Donald Trump

CBP and DHS data confirm that in any recent nine-month period, thousands of individuals have been admitted into the U.S. after illegal entry, including through processing at the southwest border and parole programs. Zero admissions is contradicted by official statistics for both encounter releases and border parolees.

The claim that zero unauthorized immigrants have been admitted to the United States over any nine-month period is false. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data consistently shows hundreds of thousands of encounters with individuals crossing the border each month. These encounters include apprehensions and expulsions, but also cases where individuals are deemed inadmissible or released pending immigration proceedings. CBP statistics, which are a primary source for this data, report these numbers monthly and do not show any period with zero encounters or admissions.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection data reports thousands of migrant encounters monthly, including illegal entries; from May 2025 to February 2026, encounters exceeded hundreds of thousands, contradicting the claim of zero illegal aliens admitted or entering the United States.

CBP fentanyl seizure data show that the amount of fentanyl seized at the border has generally increased year-over-year. There is no record of a 56% annual decline; in fact, 2023 set new records for seizures. The claim of a record drop is contradicted by the data.

Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data show that core inflation (CPI excluding food and energy) during the Trump administration did not fall to a five-year low within any 12-month period. Annual core inflation hovered between 2% and 2.4% throughout 2017–2020, never dropping below 1.7% (the lowest seen from 2015–2020). The data do not support the claim of core inflation hitting a multi-year low during Trump's administration.

Donald Trump took office in January 2017. Twelve months later, in January 2018, the 12-month core inflation rate was not at its lowest level in more than five years. According to data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred measure, was 1.6% in January 2018. In the five years prior, the rate was frequently lower, hitting a low of 1.2% in 2013. Similarly, the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the Bureau of Labor Statistics stood at 1.8% in January 2018. This was also not a five-year low, as the rate was 1.6% for several months in 2014.

BLS data shows core inflation (CPI less food and energy) at 2.6% for the 12 months ending March 2026, which is not the lowest in more than five years; rates were lower in 2020 at around 1.2-1.4%, and within 12 months from an assumed administration start in January 2025, the rate did not drop below previous lows in the prior five years (2020-2024).

Trump's claim that core inflation was 1.7% in the last three months of 2025 is contradicted by primary and secondary data from the speech-era window. According to BEA data reported on Feb 20, 2026, core PCE — the Fed's preferred gauge — accelerated to 3.0% year-over-year in December 2025 (up from 2.8% in November), and on a Q4/Q4 basis core PCE rose 2.9% in Q4 2025. Core CPI was even higher: the US Inflation Calculator, citing BLS, reports the core CPI rate for December 2025 was 3.6% year-over-year, with a 2.8% average for 2025. Even on alternative bases (3-month annualized, trimmed mean), no mainstream measure for Oct–Dec 2025 came near 1.7%; core PCE MoM in December 2025 was 0.4% (roughly 4.8% annualized). The 1.7% figure does not match any standard core inflation reading for Q4 2025.

Primary federal inflation sources do not support Trump’s February 24, 2026 claim. For the last available months of 2025, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported U.S. CPI 'all items less food and energy' (core CPI) up 2.6% year-over-year in November 2025 and 2.7% year-over-year in December 2025, not 1.7%. The Bureau of Economic Analysis likewise reported core PCE inflation at 3.0% year-over-year in December 2025. BLS also states that it did not publish an October 2025 all-items-less-food-and-energy estimate because of the 2025 lapse in appropriations, so there is no official October 2025 core CPI reading that could make 'the last three months of 2025' equal 1.7%. Given the official 2025 data points dated December 18, 2025 (for November CPI), January 13, 2026 (for December CPI), and January 30, 2026 (for December PCE), the claim is contradicted by the relevant speech-era evidence.

Official data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows the year-over-year core inflation rate was 2.6% in both November and December 2025. [1, 2] The BLS did not collect or report CPI data for October 2025 due to a lapse in federal appropriations. [2, 23] There is no publicly available data from the BLS that supports the claim that core inflation was down to 1.7% during the last three months of 2025; the actual reported figures were significantly higher.

AAA data confirm that during Joe Biden's presidency, California's average gas price reached $6.43 per gallon on June 14, 2022, well above $6/gallon. The national average peaked at about $5.02 in mid-June 2022 (with weekly highs around $5.11), and several Western states saw averages exceeding $6, including Hawaii and California. So Trump's claim that gasoline reached over $6 per gallon in some states under Biden is accurate.

During the Biden administration, average prices for regular unleaded gasoline did exceed $6 per gallon in some states. Data from AAA and other sources show that in June 2022, the average price in California surpassed this mark, reaching a record high of $6.44.

EIA data confirms that under the Biden administration (2021-2024), retail gasoline prices peaked over $6 per gallon in some states, notably California where prices reached up to $6.44 in June 2022, amid national averages hitting $5.006, driven by high crude oil prices and regional factors.

The U.S. 250th anniversary of independence falls on July 4, 2026, marking the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. On July 4, 2026, the nation will commemorate and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The State Department's Freedom 250 page confirms that on July 4, 2026, America will celebrate 250 years of independence, with President Trump calling it a momentous anniversary. The White House Freedom 250 page also confirms 'On July 4, 2026, America will celebrate the most important milestone in our country's history—250 years of American Independence.'

