Last night, President Trump delivered a nearly 100-minute address during a joint session of Congress. During his long-winded address, the president appealed to his MAGA supporters while boasting about his immigration crackdown, tariffs, and the end of “woke America.”
Through his address, Trump spoke unchecked, stating a number of things that were inaccurate or false. We’ve highlighted five of the biggest things he got wrong, along with the facts.
1) Public opinion polls
What Trump said: “Now, for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong direction — in fact it’s an astonishing record, 27-point swing—the most ever.“
Reality check: According to polls, since 2009, not even half of Americans have felt that the country is heading in the right direction. The most recent NPR polls, taken in late February, say that 54% of Americans feel that the country is headed in wrong direction. Where Trump’s statistics came from, we’re not sure.
2) How tariffs on imported goods will help Americans
What Trump said: “Whatever they tax us, we will tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market. It’s a lot of that too. They don’t even allow us in that market. We will take in trillions and trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before.”
Reality check: On Tuesday, Trump imposed stiff tariffs on goods imported from Canada and Mexico. Automakers are exempted for a month. While the president continues to insist these tariffs are paid by foreign companies, most of these additional costs are passed on to U.S. individuals and companies as imported goods become more expensive. Canada has already retaliated with its own tariffs, and Mexico is threatening to--which doesn’t bode well for American businesses or consumers.
3) Social Security and centenarians
What Trump said: “We’re also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program that our seniors and that our seniors, people that we love rely on, believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members, people aged 100 to 109 years old.”
Trump claimed that money is being paid to many seniors.
Reality check: According to the Social Security Administration there are fewer than 90,000 individuals aged 99 or over who are collecting benefits.
4) Eggs
What Trump said: “Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control – the egg prices out of control — and we are working hard to get it back down.“
Reality check: Despite what Trump might like to think, economists have reported that rising egg prices were not a result of Biden’s policies. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that due to the challenge with the avian flu, farmers have had to euthanize tens-of-millions of chickens. This has reduced egg yields, causing panic buying and a jump in prices.
5) Ukraine aid
What Trump said: “The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine’s defense.”
Reality check: Trump frequently talks about a supposed $350 billion the U.S. has sent to Ukraine, but according to the Ukraine Support Tracker-- the most trusted tracker of Ukraine aid-- the U.S. has only sent $114 billion. Until recently, the U.S. has been supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia, which began when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022. (Trump has falsely claimed the war was started by Ukraine.)
These are just five of many statements that required fact-checking after Trump’s address. Fact-checking is an important step for unpacking statements made by any elected official in today’s climate of misinformation.