PThe Tuesday evening address of resident Donald Trump to a joint session of the Congress underlined several of the initiatives he started in his first six weeks in power, but many of his comments included false and deceptive information.
Here is an overview of the facts.
Find out more: The biggest moments of Trump’s address at the Congress
He overestimated the figures on his immigration repression
ASSET: “The illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded. Never.”
The facts: Trump wrote in a social article on Truth on Saturday that the border patrol apprehended 8,326 people on the American-Mexican border last month. But the American government data shows that the border patrol was regularly on average below this number in the 1960s.
While February has marked the lowest arrest for decades for decades, the border patrol was on average less than February 2025 for the first seven years of the 1960s. The government’s website did not follow the US-Mexico Totals before 1960. The monthly average of Border Patrol was 1,752 arrests in 1961.
Find out more: Trump uses a great speech to run alternative reality of “astronomical achievements”
He inflated the number of people who entered the United States illegally under President Joe Biden
ASSET: “In the past four years, 21 million people have flocked to the United States. Many of them were murderers, human traffickers, gang members. »»
The facts: This figure, which Trump regularly quotes, is very swollen. Customs and the protection of American borders have reported more than 10.8 million arrests for illegal crossings from Mexico from January 2021 to December 2024.
But these are arrests, not people. Under asylum restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have crossed more than once until they succeed because there has been no legal consequences to go to Mexico. The number of people is therefore less than the number of arrests.
There is no evidence that other countries send their criminals or people with mental illness across the border, despite this frequent Trump line.
Find out more: Truck in chief: how Trump used his speech to lower democrats
Economists differ with Trump on prices
ASSET: “Prices are to make America rich and make America again large. And it’s happening. And it will happen fairly quickly. There will be a little disturbance, but we agree with that. It won’t be much.
The facts: Trump especially on the idea that taxation of imports is the path of wealth of the United States. Most economists say that Trump prices would harm the country because they could increase goods in a way that could also affect economic growth. Trump suggests that the impact on inflation would be minimal.
When the Yale University Budget Lab examined the prices that Trump imposed on Tuesday in Canada, Mexico and China, he found that inflation would increase a full percentage point, growth would drop by half a point and that the average cleaning would lose about $ 1,600 of disposable income.
Find out more: Farmers fear more pain in Trump’s trade war
There is no evidence that social security money is paid to many people over 100 years old
ASSET: “Believe it or not, the government databases list 4.7 million social security members for 100 to 109 years. It lists 3.6 million people from 110 to 119 years old … 3.47 million people from 120 to 129 years old. 3.9 million people aged 130 to 139. 3.5 million people aged 140 to 149. And money is paid to many of them, and we are looking for now. »»
The facts: Databases can list these people, but that does not mean that they receive paid services.
Part of the confusion comes from the Social Security software system based on the Cobol programming language, which does not use a specific format for dates. This means that certain entries with missing or incomplete birth dates will be definitively at a point of reference over 150 years ago. The press organization was wired for the first time on the use of the Cobol programming language at the Social Security Administration.
In addition, a series of reports from the Inspector General of Social Security Administration in March 2023 and July 2024 indicates that the agency did not establish a new system to properly annotate death in its database, which included around 18.9 million social security numbers of people born in 1920 or previously, but were not marked as deceased. However, this does not mean that these people received services.
The agency has decided not to update the database due to the cost of doing so, which would increase more than $ 9 million. In September 2015, the agency automatically stopped payments for people over 1155.
Find out more: That knowing about the democratic legislator ejected for protesting against Trump’s speech
Trump did not inherit an “economic disaster”
ASSET: “Among my highest priorities is to save our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief for workers’ families. As you know, we have inherited the last administration an economic disaster and an inflation nightmare. »»
The facts: Inflation culminated at 9.1% in 2022 under President Joe Biden, but Trump did not inherit a disastrous economy by no measure. The unemployment rate fell to a low 4% in January, the month when it took office, while the economy increased by 2.8% healthy in 2024. Income adjusted by inflation increased regularly since mid-2023. And inflation, while showing signs of adhesion in recent months and still raised to 3% in January, is down compared to its peak of 2022.
Find out more: Democrat Elissa Slotkin offers a refutation of “development” to Trump
Trump’s reference to an “EV mandate” is inaccurate
ASSET: “We have put an end to the mandate of an insane electric vehicle of the last administration, saving our car workers and our companies of economic destruction.”
The facts: There was no federal mandate to force the purchase of EV, as Trump pretended several times before.
Biden had set a non -binding objective that electric vehicles represent half of the new cars sold by 2030. Trump published a decree on the day of the first day at the office revoking this objective.
Biden’s policies have tightened restrictions on pollution of cars and gas trucks in order to encourage Americans to buy electric vehicles and automotive companies to spend gas vehicles from electric cars.
Find out more: Read the transcription of Trump’s speech in 2025 at Congress here
A more in -depth examination of the army recruitment numbers
ASSET: “I am happy to announce that in January, the US military has had its best month of recruitment in 15 years.”
The facts: Trump has repeatedly said that the reversal of the army recruitment was linked to his mandate.
In fact, according to army data, recruitment figures have increased regularly in the past year, with the highest total in August 2024 – before the November elections. Army officials closely follow the recruitment numbers.
An important driver of the success of recruitment was the decision of the army to launch the future prepare for soldiers in Fort Jackson, in South Carolina, in August 2022. This program gives more efficient recruits up to 90 days of academic or fitness education to help them comply with military standards and go to basic training.
–The writers of the Associated Press Melissa Goldin in New York, Matt Daly, Chris Rugaber, Will Weissert, Josh Boak and Rebecca Santana in Washington, Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, and Elliot Spagat in San Diego, contributed to this report.
