President Trump's address to Congress featured various claims that warranted scrutiny. Fact-checkers analyzed his statements regarding economic performance, inflation rates, immigration statistics, and foreign aid, revealing inaccuracies and misleading information throughout his speech.
Fact-Checking Trump's Claims During Congressional Address
Fact-Checking Trump's Claims During Congressional Address
In his recent address to Congress, President Trump made several contentious assertions. A fact-check reveals misleading statements about the economy, immigration, and aid to Ukraine.
In his over 90-minute address to Congress, President Donald Trump made numerous claims regarding the state of the United States, particularly focusing on what he perceives as failures under the Biden administration. He revisited recurrent themes from his campaign, tackling issues such as illegal immigration, soaring prices, and what he termed "appalling waste" in government spending.
One major claim he made was that he inherited an "economic catastrophe" from Biden. This assertion has been challenged as misleading. Statistics indicate that the U.S. economy was growing at an annual rate of 2.3% in the last quarter of 2024 under the previous administration, with overall growth reaching 2.8% for that year. According to the International Monetary Fund, this growth rate surpassed that of any other G7 nation.
Regarding inflation, Trump stated, "we suffered the worst inflation in 48 years," though this was also overstated. In June 2022, inflation did peak at 9.1% — the highest since 1981 — but it is worth noting that inflation has seen higher rates historically, including periods in the 1920s and 1940s. The inflation rate notably reduced to around 3% by the time Trump took office.
Trump further accused Biden of letting egg prices soar out of control, but experts attribute high egg prices to a bird flu outbreak affecting chicken populations in the U.S. Prices indeed climbed under Biden's administration in 2023, reaching an average of over $5 per dozen by January. The USDA's response to the outbreak included allocating over $800 million last year, alongside a newly announced $1 billion initiative to mitigate the crisis.
On the topic of the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), Trump praised the agency, claiming it had discovered "hundreds of billions of dollars" in fraud. However, no substantiating evidence was presented for this amount. Doge's website cites savings of around $105 billion, but independent verification of most figures remains elusive.
Trump claimed record low illegal border crossings last month. Indeed, February 2025 witnessed only 8,326 encounters, the lowest since record-keeping began in 2000, contrasting sharply with around 140,000 instances a year prior under Biden’s tenure. However, Trump exaggerated another claim about illegal immigration by stating that over 21 million immigrants entered the U.S. during Biden's presidency; estimates suggest actual numbers are significantly lower, with encounters reaching about 10 million.
Finally, speaking about U.S. support for Ukraine, Trump stated that $350 billion had been spent compared to $100 billion from Europe, a claim BBC Verify couldn't substantiate. While the U.S. is the largest donor, data shows Europe as a collective has contributed more. The Department of Defense's higher figure related to broader military engagement also fails to match Trump’s assertion.
This Congressional address has prompted further examination of Trump's claims, with BBC Verify continuing to assess the accuracy of his statements.
