U.S. President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address of his second term Tuesday night, where he began by celebrating the upcoming 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding and claimed that the country remains in strong shape.
A team of Scripps News journalists monitored for any claims that may be false, misleading, or require additional context to help viewers better understand the facts behind the rhetoric. Here's what we found:
CLAIM: President Biden's administration created the worst inflation in U.S. history.
- Inflation during President Biden’s administration reached a 40-year high in June 2022 at 9.1% year-over-year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, this was not the worst inflation in U.S. history — inflation in the late 1970s and early 1980s was higher, peaking at 13.5% in 1980, according to BLS historical data. Economists note that pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, increased consumer demand, and global energy market shocks contributed to the spike. As for Trump, economists had warned that his tariff policy could significantly drive up inflation, but recent data show no substantial increase in consumer prices tied to those tariffs.
LEARN MORE | Inflation cools to 2.4%, closer to Fed's target
CLAIM: The Trump administration "ended DEI in America."
- President Trump issued an executive order eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government and banning federal contractors from implementing DEI training. However, this applies only to federal agencies and contractors, and does not affect state governments, private companies, universities, or nonprofits that choose to maintain DEI initiatives. On Friday, a federal judge also largely blocked sweeping executive orders seeking to end federal support for DEI programs.
LEARN MORE | Despite conservative backlash, Costco shareholders stand firm on DEI programs
CLAIM: More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country.
- According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the U.S. employment level in December was at 163.992 million and there were 8.966 million people working multiple jobs in the U.S. This means that multiple jobholders now account for 5.5% of civilian employment. For context in terms of jobs added, the U.S. economy added just 181,000 jobs in all of 2025 — far below the 1.5 million the U.S. has averaged annually for the last ten years. Under Trump, yearly job gains in 2025 were also lower than any recent non-pandemic years, according to BLS data.
LEARN MORE | The latest economic numbers: Slow hiring, and not much impact from tariffs so far
CLAIM: The flow of fentanyl is down 56%
- Seizures of fentanyl by U.S. Customs and Border Protection has dropped by about half over the past year when compared to former President Joe Biden's last year in office, according to PolitiFact. However, fentanyl seizures don't represent how many drugs are being sent to the U.S. or how many of those are making it across the border.
LEARN MORE | Canadian border authorities crack down on drug smuggling through commercial trucks
CLAIM: The U.S. just received over 80 million barrels of oil from Venezuela
- The Energy Information Administration has not yet released 2026 data on oil the U.S. has imported from Venezuela. But based on last year's data, 80 million barrels would be equivalent to about six days of U.S. oil production. President Trump has pledged to use the proceeds from the sale of this oil "to benefit the people" of both the U.S. and Venezuela.
LEARN MORE | Trump and oil executives meet to discuss the future of Venezuelan oil development
CLAIM: Trump signed "the largest tax cuts in American history"
- Accounting for President Trump's One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which he signed into law last year, it extended temporary 2017 tax cuts that would have ultimately expired. Per PolitiFact, Trump's 2025 law ranks third on the list of tax cuts since 1980, following bills signed by former President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and former President Barack Obama in 2012.
LEARN MORE | What's in Trump's 'big, beautiful bill'
CLAIM: Egg prices are down 60%.
- Egg prices have decreased significantly since President Trump took office, from nearly $5 a dozen in January 2025 — in part due to a bird flu outbreak — to under $3 a dozen in January of this year.
LEARN MORE | USDA head touts $1 billion plan to combat bird flu, lower egg prices
CLAIM: Tariff revenues are "saving" the U.S. and are "paid for by foreign countries."
- Before the Supreme Court struck down Trump's ability to implement tariffs based on emergency declaration, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that his tariff policy would raise about $300 billion annually. However, that's not enough to pay down the country's annual budget deficit, which reached $1.78 trillion last year. Numerous studies have also found that tariffs on imports are generally passed off by businesses onto consumers.
LEARN MORE | These are the new tariffs Trump started after Supreme Court limited his authority
CLAIM: Cheating is "rampant in our elections."
- Since his 2020 election loss, Trump has frequently questioned the results from states that permit mail-in voting and do not require voter identification. But multiple audits, reviews and recounts found no evidence of widespread fraud that would have have effected the outcome of the 2020 election.
LEARN MORE | FBI raid on Georgia election hub tied to potential 2020 election 'defects,' affidavit says
CLAIM: There has been a "tremendous renewal in religion, faith, Christianity and belief in God."
- While the number of Americans identifying as Christian had been on the decline for years, a 2025 survey from the Pew Research Center found that drop appears to be leveling off. The Religious Landscape Study found 62% of U.S. adults identified as Christian. While lower than in 2007 when 78% of Americans identified as Christian, the survey found that the Christian share of the population has remained relatively stable since 2019.
LEARN MORE | Trump signs executive order to 'eradicate anti-Christian bias' in government
CLAIM: “Natural gas production is at an all time high because I kept my promise to drill baby, drill.”
- This claim is accurate. Though it's important to note that U.S. gas production has been on the rise since the COVID-19 pandemic, under both Trump and former President Joe Biden. Per PolitiFact, the number of gas rigs being used for natural gas production was 133, up from 99 when Trump took office.
LEARN MORE | U.S. gas prices drop below $3 a gallon for first time in more than four years
CLAIM: "My first 10 months, I ended eight wars."
- While Trump has been involved in deals to mediate some global conflicts, the claim that he "ended eight wars" isn't quite so clear-cut. For example, after the Trump administration helped negotiate a temporary peace agreement between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, violence between the two sides has persisted with hundreds of civilians killed. Trump has also taken credit for brokering a peace deal between Cambodia and Thailand, but both sides have accused the other of violations. Same goes for Israel and Hamas in Gaza, where Gaza officials recently said an Israeli strike on a tent camp killed a 3-year-old Palestinian boy. Over 500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the October ceasefire agreement, according to The Associated Press.
LEARN MORE | Trump says he's considering limited strikes on Iran, as diplomats say a deal could be days away
