Fact-checking Trump’s State of the Union claims on the economy, immigration and crime

This article originally appeared on PolitiFact.

In his combative State of the Union address — the longest in modern history, lasting about 108 minutes — President Donald Trump defended his administration’s economic performance and hard-line immigration agenda amid declining poll numbers ahead of the midterm elections.

Read more: Trump’s full 2026 State of the Union address

Trump bragged that inflation was falling and gas prices were down. He also defended his immigration efforts, which caused unrest in Democratic-run cities and resulted in two American citizens being shot dead by immigration agents.

Trump called on lawmakers to stand up and show their support if they agree that “the first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” That was met with a standing ovation from Republicans and silence from sitting Democrats, prompting Trump to say they should be “ashamed of themselves.”

Minor in Trump’s speech: recognition of the fourth anniversary of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which he pledged during his presidential campaign to end. He also did not discuss the release of government files on convicted sex criminal Jeffrey Epstein, an issue Trump has focused on after undermining efforts to release them, despite the attendance of some of Epstein’s victims.

He watches: Analysis of Trump’s 2026 State of the Union address

Dozens of Democrats skipped Trump’s speech and attended outdoor events, including a rally on the National Mall. Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was escorted from the House chamber at the start of Trump’s speech after holding up a sign that read, “Black people are not apes,” a reference to a video Trump recently posted on Truth Social depicting President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes. (The video was later removed, and the White House said it was posted in error.)

A rare moment of bipartisan cheer came when Trump introduced the Olympic gold medal-winning men’s hockey team and announced plans to award goaltender Connor Hellebuyck the Presidential Medal of Freedom, one of the highest civilian awards.

Below are fact checks on some of Trump’s statements.

economy

“Inflation is falling.”

Inflation has eased somewhat during Trump’s second term, but the “decline” is exaggerated.

The annual price rise for January 2026 was approximately 2.4%. That’s below the annual rate when he took office in January 2025, but has already fallen from a peak of about 9% in the summer of 2022 under former President Joe Biden.

He watches: Trump announced a public retirement plan with up to $1,000 federal copayment in his State of the Union address

By Biden’s final month in office, year-over-year inflation was about 2.9%. The Federal Reserve aims to keep inflation at around 2% on an annual basis.

Some items saw their prices decrease during Trump’s second term, while other goods saw their prices rise.

The price of gasoline fell by about 6%, and the prices of new and used cars fell by slightly less than 1%.

Grocery prices rose by about 2%, electricity by 6.3%, housing by 3.4%, medical care by 3.2%, and clothing by 1.8%.

Wages under Trump have so far risen faster than inflation.

He watches: Trump says tariffs could replace income tax

Gasoline is “now less than $2.30 a gallon in most states, and in some places, $1.99 a gallon.”

Looking at statewide averages, Trump is wrong — not a single state has an average of less than $2.30 per gallon, according to the American Automobile Association. Some individual stations may be lower.

The state with the lowest average price in the country on February 24 was Oklahoma, at $2.37 per gallon. Arkansas, Kansas and Mississippi are other states where prices average $2.50 or less per gallon. Gasoline prices in nine other states range between $2.50 and $2.60 per gallon.

According to GasBuddy, a gasoline pricing app, two stations in Oklahoma were charged on February 23 at $1.99 per gallon, as were three stations in Kansas and two in Texas.

“When I visited the great state of Iowa just a few weeks ago, I even saw $1.85 a gallon of gas,” Trump said. However, a woman who attended the speech examined it. It was $2.69 a gallon at the station outside Trump’s speech venue there in Iowa. The state average at the time was $2.57 a gallon, and GasBuddy found that only four stations in the state sold for less than $2 a gallon.

Gasoline prices fell during Trump’s second term, from an average of $3.11 per gallon nationwide when he was inaugurated to $2.92 the week of February 16.

“I’m also ending the severely inflated cost of prescription drugs like never before.”
Trump said prescription drug prices for Americans are falling to some of the lowest rates in the world, with variations of up to “300, 400, 500, 600% and more, all now available on a new website called TrumpRX.gov.”

This is a mathematical exaggeration, and exaggerates the savings on the new TrumpRx.gov website. A 100% reduction in the price of the drug means it will cost $0. A 300% to 900% drop in prices means drug manufacturers are paying for the people who get the drugs, not the other way around.

Discounts on TrumpRx.gov are largely limited to weight-loss and fertility drugs that many Americans have to pay for out of pocket because insurance plans often offer limited or no coverage. For example, the site offers Cetrotide, a medication used as part of fertility treatments, for $22.50, down from $316.12 — a 93% discount. It’s also offering Wegovy pills for $149 a month, down from $1,349 — an 89% discount.

