In brief
President Trump’s speech to Congress included several controversial statements regarding the economy, immigration, and international aid. Fact-checkers have found numerous inaccuracies, notably surrounding inflation, egg prices, and US spending on Ukraine.
In his recent address to Congress, which exceeded an hour and a half, President Donald Trump delivered several assertive claims concerning the state of American affairs under his predecessor, Joe Biden, as well as his own administration's early accomplishments. Touching on recurring campaign topics such as immigration, inflation, and government expenditure, Trump’s speech has prompted a thorough fact-checking analysis.Did Trump really inherit an economic crisis from Biden? He asserted that he faced an “economic catastrophe,” which the data contradicts—official statistics indicate a 2.3% annual growth rate in the last quarter of 2024 under the previous administration, with a 2.8% growth for the year as a whole. According to the International Monetary Fund, the U.S. was the fastest-growing economy in the G7 during that time.Regarding inflation, Trump alleged that “we suffered the worst inflation in 48 years.” While inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 during Biden's term—marking the highest level since 1981—it does not match the extensive timeline Trump suggested, given higher inflation rates were recorded in various points of American history.When addressing high egg prices, Trump blamed Biden for them spiraling “out of control,” but this surge is largely attributed to a bird flu outbreak that led to chicken culling and egg shortages. The USDA implemented programs to combat these issues, long predating Trump’s new claims.Trump’s comments on the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) suggested it uncovered “hundreds of billions in fraud,” yet there is no solid evidence to substantiate this figure. Doge cites approximately $105 billion in savings, which includes various cost-cutting measures, but lacks independent validation, leading to discrepancies in reported savings.On the challenge of illegal immigration, Trump stated that February saw “the lowest ever recorded” border crossings. This claim is factual, as figures show only 8,326 encounters at the southwestern border, drastically down from nearly 140,000 in February of the prior year.His assertion that “21 million migrants poured into the United States” during Biden’s presidency lacks validation as official measures reached about 10 million encounters, indicating a much lower actual migration number.Trump's claim regarding U.S. aid to Ukraine—stating expenditures might be “$350 billion”—finds no supportive evidence. While the U.S. is indeed a leading donor, analyses show that Europe collectively contributed more total aid than the U.S. since January 2022, as calculated by the Kiel Institute.As the arena of Trump’s address is scrutinized further, BBC Verify continues to investigate other statements for accuracy and legitimacy concerning claims made by the former president.
