instruction to assist them meet navy requirements and transfer on to fundamental coaching.
—Related Press writers Melissa Goldin in New York, Matt Daly, Chris Rugaber, Will Weissert, Josh Boak and Rebecca Santana in Washington, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, and Elliot Spagat in San Diego, contributed to this report.
