CNN
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During his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, President Donald Trump made several inaccurate and misleading statements. These inaccuracies covered various sectors, including the economy, immigration, climate change, and more.
His address lasted just under one hour and 40 minutes, and within it, Trump also made several dubious claims about his predecessor, Joe Biden. Below is a fact check on some of Trump’s assertions:
DOGE savings: Trump asserted that the Department of Government Efficiency, an initiative spearheaded by Elon Musk, has “uncovered hundreds of billions of dollars” in fraud.
This unverified figure requires additional context.
On the day of Trump’s Congressional address, DOGE claimed on its website that it had saved around $105 billion for taxpayers through its initiatives.
However, they have not provided any evidence to support such a high claim.
DOGE listed around 2,300 contracts that it purportedly canceled across the federal government, leading to an estimated total savings of about $8.9 billion. They also noted nearly 3,500 grants they claimed to have canceled, indicating an additional savings of approximately $10.3 billion, but they offered no supporting links or documentation for those cuts. Additionally, they reported around $660 million in savings from terminated government leases.
DOGE’s public reporting has been plagued with inaccuracies, and it has recently adjusted its figures to remove contracts that were deemed faulty by CNN and other news organizations — including a previous claim that it had saved $8 billion by canceling a contract worth a maximum of $8 million. Furthermore, their so-called wall of receipts included contracts that were terminated during previous administrations.
While Musk and other Trump supporters assert that DOGE targets waste, fraud, and abuse, there is a lack of evidence showcasing that the canceled contracts were indeed fraudulent. Some of the cuts have even been reversed due to public backlash.
From CNN’s Casey Tolan
DOGE and transgender mice: Trump incorrectly asserted that the Department of Government Efficiency had identified $8 million in government spending for “making mice transgender.”
Between the fiscal years 2021 and 2022, the National Institutes of Health provided $477,121 to three projects exploring the effects of feminizing hormone therapy on monkeys, aiming to understand its impact on their immune systems and potential susceptibility to HIV. This therapy is a gender-affirming treatment that blocks testosterone and promotes feminine characteristics in transgender women.
Data indicates that transgender women face nearly a 50-times higher risk of obtaining HIV compared to other adults, as noted in a 2013 study across 15 countries, including the U.S. The origin of the $8 million figure remains unclear.
From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips
Trump’s tariffs: The president claimed on Tuesday that the US “will take in trillions and trillions of dollars” — a statement he has repeated regarding his tariff plans on various imports, which he initiated. This assertion requires context. Tariffs are paid by US importers, not foreign exporters, and there are specific instances where companies have passed these costs onto American consumers.
From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Tami Luhby
Small-business optimism: Trump mentioned that “small-business optimism saw its single-largest one-month gain ever recorded — a 41-point jump.”
This needs context. If Trump referred to the often-referenced NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (his spokespeople did not respond to CNN’s inquiries for clarification), he appears to be referencing a 41-point increase in one specific component — the percentage of small-business owners expecting economic improvement. This measure jumped a net 41 percentage points from pre-election October to post-election November.
Furthermore, Trump neglected to mention that the overall index subsequently dropped in January, although it remains high, the level is lower than what it was during Trump’s term in September and October 2020.
From CNN’s Daniel Dale
Egg prices: Trump made the misleading assertion that former President Joe Biden allowed egg prices to “get out of control.”
The increase in egg prices can be attributed to the avian flu crisis, which mandates the culling of entire flocks by the United States Department of Agriculture to mitigate the virus’s spread. This has been a practice during both the Biden and Trump administrations as the virus continues to impact flocks across the nation.
When Biden assumed office, the average price of a carton of a dozen grade A eggs across US cities stood at $1.47, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. By January 2023, as the avian flu ravaged flocks nationwide, the average price reached $4.82 for a dozen eggs, marking a staggering 228% increase. When Biden left office in January, a carton of eggs cost $4.95 on average, reflecting a 2.7% increase year over year. Based on USDA’s food outlook as of February 25, due to supply shortages, egg prices are projected to rise by 41.1% this year.
From CNN’s Piper Hudspeth Blackburn, Elisabeth Buchwald, and Vanessa Yurkevich
Trump and “the Green New Scam”: Trump claimed that he put an end to the “Green New Scam.”
This assertion contains multiple inaccuracies. Biden did not pass the original “Green New Deal,” a nonbinding resolution introduced by progressive Democrats in 2019 that was never enacted into law. Trump has not yet terminated the significant environmental legislation that Biden did enact, which is likely what he refers to as “the Green New Scam.” Trump has previously claimed this policy would cost $9 trillion.
In 2022, Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which allocated $430 billion towards climate initiatives and clean energy tax incentives. Subsequent independent evaluations have estimated the law’s cost to exceed $1 trillion by 2032. However, the IRA has saved the government $240 billion due to enhanced tax enforcement and reduced prescription drug costs, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Critically, the IRA’s tax incentives have prompted companies to establish new factories, as well as solar and wind farms in the US, thereby creating jobs.
