Trump’s State of Delusion: Fact-Checking His Speech Full of Lies, Fear-Mongering, and Ego

Liars are going to lie.

Convicted felon and habitual liar Donald Trump took the stage before Congress and the nation, delivering less of a "State of the Union" and more of a self-congratulatory, fact-averse spectacle. His speech was a toxic cocktail of propaganda, revisionist history, and outright falsehoods, served up to a standing ovation from Republican lawmakers so sycophantic they'd mop his brow with their own dignity if given the chance.

What followed was less a policy address and more an ego-driven performance—riddled with misinformation, historical distortions, and the kind of divisive rhetoric designed to deepen national fractures rather than mend them.

The lone, refreshing objection came from Representative Al Green (TX), who did what every Democrat should have done—get loud, object, and disrupt. Instead, he was the only one willing to be removed after Speaker Mike “Jesus Weasel” Johnson sanctimoniously demanded “decorum.” A laughable request, considering the circus Boebert and MTG put on during Biden’s address—without consequence, of course.

Combing through Trump’s Claims

Upfront, to those who paid attention, none of Trump’s claims, lies, and fabrications, should come as a surprise. It’s the same old rhetoric, designed to divide, instill fear and hate, and pitch people against one another, including physical overreaches by elected officials.

Let’s roll through some of Trump’s steaming pile of garbage.

• Economy: Trump’s boasts about the economy are vastly overstated. He said tariffs would bring “trillions and trillions” from abroad, but tariffs are paid by American importers, and passed to consumers.

• Inflation and prices: Trump blamed Biden for high consumer costs, claiming the U.S. had the “worst inflation in 48 years… maybe in history,” Fact is, inflation peaked at a 40-year high on Jul 13, 2022 (9.1%) under Biden, far below historic records.

• He also claimed that Biden “let the price of eggs get out of control,” ignoring that avian flu drove egg prices up (from about $1.47 to $4.95) and the outbreak persisted into 2025.

• Immigration and border: Trump’s immigration claims were, as always, inaccurate. He claimed record-low illegal border crossings “ever recorded” – the February 2025 total was very low but not unprecedented in history (News Channel 3-12).

• He also alleged “21 million” undocumented immigrants entered under Biden, when the actual number of recorded encounters was under half that (even counting estimated undetected crossers) (News Channel 3-12). Additionally, there’s no evidence for his anecdote that foreign countries sent people from “mental institutions and insane asylums” into the U.S.

• Climate initiatives: Trump grossly mischaracterized past climate policies. He proudly claimed to have ended the “Green New Scam,” even though the Green New Deal never became law and Biden’s real climate law (with ~$430 billion in clean energy investments) remains in effect. He also exaggerated the cost of the Paris climate accord, which involved U.S. contributions in the billions – not “trillions”. Moreover, the USA was not the only country contributing, and 195 countries have signed on to the accord.

• The Unfairly Prosecuted: Still behaving as if he’s on the campaign trail, Trump claimed Biden “used his office” to prosecute him. Fact is, Trump’s indictments were handled by an independent special counsel, not directed by Biden.

• He warned of “4.7 million” centenarians on Social Security getting paid, whereas only ~89,000 people over 99 receive benefits. Fact is, Musk, the hired DOGE kids, nor Trump are capable of reading social security records (ABC7 NY)

• And he grossly inflated the Panama Canal’s construction death toll, citing 38,000 American deaths instead of the roughly 5,600 total (mostly non-American workers) recorded.

Government Efficiency and Spending

• Claim: “found hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud.”
  Correction: Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has not shown evidence of saving “hundreds of billions.” DOGE’s own website claimed about $105 billion in potential savings with no proof, and it only identified roughly $8.9 billion in canceled contracts plus $10.3 billion in grants (without documentation) – far short of “hundreds of billions”. Meanwhile, Musk still gets billions in contracts, and most of the investigations of Musk’s companies have been disabled by firing critical staff.

• Claim: “$8 million for making mice transgender.”
  Correction: There is no $8 million program to make “mice” transgender. In reality, about $477,000 was spent on NIH research giving hormone therapy to monkeys (to study HIV), not mice. Trump pulled the $8 million figure out of his spray tanned rear, without substance or evidence.

Economy and Inflation

• Claim: “will take in trillions and trillions of dollars” (from tariffs).
  Correction: Tariffs are paid by U.S. importers and passed through to the American consumers. Thus, Trump’s projections of “trillions” in tariff revenue will come from American companies and shoppers, not from other nations, so the windfall Trump implies is not foreign money flowing into the U.S. treasury, but milking the pockets of Americans.

