From $18 trillion to murderers: Trump’s speech was riddled with falsehoods

President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address was full of factual errors, although this is consistent with his lengthy history.Among other things, Trump falsely claimed to have secured $18 trillion in investment commitments since assuming office even though that figure is wildly inflated, reported CNN. The news network also found Trump’s claim about gas prices being as low as $1.85 per gallon were untrue; it is nowhere below $2.37 per gallon, even though Trump said he saw a gas station with that price in Iowa. Similarly, Trump lied when he said inflation was at an all-time high when he took office (its Biden-era height of 9.1 percent was far short of the all-time height of 23.7 percent in 1920) and that the economy is “roaring” under his stewardship (it only grew 2.2 percent in 2025, slower than any year of Biden’s presidency).The news network was not alone in fact-checking Trump’s tariffs in real time. The progressive think tank American Bridge 21st Century tweeted during the broadcast that “American families and businesses paid at least 90% of Trump’s tariffs last year. His agenda taxes Americans anyway you slice it.”Others have also called out Trump’s misstatements about inflation. The New York Times responded to Trump’s claim to have had “almost no inflation” that “inflation has slowed under Mr. Trump, but not by the drastic margins he is claiming. And prices are still increasing above the target of 2 percent set by the Federal Reserve.” Similarly CNN’s Daniel Dale wrote earlier this month that “inflation is not over; prices continue to rise. Overall prices have gone up, not down. Overall grocery prices have gone up, not down. Iowa’s average gas price is much higher than $1.95. And Democrats have certainly not stopped mentioning affordability; in fact, it remains a key focus of their public remarks.”“While criticizing the Biden administration’s border policies, Trump repeated his regular claim that the Biden administration allowed 11,888 murderers to enter the US as migrants – saying, ‘They were murderers, 11,888 murderers. They came into our country,’” CNN also reported. “Trump was inaccurately describing federal data. The Department of Homeland Security and independent experts have noted that the figure it appears Trump was referring to when he uses the ‘11,888’ number is about non-citizens who entered the US not just under Biden but over the course of multiple decades, including during Trump’s own first administration.”CNN added, “They were convicted of homicide at some point, usually in the US after their arrival, and are still in the US while being listed on Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s “non-detained docket” – which includes people who are currently serving their prison sentences, not roaming free as Trump has also claimed.”The network also reported that Trump lied when he claimed foreign countries bear the costs of his tariffs, citing both the Federal Reserve and Congressional Budget Office in reporting that roughly 90 to 95 percent of the tariffs are shouldered by American businesses and consumers. It also pointed out that Trump’s claims of voter fraud being rampant have long ago been thoroughly discredited.

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