Pharmacies or other websites sell generic versions of 20 of the 43 drugs on Trump’s website, often at lower prices. Additionally, the site says these discounts are currently available “only to patients who pay with cash,” not people who use their own insurance.

A White House official told PolitiFact that the administration plans to expand the site’s benefits to people with insurance through Trump’s health care plan, which has not been introduced in Congress.

Trump accounts

“With modest additional contributions, these young people’s accounts could grow to over $100,000 or more by the time they reach age 18.”

This growth is not guaranteed over decades, and it certainly will not happen within 18 years.

For the newly launched “Trump Accounts,” children born between January 1, 2025 and December 31, 2028 will receive $1,000 in seed money from the federal government. Parents can make additional deposits but are not required to.

Read more: What experts want you to know about Trump’s accounts and massive new donation

An investment calculator maintained by the Federal Securities and Exchange Commission shows that $1,000 can grow to about $6,000 after 18 years.

If account holders added another $9,000 during that period – something many Americans cannot afford – that would produce about $60,000 within 18 years, a growth rate of 10%.

The average historical annual gain for the US stock market is about 10%, but this rate of gain is not guaranteed. Management fees can also eat into any gains.

Even a modest inflation rate of 2% would take away a significant portion of the final amount.

Finally, the amount in the account will decrease further upon withdrawal due to taxes.

Immigration

“In the past nine months, no illegal aliens have been admitted into the United States.”

Encounters with people trying to cross the southern US border illegally decreased significantly during Trump’s second term.

In January 2026, CBP officials encountered migrants at the southern border nearly 10,000 times compared to more than 61,000 encounters in January 2025.

According to the Department of Homeland Security, the US Border Patrol has not released any migrants into the United States for eight months while they await court proceedings. This means that migrants encountered by border guards are quickly deported or detained.

Read more: Trump says he has fulfilled all his election promises. PolitiFact’s MAGA metric shows otherwise

“With our new military campaign, we have stopped record amounts of drugs from arriving into our country and virtually completely stopped their entry by water or sea.”

There is no evidence that drugs arriving by sea have been “actually stopped” by the Trump administration’s “new military campaign.”

Trump did not elaborate on the details of the military campaign he was referring to, but since September 2025, the Trump administration has struck at least 41 ships, killing about 152 people, in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean. The administration did not provide any evidence that the ships it struck were carrying drugs.

There has been a decrease in drug seizures seized by Customs and Border Protection since the strikes began. But the Coast Guard — not CBP — oversees most drug seizures in the waters, especially in international waters. That agency has seen a sharp increase in drug seizures.

The White House cites the decline in CBP drug seizures as a success at the same time the Coast Guard cites the increase in drug interdictions as a success as well.

However, neither the increase nor decrease in drug seizures shows the number of drugs entering the United States. This number is unknown, according to drug experts. Drug seizures only tell us how many drugs have been banned from entering the United States

crime

“Last year, the homicide rate had its largest decline in recorded history. This is the largest decline, think about it, in recorded history, and the lowest number in over 125 years.”

He is right about the biggest decline, but whether it is the lowest in 125 years is less certain.

Experts predict that when the final homicide rate for 2025, as determined by the FBI, is published later this year, it will likely be the lowest in at least 65 years. Experts say the 20% drop in 2025 is likely to become the largest drop ever recorded in a single year.

It is uncertain whether this is the lowest in 125 years. That’s why the 125-year figure raises questions: Data collected between 1930 and 1960 are not comparable to later data, and data from 1900 to 1930 include all homicides, not just homicides. (Killing in self-defense, for example, is murder, not murder.)

Benefits of Snap

“In one year, we lifted a record 2.4 million Americans off food stamps.”

The number refers to the Americans who are expected to lose their benefits after Trump’s big, beautiful bill passes — not necessarily people who would have been able to afford to do without them.

An August 2025 analysis by the Congressional Budget Office found that about 2.4 million Americans would lose access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, more commonly known as food stamps, because of the law.

The law expanded work requirements for able-bodied adults, requiring parents of dependent children aged 14 or older to work, volunteer, or participate in job training for at least 80 hours per month. It also requires adults ages 55 to 64, veterans, people experiencing homelessness and people who were previously in foster care to meet the new requirements, with Native Americans exempt.

About 42 million low-income people receive benefits through SNAP, receiving an average individual monthly benefit of about $190, or $356 per household. Recipients can use the benefits to purchase fruits, vegetables, meat, dairy products, bread and other foods. The majority of SNAP families live in poverty.