• Claim: “small-business optimism saw its single-largest one-month gain ever recorded — a 41-point jump.”
  Correction: This statistic is taken out of context. The 41-point increase refers only to one component of the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index (expectations for the economy after the 2024 election), not the overall index (News Channel 3-12). And that overall confidence index subsequently fell back in January, dropping below its late-2020 level. Moreover, the 33 million small business owners in the United States will feel the tariffs by having to pay more for imported goods. From there, the fork in the road is to either sacrifice their margins and reduce revenue, or pass the tariffs on to the American consumer.

• Claim: “let the price of eggs get out of control.”
  Correction: Egg prices spiked due to a historic avian flu outbreak that required culling millions of hens, a policy that began under Biden and continues under Trump. The average price for a dozen eggs jumped from $1.47 in January 2021 to about $4.95 by January 2025 amid supply shortages – a rise driven by disease, not simply by a president’s oversight. However, even IF the accusation stands the test of inquiry, it was Trump who promised that he will reduce prices on “day one” of his term.

• Claim: “worst inflation in 48 years, but perhaps even in the history of our country, they’re not sure.”
  Correction: This is patently false. U.S. inflation did hit a ~40-year high (9.1% annual rate in June 2022) under Biden, but that’s not 48 years, and it’s nowhere near the all-time U.S. inflation record of ~23.7% in 1920. In fact, the Biden administration handed off a spectacular economy, with inflation down to around 3% by late 2024. The “worst in history” claim is yet another lie by the convicted felon.

  

  

Climate and Energy

• Claim: “terminated the ‘Green New Scam.’”
  Correction: No “Green New Deal” legislation was ever enacted for Trump to terminate. Trump may be referencing President Biden’s 2022 climate law (the Inflation Reduction Act), but that law – which includes about $430 billion in climate spending – is still in effect. Trump’s administration has not repealed it - this would take Congress repeal the law. Thus, the claim that he “terminated” it is preposterous at best.

• Claim: the Paris climate agreement was costing the US “trillions of dollars that other countries were not paying.”
  Correction: U.S. commitments under the Paris accord have been in the billions, not trillions. Biden pledged $11.4 billion annually for global climate finance, but actual funding fell far short of that, to approximately $5.8 billion by 2022.

Immigration and Border

• Claim: “already achieved the lowest number of illegal border crossings ‘ever recorded.’”
  Correction:Border apprehensions in early 2025 dropped to their lowest in decades, to around 8,326 in February. However they are not the lowest ever recorded. In the early 1960s, there were several months with even fewer illegal crossings, so Trump’s “ever recorded” boast is, once again, incorrect.

• Claim: “21 million undocumented immigrants came into the US during Biden’s tenure.”
  Correction: There is absolutely no credible evidence for such an inflated figure. Official records show under 11 million total migrant encounters during Biden’s term (News Channel 3-12), and even padding the numbers by roughly 2.2 million estimated undetected crossers, the sum is nowhere near 21 million. Trump’s number is roughly double the highest plausible total. Moreover, Trump strategically avoided to mention the Biden administration’s border bill, which would have provided $16 billion to enhance border security. Republicans rejected the proposal.

• Claim: other countries released people from their “mental institutions and insane asylums” into the US.
  Correction: This is bizarre and utterly devoid of evidence. Experts who track global prison and patient releases have seen “absolutely no evidence” of nations emptying institutions to send people to the U.S. (News Channel 3-12).

  

  

Justice and Legal Claims

• Claim: Biden “used his office” to “viciously” prosecute Trump.
  Correction: Trump’s federal cases were handled by Special Counsel Jack Smith, who was appointed by Biden’s attorney general but operated independently. There’s no evidence Biden ordered or directed Trump’s indictments – Attorney General Merrick Garland even stated he would resign if the White House intervened. Trump has provided no proof of Biden’s personal involvement in those prosecutions. However, the courts have failed the American people by delaying Trump’s trial and subsequently, his sentencing, only to ultimately “stand down” altogether. In that sense, justice has been perverted in favor of Trump, rather than to persecute Trump.

Trump’s speech was littered with baseless claims, completely dislodged from reality. Much of his rambling was pure conjecture, padded with emotional anecdotes meant to manipulate rather than inform. While the individual stories of civilian attendees were undoubtedly significant, singular cases do not constitute a trend, though they do make excellent bait for the uneducated.

Additional Fact-Checking Sources:

• CNN or ABC

• Associated Press (AP) or NPR

• WDSU or New York Times

What are your thoughts about Trump’s “speech”?

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~Z.