Although Trump and congressional Republicans have not repealed the law, they plan to dismantle certain components later this year. Trump has effectively revoked other climate policies introduced by Biden via executive order, but eliminating the former president’s prominent climate legislation will require Congressional action.
From CNN’s Ella Nilsen
Paris climate agreement: Trump reiterated his withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement, asserting that it was costing the US “trillions of dollars that other countries were not paying.”
This claim is misleading. Biden committed to providing $11.4 billion yearly for global climate financing upon his inauguration; however, the US contribution to a global financing goal has been substantially lower due to Congress allocating much less than Biden’s target. The Biden administration’s State Department reported allocating $5.8 billion for international climate finance by 2022. The US has never contributed trillions of dollars in this context.
The US is not the only country lagging in climate finance commitments; other nations have struggled to meet a collective target of $100 billion for climate financing aimed at supporting countries vulnerable to sea level rise and droughts. Contributions have come from China, the UK, and the EU. As per the latest United Nations Climate Conference, this target has been increased to $300 billion annually by 2035.
From CNN’s Ella Nilsen
Trump’s assertions on border crossings and migrants
Illegal border crossings: Trump claimed that since his return to office, he has recorded the lowest number of illegal border crossings “ever logged.” This statement is inaccurate.
He could have truthfully stated that the number of Border Patrol apprehensions at the southern border in February — the first full month of his second term — was the lowest in several decades, assuming his claim of 8,326 is correct, as he mentioned on social media before his address. However, official federal data reveals that there were fewer Border Patrol encounters with migrants at the southwest border in several months during the early 1960s.
From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Devan Cole
Migrants from mental institutions: Trump reiterated his familiar claim concerning other nations allegedly releasing individuals from their “mental institutions and insane asylums” into the US as migrants. There is no substantiation for this assertion, which Trump’s own campaign could not corroborate. (The campaign failed to furnish any evidence for his narrower assertion that South American countries, in particular, were evacuating their mental health facilities and sending patients to the US.)
Trump has sometimes tried to back his claim by asserting that the global prison population is decreasing. However, that statement is inaccurate as well. The recorded global prison population grew from about 10.77 million to approximately 10.99 million between October 2021 and April 2024, based on the World Prison Population List prepared by experts in the UK.
“I regularly conduct news searches regarding the global prison situation and have found absolutely no evidence that any country is emptying its prisons and sending individuals to America,” stated Helen Fair, co-author of the prison population list and research fellow at the Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research at Birkbeck, University of London, in June 2024, when Trump made a similar claim.
From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Haley Britzky
Weaponizing the Justice Department: Trump accused Biden of using his position to “viciously” prosecute him. This is false.
The two federal indictments against Trump were initiated by special counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed in November 2022 by Attorney General Merrick Garland, a Biden appointee. However, this does not imply that Biden was involved in the prosecution, nor that he personally ordered the indictments. Garland previously stated he would resign if Biden ever asked him to go after Trump, but he was confident that would never happen. Trump has not produced any evidence indicating Biden’s direct involvement in the federal prosecutions.
Smith dismissed the two cases following Trump’s re-election.
From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Devan Cole
Inflation during Biden’s administration: Trump incorrectly stated during his Congressional address that the Biden administration oversaw “the worst inflation in 48 years, possibly even in the history of the country; they’re unsure.”
While he could justifiably say that the year-over-year US inflation rate peaked at a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022, that figure does not correspond to “48 years” and is far from the all-time record of 23.7% set in 1920. By December 2024, the inflation rate for the last full month of Biden’s term had fallen to 2.9%, and it stood at 3% in January 2025, a month that included both Biden’s and Trump’s terms.
Trump did qualify his statement with “perhaps” and “they’re unsure,” but there is no foundation for this claim; those numbers are definitive, as the Consumer Price Index has been tracked since 1913.
The rapid increase in inflation, which began in early 2021, was influenced by a mix of factors, including the repercussions from the Covid-19 pandemic such as disrupted supply chains, and geopolitical effects (notably, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine) that caused price spikes in food and energy. Elevated consumer demand, partly driven by fiscal stimulus from both the Trump and Biden administrations, further contributed to rising prices, along with a post-pandemic labor market imbalance.
From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Alicia Wallace
Twenty-one million undocumented immigrants: Trump inaccurately asserted during his address that 21 million undocumented immigrants have entered the US during Biden’s administration.
By the end of December 2024, Biden’s presidency recorded fewer than 11 million nationwide “encounters” with migrants, including millions swiftly expelled from the country; even when adding in the so-called gotaways, who are estimated by House Republicans to be around 2.2 million, the total could not possibly reach “21 million.”
From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Devan Cole
Agricultural purchases by China: Trump reiterated a false claim regarding his administration securing $50 billion in agricultural purchases from China, stating that the Biden administration “didn’t enforce it.” This assertion is misleading.
