POLITICS

Fact Check: Numerous False Claims in President Trump’s Prime-Time White House Address

Staff December 18, 2025

President Donald Trump made several false and misleading statements in his recent prime-time address, ranging from inflation rates and grocery prices to immigration and foreign policy. This article provides a detailed fact check of his major claims.

Featured image for: checking the facts Trump repeats numerous false claims in prime-time address President Donald Trump made a series of false claims during his prime-time address from the White House on Wednesday night, most of which have been debunked before. Here is a fact check of some of his assertions. Inflation and the economy Inflation under Trump: Near the end of the speech, Trump falsely claimed, “Inflation is stopped.” Inflation hasn’t stopped; the most recent available year-over-year inflation rate at the time he spoke on Wednesday, 3.0% in September, was the same as the rate when Trump returned to office in January – in fact, if you go to multiple decimal places, the September rate was a tiny bit higher – and September was the fifth consecutive month the year-over-year rate had increased. The year-over-year November rate released the morning after Trump’s speech was 2.7%, but that means prices are rising less quickly than they were in September, not that inflation ceased. (The October number wasn’t calculated because of the government shutdown, which also impacted the government’s data collection in November.) Inflation under Biden: Trump repeated his false claim that “when I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say in the history of our country.” The year-over-year inflation rate in the last full month of the Biden administration, December 2024, was 2.9%; it was 3.0% in January 2025, the month of Trump’s second inauguration. That’s the same as the most recent available rate at the time Trump spoke on Wednesday, 3.0% in September 2025. (Again, the November rate released Thursday morning was 2.7%). We don’t know who Trump was referring to when he said “some would say,” but neither the December 2024 number nor the January 2025 number was anywhere close to the worst inflation in decades or all time. It is true that the year-over-year US inflation rate hit about a 40-year high (not a 48-year high) during the Biden administration in June 2022, 9.1%, but even that was not close to the all-time record of 23.7%, set in 1920 – and it occurred more than two years before Trump returned. Inflation had plummeted before Trump’s inauguration. The cumulative increase in prices from the beginning of the Biden administration to the end was also not the worst in US history. Federal figures show that cumulative inflation under Biden was less than half of that during President Jimmy Carter’s term. Grocery prices: After noting that the price of eggs has plummeted since March, Trump added, “And everything else is falling rapidly.” That is not true even if he was talking specifically about grocery prices, which are up this year. Consumer Price Index data shows that a far greater number of grocery items have increased in price since he returned to office than have decreased. The most recent available CPI figures at the time he spoke on Wednesday, for September, showed that average grocery prices were up about 2.7% from September 2024; about 1.4% from January 2025, the month Trump returned to office; and about 0.3% from August to September. The November data released Thursday morning showed that average grocery prices were up about 1.9% from November 2024 and about 1.2% from January 2025. Egg prices: Trump’s specific claim about egg prices was this: “The price of eggs is down 82% since March.” That needs context. The White House told CNN on Thursday morning the president was referring to wholesale egg prices, not the consumer prices that average Americans actually pay. Consumer Price Index figures released Thursday morning show consumer egg prices were down 54% between March and November – a big drop, but much smaller than the 82% drop Trump cited. (And at the time he spoke on Wednesday night, the most recent available Consumer Price Index figures, for September, showed a 44% drop in egg prices since March.) Prescription drug prices: Trump repeated his false claim that an executive order he issued on prescription drug prices will cut those prices by “as much as 400, 500, and even 600%.” These figures