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.

According to FBI Uniform Crime Report data, the U.S. murder rate decreased by about 13% from 2022 to 2023, the largest single-year drop ever recorded by the agency. However, final nationwide figures are subject to revision and reporting practices have changed over time, introducing some nuance.

FBI and BJS data indicate significant murder rate declines in recent years, with 2023 showing a roughly 13% drop, described by some analyses as the largest single-year decline since records began in 1960; however, 'last year' (2025) data as of 2026 may vary, and historical comparisons (e.g., 1990s) show similar or larger drops in absolute terms.

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.

Multiple authoritative sources including the White House Freedom 250 site, the official America250 commission (established by Congress in 2016), and Wikipedia confirm that July 4, 2026 marks the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. From February 24, 2026 to July 4, 2026 is approximately 4 months and 10 days — less than five months, as the claim states.

American independence was declared on July 4, 1776, so the 250th anniversary falls on July 4, 2026. From the speech date of February 24, 2026 to July 4, 2026 is 130 days—about 4 months and 10 days—so it is indeed less than five months away.

The United States Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776. The 250th anniversary, also known as the Semiquincentennial, will occur on July 4, 2026. The speech was delivered on February 24, 2026. The period between February 24, 2026, and July 4, 2026, is four months and ten days, which is less than five months.

Multiple official sources, including the U.S. Department of State and the White House, confirm that the 250th anniversary of American independence is on July 4, 2026. The period from February 24, 2026, to July 4, 2026, spans approximately 130 days, or about 4.3 months, which is less than five months.

Looking at the speech-era comparison point 12 months earlier—roughly February 2025, when Trump had just begun his second term on January 20, 2025—BLS reported CPI inflation at 2.8% year over year in February 2025, not anywhere near a U.S. record. Historically, BLS CPI data show much higher inflation in earlier periods, including double-digit inflation around 1917–1920 and 1979–1981, so describing February 2025 inflation as 'record levels' is contradicted by the official data.

The speech was given on February 24, 2026, and refers to the economic conditions inherited when Trump took office in January 2025. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the annual inflation rate for the 12 months ending January 2025 was 3.0%. Data for February 2025 showed an annual inflation rate of 2.8%. While inflation had peaked at 9.1% in June 2022, a 40-year high, by the start of 2025 it had moderated significantly and was far from historical record levels. The highest recorded inflation in U.S. history was 23.7% in June 1920.

BLS data for January 2025 shows the CPI increased by 3.0% over the previous 12 months, which is elevated but not at record levels; historical U.S. inflation peaks exceeded 13% in 1980 and 9% in 2022, far above 3.0%. The claim of inheriting inflation at record levels upon taking office in January 2025 is contradicted by this evidence.

CBP did report historically low illegal-crossing figures during Trump’s second term—for example, on April 1, 2025 it said March 2025 had the lowest southwest border crossings in history, and on July 15, 2025 it said June 2025 had the lowest monthly total encounters in CBP history. Those official statistics support a claim of very low recent crossings, but the broader superlative that the U.S. 'now has the strongest and most secure border in American history' is not a precise, independently defined metric and goes beyond what the underlying data can conclusively prove across all eras and dimensions of border security.

The claim that the border is the "strongest and most secure in American history" is an exaggeration, though data from early 2026 shows a significant decrease in illegal crossings. In January 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) reported 34,626 total encounters nationwide, with 6,070 Border Patrol apprehensions on the southwest border, a 79% decrease from January 2025. Data for the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2026 (Oct-Dec 2025) showed the lowest number of southwest border apprehensions to start a fiscal year on record. DHS and CBP officials have characterized this as "the most secure border in American history." However, the phrase "strongest and most secure in American history" is difficult to prove definitively, as historical data collection methods vary and other metrics beyond apprehensions (like got-aways, drug seizures, and resourcing) contribute to overall security. While current enforcement has led to historically low encounter numbers, calling it the most secure ever is a subjective assessment.

The Council on Criminal Justice's year-end 2025 report found homicide in 35 large cities fell 21% — the largest single-year drop ever recorded — projecting a national homicide rate of about 4.0 per 100,000, which would be 'the lowest rate ever recorded in law enforcement or public health data going back to 1900.' PolitiFact rated Trump's similar claim 'Half True,' noting the 2025 murder rate likely will be the lowest in at least 65 years, but the 125-year claim is less certain because FBI data pre-1960 used different methodologies and pre-1930 data came from public health sources counting all homicides (not just murders). Jeff Asher noted 1954-1956 rates may have been comparable or lower. Final 2025 FBI data had not yet been released at speech time.

This claim is largely accurate based on preliminary data for 2025. A January 2026 analysis of 35-40 large U.S. cities by the Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) found that murders fell by 21% in 2025 compared to 2024. The CCJ report projected that the national homicide rate for 2025 would likely be around 4.0 per 100,000 residents, which would be the lowest rate recorded since at least 1900. However, some researchers caution that crime data from the early 1900s is less reliable and likely undercounted homicides, meaning the actual historical rate may have been higher than official records suggest. While official, final FBI data for 2025 is not yet available, the significant drop observed in major cities supports the substance of the claim.

Within 12 months of Trump’s second inauguration on January 20, 2025, BLS data showed core CPI ('all items less food and energy') at 3.1% in February 2025 and 2.5% in January 2026, which the White House on February 13, 2026 described as the lowest level in nearly five years. BLS’s February 2025 release likewise noted 3.1% was then the smallest 12-month core increase since April 2021, so by early 2026 core inflation had indeed fallen to its lowest reading in roughly five years. The caveat is that this improvement unfolded over many months and cannot be attributed solely or mechanically to one administration.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the 12-month change in the core Consumer Price Index (all items less food and energy) was 2.5% in January 2026, the 12th month of the Trump administration's second term. [5, 17] This was the lowest year-over-year core inflation rate recorded since March 2021, a period of nearly five years. [8, 27] While the claim of "more than five years" is a slight exaggeration, the data confirms that core inflation reached its lowest point in almost five years during the specified timeframe.

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.