The team at CBS News, known for their fact-checking prowess, scrutinized President Trump’s first joint address to Congress since his 2025 election victory. In his speech, he covered topics from his domestic and foreign policy plans to the state of the economy.
However, certain claims made by Trump were found to be inaccurate. One example was his statement that a group, supposedly led by Stacey Abrams, was given $1.9 billion for “decarbonization of homes”. In reality, an organization called Power Forward Communities, not led by Abrams, received a $2 billion grant from the Environmental Protection Agency for sustainable housing projects. Abrams, who had served as senior counsel for one of the coalition organizations, left at the end of 2024. The CEO of Power Forward Communities clarified that Abrams had no direct relationship with the organization.
Trump’s assertion that “21 million people poured” into the U.S. in the four years under Biden was also debunked. Official reports from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show that the actual number was nearly 11 million encounters with undocumented migrants from 2021 to 2024. Moreover, encounters do not equate to individual migrants as some try to cross the border multiple times.
Another claim by Trump regarding ending Biden-era electric vehicle mandate also proved to be misleading. The Biden administration did not enforce any such mandate. Instead, they introduced standards for new passenger cars to reduce carbon emissions. Trump’s executive order on his first day of his second term aimed to eliminate this so-called ‘electric vehicle (EV) mandate’ and promote consumer choice.
Trump’s claims about illegal border crossings in February being “the lowest ever recorded” and the U.S. experiencing the “worst inflation in 48 years” were considered partially true. While border crossings did see a significant reduction, the inflation rate in 2022 was the highest since 1981, but not the highest in history.
Trump’s statement about withdrawing from the World Health Organization was also partially true. Although he signed an executive order to begin the withdrawal process, it hasn’t been completed yet.
Lastly, Trump’s assertion that Biden “let the price of eggs get out of control” was partly true. The bird flu outbreak, not the Biden administration, was largely responsible for the surge in egg prices. However, the Biden administration did make attempts to address this issue.