are mathematically impossible; if the president magically got the companies to reduce the prices of all of their drugs to $0, that would be a 100% cut. You can read a longer fact check here. Gas prices: Trump said, “Gasoline is now under $2.50 a gallon in much of the country, and some states it by the way just hit $1.99 a gallon.” These claims need context. As of Wednesday, there were only four states whose average price for a gallon of regular gas was below $2.50, according to data published by AAA: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa and Colorado. (Nine more states had averages between $2.50 and $2.60 per gallon.) The AAA national average was $2.905 per gallon. No state had an average below Oklahoma’s $2.339 per gallon. And while some individual stations around the country were offering gas for $1.99 per gallon or less, the number was tiny; Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis for the firm GasBuddy, estimated Wednesday that it was between 75 and 100 stations of the roughly 150,000 GasBuddy tracks around the country. (That doesn’t include others offering special discounts.) De Haan said Thursday that, as of the early hours Thursday morning, about 125 stations out of roughly 150,000 were at or below $1.99 per gallon. Investment in the US this year: Trump repeated his false claim that there has been “$18 trillion” in investment in the US during his second presidency, saying Wednesday, “I’ve secured a record-breaking $18 trillion of investment into the United States.” This figure is fiction. At the time he spoke on Wednesday, the White House’s own website said the figure was “$9.6 trillion,” and even that is a major exaggeration; a detailed CNN review in October found the White House was counting trillions of dollars in vague investment pledges, pledges that were about “bilateral trade” or “economic exchange” rather than investment in the US, or vague statements that didn’t even rise to the level of pledges. You can read more here. Immigration and foreign policy Trump and wars: Trump repeated his false claim that he has ended eight wars this year, saying Wednesday, “I’ve restored American strength, settled eight wars in 10 months.” While Trump has played a role in resolving some conflicts (at least temporarily), the “eight” figure is a clear exaggeration. Trump has previously explained that his list of supposed wars settled includes a war between Egypt and Ethiopia, but that wasn’t actually a war; it is a long-running diplomatic dispute about a major Ethiopian dam project on a tributary of the Nile River. Trump’s list includes another supposed war that didn’t actually occur during his presidency, between Serbia and Kosovo. (He has sometimes claimed to have prevented the eruption of a new war between those two entities, providing few details about what he meant, but that is different than settling an actual war.) And his list includes a supposed success in ending a war involving the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda, but that war has continued despite a peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration this year – which was never signed by the leading rebel coalition doing the fighting. Trump’s list also includes an armed conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, where fighting erupted again this month and continued into this week despite a peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration earlier in the year. One can debate the importance of Trump’s role in having ended the other conflicts on his list, or fairly question whether some have truly ended; for example, killing continued in Gaza in November after the October ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas. Regardless, Trump’s “eight” figure is obviously too big. Migration and Biden: Trump repeated his false claim that “25 million” migrants entered the country under Biden. The “25 million” figure is false; even Trump’s previous “21 million” figure was a wild exaggeration. Through December 2024, the last full month under the Biden administration, the federal government had recorded under 11 million nationwide “encounters” with migrants during that administration, including millions who were rapidly expelled from the country. Even adding in the so-called gotaways who evaded detection, estimated by House Republicans as being roughly 2.2 million, there’s no way the total was even close to what Trump has said.