China agreed to boost agricultural purchases by $12.5 billion in 2020 and $19.5 billion in 2021 as part of a trade agreement signed with the US in January 2020. This did occur in 2020, but not in 2021, when US agricultural exports to China rose by $6.4 billion compared to 2020, based on US Department of Agriculture data.
Nevertheless, the agreement did not mandate China to maintain such purchasing levels beyond 2021.
Instead, it stated, “The Parties expect the trend of increasing amounts of manufactured goods, agricultural goods, energy products, and services imported into China from the United States will continue between 2022 and 2025.”
Even then, the figures for 2022 exceeded the 2021 threshold of $33 billion, according to USDA data. However, US agricultural exports to China decreased by $9 billion in 2023.
From CNN’s Elisabeth Buchwald
Autism rates: In his address to Congress, President Donald Trump significantly overstated the autism diagnosis rate in the US, stating that the current prevalence of 1 in 36 children was previously 1 in 10,000 children “not long ago.”
The autism diagnosis rate has shown a steady rise over recent decades; as of 2020, the diagnosis stood at 1 in every 36 children by age 8, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an increase from 1 in every 150 children in 2000. However, this is far from Trump’s claim of 1 in 10,000. Experts attribute much of the rise in reported rates to significant advancements in identifying and diagnosing autism. Early studies on autism diagnosis from the 1960s and 1970s estimated a prevalence of 2 to 4 cases for every 10,000 children.
From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips and Daniel Dale
Military recruitment: Trump asserted that the US military is experiencing “some of the best recruiting results in our history” and that the Army had its “best recruiting month in 15 years” in January, adding that “just a few months ago,” the US “wasn’t able to recruit at all.”
This requires context. The Defense Department reported a recruitment increase of over 10% in fiscal year 2024 compared to the previous year, and the delayed entry program for active-duty military saw a 10% increase in fiscal year 2025. This program allows recruits to commit to joining the military but defer their departure for later.
When examining the Army’s recruitment specifically, former Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, who served until January 20, noted on Fox News that the uptick began before Trump’s re-election, specifically in February 2024.
From CNN’s Haley Britzky
Payments to millions aged 100 and over: In an extended claim, Trump remarked that there are 4.7 million individuals who are at least 100 years old listed in the Social Security Administration’s database, asserting that “money is being paid to many of them.” However, this assertion requires clarification.
The vast majority of these individuals do not have recorded dates of death in Social Security’s database. However, this does not mean they are currently receiving monthly benefits.
According to public data from the Social Security Administration, about 89,000 individuals aged 99 or older were receiving Social Security benefits in December 2024, which is far less than the millions Trump claimed.
Leland Dudek, the acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, who was appointed during Trump’s administration, attempted to clarify the matter in a statement made in February.
“The reported data refers to individuals in our records who possess a Social Security number but lack a date of death noted in their record.
These individuals do not necessarily receive benefits,” Dudek explained.
From CNN’s Tami Luhby and Daniel Dale
Assistance to Ukraine: Trump reiterated a habitual falsehood claiming that the US has expended $350 billion, “like taking candy from a baby,” to support Ukraine’s defense, while Europe has collectively contributed just $100 billion in aid. This statement is misleading.
Data from the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German think tank that diligently tracks wartime aid to Ukraine, shows that Europe – encompassing the European Union and individual European nations – has collectively pledged far more total wartime military, financial, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine through December 2024 (approximately $263 billion at current exchange rates) than the US’s commitment (around $126 billion). Europe also allocated more military, financial, and humanitarian support (about $140 billion) compared to the US’s approximate $121 billion.
In one specific category, the US slightly led in military aid allocated, contributing around $68 billion compared to approximately $66 billion from Europe. Yet, even this figure does not approach the massive discrepancies described by Trump.
Different counting methodologies may yield varying totals, yet there is no evident basis for Trump’s “$350 billion” figure. The US government inspector general overseeing the Ukraine response indicates on its website that the US allocated nearly $183 billion for that purpose through December 2024, which includes approximately $83 billion that has actually been expended — encompassing funding used domestically or directed to countries other than Ukraine.
From CNN’s Daniel Dale and Alicia Wallace
Deaths during the construction of the Panama Canal: Trump repeated his inaccurate claim that 38,000 Americans lost their lives while constructing the Panama Canal. This number is grossly exaggerated, according to experts on the canal’s construction.
Although records from that era are not precise, it is estimated that approximately 5,600 individuals died during the American construction phase of the canal spanning from 1903 to 1914. “Of those, the vast majority were Afro-Caribbean workers,” such as those from Barbados and Jamaica, stated Julie Greene, a history professor at the University of Maryland and author of “The Canal Builders: Making America’s Empire at the Panama Canal.”
Historian David McCullough, who also covered the canal’s construction, discovered that “the number of white Americans who died was about 350.”
From CNN’s Daniel Dale
This story has been updated with additional information.