This is accurate. The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, so the 250th anniversary of American independence falls on July 4, 2026. The National Archives states on its Freedom 250 page that “On July 4, 2026, our nation will celebrate” the 250-year milestone, and in a March 2026 press release it described events opening “in celebration of America’s 250th birthday.” These sources are aligned to the relevant 2026 speech era.

The Declaration of Independence was adopted on July 4, 1776, making July 4, 2026, exactly 250 years later, the date of the 250th anniversary of American independence, as confirmed by multiple official and reliable sources planning commemorations for that specific date in 2026.

Inflation in January 2025, when Trump took office, was not at record levels. When Trump took office in January 2025, the annualized rate of inflation was 3% based on the CPI — far from the 9.1% rate in June 2022 under Biden, which was the highest 12-month increase since November 1981, and far from the worst inflation in U.S. history, which was the 23.7% rate for the 12 months ending in June 1920. The year-over-year inflation rate in January 2025 was 3.0%, was 2.9% in December 2024 (Biden's last full month), and hadn't been close to 5% since early 2023. So Trump did not 'inherit a nation with inflation at record levels' — the rate was elevated but well below recent peaks and far below historical records.

This claim is contradicted by BLS data. Around February 2025—the point Trump referenced as “12 months prior”—inflation was nowhere near a U.S. record: BLS reported consumer prices were up 2.8% from February 2024 to February 2025. By contrast, BLS says the CPI peak in the recent inflation surge was 9.1% in June 2022, the largest 12-month increase since November 1981, and historical BLS material shows even higher inflation in earlier U.S. history, including a 23.7% 12-month increase from June 1919 to June 1920. So saying he inherited inflation at “record levels” in February 2025 is false for both the immediate data point and the longer historical comparison.

According to BLS data, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 3.0 percent from January 2024 to January 2025 and by 2.8 percent from February 2024 to February 2025, which are moderate rates and not at record levels; historical record highs include 9.1 percent in June 2022 and over 13 percent in the early 1980s, far exceeding the inflation inherited in early 2025.

The claim that the murder rate saw its single largest decline in recorded history in the past year is supported by multiple sources. If the FBI's full report aligns closely with the 21% decline in the CCJ report, it would mark the largest single-year percentage drop in the homicide rate on record and bring the 2025 rate to about 4.0 per 100,000, roughly 9% below the prior historic low. A roughly 20 percent drop in murder in 2025 would be by far the largest decline ever recorded, eclipsing the decline in 2024. CBS News reported murders plummeted more than 20% in 2025 from the year before, the single-largest one-year drop on record. The caveat is that final FBI data won't be released until later in 2026, and the CDC's homicide data back to 1900 puts the 2025 decline as the largest ever at 15 percent, supplanting a 14 percent drop in 2002, so the precise magnitude varies by source but the 'largest decline' framing is broadly supported.

The broad thrust is supported by federal crime data, but the wording needs care. The FBI reported on September 23, 2024, that murder and non-negligent manslaughter fell 11.6% in 2023 versus 2022, and on August 5, 2025, that it fell another 14.9% in 2024 versus 2023. That 14.9% drop in 2024 is larger than the 11.6% decline in 2023 and is consistent with descriptions of a record modern-era decline. However, the claim says “murder rate” and “single largest decline in recorded history”; the FBI release is about estimated murder counts/offenses, while historical “recorded history” can depend on dataset and methodology. CDC/NCHS has separately noted that 2020’s jump was the biggest one-year increase in over a century, underscoring that very long-run comparisons are tricky. So the claim is directionally right but slightly overbroad in its wording.

No recent FBI data on U.S. murder rates reaching the lowest level since around 1900 (over 125 years from 2026) was retrieved; search results provided historical data from the 1990s and earlier, such as the lowest rate since 1985 in 1995, but no confirmation for rates in 2025 or 2026 aligning with the claim.

Trump's claim that Biden gave the U.S. the worst inflation in history is contradicted by BLS data. Trump did not inherit 'the worst inflation' in American history. The worst inflation occurred after World War I, when the largest 12-month price increase was 23.7% from June 1919 to June 1920. Also, from March 1979 to March 1980, overall inflation rose 14.8%. The peak inflation rate during Biden's term was 9.1% in June 2022, which was the highest 12-month increase since November 1981 — but the worst inflation in U.S. history was after World War I, when CPI was up 23.7% for the 12 months ending in June 1920. While Biden-era inflation was the worst in roughly 40 years, it was not the worst in U.S. history.

This is false. BLS reported that the recent inflation peak was 9.1% in June 2022, which it explicitly described as the largest 12-month increase since November 1981—not the highest in U.S. history. BLS historical analysis shows much higher inflation earlier in the country’s history, including a 23.7% 12-month CPI increase from June 1919 to June 1920. So even if one blames Biden-era policy for part of the 2021–2022 inflation surge, calling it “the worst inflation in the history of the country” is historically wrong.

Inflation under the Biden administration (2021-2025) peaked at 9.1 percent over the year ended June 2022, the largest increase in 40 years according to BLS data from July 2022, but this is not the worst in U.S. history, as rates reached 13.5 percent in 1980, 14.4 percent in 1947, and higher during World War I, with historical tables showing even greater peaks earlier in the 20th century.