During his prime-time address from the White House on Wednesday night, President Donald Trump made a series of false assertions on topics including inflation, the economy, immigration, and foreign policy. Many of these claims have been previously debunked. This fact check examines some of his most prominent statements.

Inflation and the Economy

Claim: “Inflation is stopped.”

President Trump falsely claimed toward the end of his speech that “inflation is stopped.” However, inflation has not ceased. The most recent year-over-year inflation rate available at the time of his speech was 3.0% in September 2025, which was roughly the same as when Trump returned to office in January 2025. In fact, the September rate was slightly higher when measured to multiple decimal places, marking the fifth consecutive month of year-over-year inflation increase.

The November 2025 inflation rate, released the morning after Trump’s speech, was 2.7%, indicating a slower rise in prices but not a halt to inflation. The October data was unavailable due to government shutdown-related delays.

Claim: Inflation was “the worst in 48 years” under Biden.

Trump repeated the false claim that inflation reached its worst level in 48 years or possibly in U.S. history during the Biden administration. This is inaccurate. The year-over-year inflation rate in December 2024, the last full month of Biden’s term, was 2.9%, and it was 3.0% in January 2025 when Trump’s second term began. Both figures are far from record highs.

While inflation did hit a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022 during Biden’s presidency, this was not a 48-year record nor close to the all-time record of 23.7% set in 1920. Inflation rates had significantly decreased before Trump’s inauguration in January 2025.

The cumulative inflation increase during Biden’s tenure was also not the highest in U.S. history, with official figures showing it was less than half of the inflation experienced during President Jimmy Carter’s term.

Claim: “The price of eggs is down 82% since March” and “everything else is falling rapidly.”

Trump’s claim that egg prices have dropped 82% since March was based on wholesale egg prices rather than the consumer prices paid by the average American, as clarified by the White House. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data shows that consumer egg prices declined by 54% from March to November 2025, a significant drop but notably less than the 82% figure cited.

Additionally, the claim that “everything else is falling rapidly” is false even within the grocery category, where prices have generally risen. CPI data for September 2025 indicated grocery prices were up about 2.7% compared to September 2024 and increased 0.3% from August to September. November 2025 figures also showed grocery prices rose 1.9% year-over-year.

Claim: Executive order will cut prescription drug prices by “400, 500, and even 600%.”

Trump claimed that his executive order on prescription drug prices will reduce costs by as much as 400%, 500%, or even 600%. These percentages are mathematically impossible because a 100% reduction would mean prices drop to zero. This claim is demonstrably false.

Claim: Gasoline prices are under $2.50 per gallon in much of the country, with some states hitting $1.99.

According to AAA data as of Wednesday, only four states had average gasoline prices below $2.50 per gallon: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Iowa, and Colorado. Nine additional states had averages between $2.50 and $2.60. The national average was $2.905 per gallon.

While some individual gas stations offered prices at or below $1.99 per gallon, these were extremely rare, estimated between 75 and 125 stations out of approximately 150,000 tracked nationwide. This context shows that Trump’s claim exaggerates the prevalence of such low prices.

Claim: $18 trillion investment secured in the U.S. during Trump’s second presidency.

President Trump claimed he had secured a record-breaking $18 trillion in investment into the United States. This figure is false. The White House’s own website listed $9.6 trillion in investment pledges at the time of his speech, a number that itself has been criticized as inflated.

Many of these pledges represent vague economic exchange agreements or bilateral trade commitments rather than concrete investments in the U.S. economy. Independent reviews have questioned the legitimacy of counting all such pledges as confirmed investment.

Immigration and Foreign Policy

Claim: Trump has ended eight wars in 10 months.

Trump stated he has “settled eight wars in 10 months.” This is a clear exaggeration. While Trump has played roles in mediating or temporarily resolving some conflicts, the number “eight” is misleading.

His list includes disputes that are not formally wars, such as the diplomatic disagreement between Egypt and Ethiopia over a dam project, and conflicts that have continued despite peace efforts, like the war involving the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda.

Further, some conflicts on his list, including renewed fighting between Thailand and Cambodia, have persisted after peace agreements brokered this year. Additionally, Trump has included a supposed war between Serbia and Kosovo that did not occur during his presidency.

While the significance of Trump’s involvement in some peace efforts may be debatable, the claim that he ended eight wars is not substantiated by facts.

Claim: “25 million” migrants entered the U.S. under Biden.

Trump repeated his false claim that 25 million migrants entered the country during the Biden administration. This figure is inaccurate and an exaggeration.

Official federal data through December 2024 recorded under 11 million nationwide migrant encounters during Biden’s term, including many individuals who were rapidly expelled. Even when estimates of migrants who evaded detection—approximately 2.2 million according to House Republicans—are added, the total falls far short of Trump’s claim.

Conclusion

President Trump’s prime-time address contained multiple inaccurate and misleading statements on key issues such as inflation, the economy, immigration, and foreign policy. Fact-based data and expert analyses contradict many of his assertions, highlighting the importance of verifying claims made by public officials.