In brief
In a lengthy speech, Trump laid out various assertions about his predecessor Joe Biden and his administration's policies. This article fact-checks several of these claims, including issues of economic performance, inflation rates, immigration, US aid to Ukraine, and their accuracy.
In his recent address to Congress, former President Donald Trump delivered a speech exceeding an hour and a half, during which he made a number of statements regarding the state of the United States under current President Joe Biden and the accomplishments from his initial weeks in power. His remarks frequently returned to central themes from his campaign, emphasizing illegal immigration, inflation, and what he described as “appalling waste” in government expenditures. Fact-checking efforts from BBC Verify have scrutinized some of Trump’s pivotal claims. When saying he inherited an “economic catastrophe” from Biden, Trump’s assertion is found to be misleading. Official statistics indicate that the US economy was growing at an annual rate of 2.3% during the last quarter of 2024 under the previous administration and expanded by 2.8% throughout that year. The International Monetary Fund reports that the US growth rate for 2024 surpassed that of any other G7 nation.On the issue of inflation, Trump asserted that the country suffered from "the worst inflation in 48 years, perhaps even in its history." Although inflation under Biden peaked at 9.1% in June 2022—the highest since 1981—it does not reach the historical rates recorded during the 1940s and 1920s. Furthermore, by the time Trump assumed office, inflation had already decreased to 3%.Regarding egg prices, Trump claimed Biden allowed them to escalate uncontrollably. While egg prices have indeed risen under Biden, this increase is primarily linked to a bird flu outbreak impacting US poultry, causing millions of chickens to be culled and resulting in severe shortages. The USDA noted that when the price surged in January 2023, it was significantly exacerbated by this crisis, and the Biden administration had already initiated funding to combat the issue.In another statement, Trump praised Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) for discovering “hundreds of billions of dollars” in fraud. However, no evidence substantiating this number has been provided; the Department’s website cites savings of approximately $105 billion, though it remains challenging to independently verify these claims.On immigration, Trump claimed that last month saw “the lowest ever recorded” illegal border crossings. This claim proved true, as indeed February 2025 recorded only 8,326 encounters, significantly lower than similar figures from the prior year under Biden.Trump also exaggerated the number of migrants entering the US under Biden, stating that “21 million people poured into the United States” over the past four years. The figure for encounters at the border under Biden stood at approximately 10 million, but estimates of actual illegal residents vary significantly from Trump’s assertion.Lastly, regarding US aid to Ukraine, Trump stated, “We’ve spent perhaps $350 billion,” while contrasting this with European financial support. Current assessments do not support Trump's claim; as of now, the US has committed around $119.7 billion in assistance, with Europe collectively spending more in total.BBC Verify continues to scrutinize Trump’s claims while examining other aspects of his address to Congress.
