Everyone Has OpinionsDonald Trump Today - Someone Else Tomorrow
← ArchiveFirst-presidency record

January 20–December 31, 2017

The first presidential year.
Checked month by month.

A completed, transcript-by-transcript assessment of Donald Trump's 2017 presidency. Every indexed Trump-participation transcript has completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review. This historical record has its own published tally and does not change the second-term YTD, Overall Claims or PRIQ scores.

12monthly sections
331claims assessed
459/459full transcript reviews
President Donald Trump welcoming Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the White House in 2017
Daily rotationOffice of the U.S. President · Public domain ↗
Exhaustive review rule

January begins on inauguration day, January 20. Each Trump-spoken paragraph was reviewed for concrete past or present claims that independent public evidence could support or contradict. Opinions, greetings, exhortations, predictions and purely evaluative descriptions are not counted; vague but materially factual assertions remain Unresolved when the evidence cannot responsibly settle them.

Supported115False99Misleading108Unresolved9
Integrity34.7%Supported / Total Claims Assessed
Veracity37.5%100% − (((False + Misleading) / Total Claims Assessed) × 100)
Entropy35.3%(Misleading + Unresolved) / Total Claims Assessed

How this record works

Transcript-first.

Every accessible full Trump-participation record located in the 2017 Roll Call/Factba.se calendars is indexed. Staff-only records are omitted, duplicates are removed and the date embedded in each transcript URL controls its bucket.

Evidence-balanced.

Supported claims remain beside False, Misleading and Unresolved findings. A zero in a finalized monthly verdict category is re-audited, but evidence is never forced into a category to remove a zero.

2017-01

January 2017

January 20–31 only: inauguration, initial executive actions and the opening twelve presidential days.

16claims21/21reviews complete

Month complete: 21 of 21 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported4False5Misleading6Unresolved1
Misleading

Factories had shuttered and left U.S. shores, leaving millions of American workers behind.

Manufacturing employment was about 37% below its 1979 peak, but research attributed the decline to several forces, including automation and productivity—not only factories moving overseas.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org manufacturing context

False

The inaugural crowd looked like one million to one-and-a-half million people.

No official count exists, but aerial imagery, crowd-area analysis and transit data all placed attendance well below one million and below the 2009 inauguration.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org crowd-size review

Supported

A new poll showed that people loved or liked Trump's inaugural speech.

Two polls found favorable reactions exceeded unfavorable ones by roughly ten points. The results were positive, although weaker than reactions to the three preceding inaugural addresses.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact inaugural-speech polling review

Misleading

The United States had already spent about $6 trillion on wars in the Middle East.

Direct war-related appropriations were about $1.7 trillion; estimates near $6 trillion included projected future veterans' care, interest and broader long-term costs.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

Sanctuary cities are not safe.

The statement treated a broad class of jurisdictions as unsafe without supporting comparative evidence. Available research found no statistically discernible increase in violent or property crime attributable to sanctuary policies.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org first-100-days review

Supported

The seven countries named in the travel order had previously been identified under the Obama administration.

The same seven countries were covered by Obama-era visa-waiver restrictions. Those earlier rules limited visa-waiver eligibility; they did not impose Trump's broader entry suspension.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact immigration-restrictions review

Misleading

Trump's travel policy was similar to what President Obama did to Iraqi refugees in 2011.

Both policies temporarily slowed entry, but Obama's action was narrower, followed a specific security case and did not ban Iraqi refugees. Trump's order covered most travelers from seven countries and suspended all refugee admissions.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact Obama-policy comparison · FactCheck.org immigration-order explainer

21 indexed transcripts · 21 factual-claim reviews complete

2017-02

February 2017

Early executive actions, a full White House news conference and the first address to a joint session of Congress.

56claims43/43reviews complete

Month complete: 43 of 43 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported13False12Misleading28Unresolved3

Major context

White House news conference

Trump's extended news conference produces a cluster of assessable claims about the election, the courts and announced corporate investment.

Misleading

The United States had already spent about $6 trillion on wars in the Middle East.

Direct war-related appropriations were about $1.7 trillion; estimates near $6 trillion included projected future veterans' care, interest and broader long-term costs.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Supported

Women were the sole or primary breadwinners in about 40% of households with children.

Pew's analysis of Census data found mothers were the sole or primary provider in 40% of households with children under 18, though the cited age cutoff sometimes varied in Trump's wording.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: Pew Research Center breadwinner mothers analysis

Unresolved

Autism itself had increased tremendously among children.

Reported diagnoses rose, but scientists could not separate any change in underlying prevalence from broader definitions, greater awareness and improved diagnosis.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org first-100-days review

False

News reports about Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia were fabricated or based on invented sources.

The White House and Flynn's resignation letter confirmed the core reporting about his sanctions discussions and misleading account to the vice president.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org CPAC-speech review

Misleading

Ford, Fiat Chrysler, General Motors, Intel and other companies were expanding in the United States because of Trump's election.

The announcements were real, but several investments had been planned before the election or reflected longer-running market decisions.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org investment context

False

The Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines were required to use American steel.

The administration exempted Keystone XL, and Dakota Access was already largely built when the domestic-steel memorandum was issued.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org early-jobs review

Misleading

Sweden's acceptance of refugees had produced extraordinary new crime or a recent terrorist incident.

No terrorist attack had occurred on the referenced night, and crime trends did not establish the sweeping causal link to refugee admissions.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org CPAC-speech review

Misleading

The national debt doubled during the preceding eight years.

Debt held by the public more than doubled, while gross federal debt rose about 88%; the unqualified claim blurred the two measures and rounded upward.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: Treasury historical debt outstanding

Misleading

Major corporate investment and hiring announcements occurred because Trump won the election.

The announcements were real, but several investments were planned before the election or reflected longer-running market and merger decisions.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org February 16 news-conference review · FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review · FactCheck.org CPAC-speech review · FactCheck.org Charter investment review

False

News reports about Michael Flynn's contacts with Russia were fabricated or based on invented sources.

The White House and Flynn's resignation letter confirmed the core reporting about his sanctions discussions and misleading account to the vice president.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org CPAC-speech review

Misleading

The national debt doubled during the preceding eight years.

Debt held by the public more than doubled, while gross federal debt rose about 88%; the unqualified claim blurred the two measures and rounded upward.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: Treasury historical debt outstanding

Unresolved

As much as 75% of federal regulation could be eliminated.

The statement did not define whether the percentage referred to rules, pages or costs; the two-for-one order did not establish a three-quarter reduction.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org first-100-days review

Misleading

The United States had already spent about $6 trillion on wars in the Middle East.

Direct war-related appropriations were about $1.7 trillion; estimates near $6 trillion included projected future veterans' care, interest and broader long-term costs.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

Affordable Care Act premiums had risen by double or triple digits nationwide.

Average benchmark premiums rose about 25% across HealthCare.gov states for 2017; Arizona's 116% increase was an outlier, and subsidies shielded most marketplace enrollees from the full increase.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

Nearly 20 million people chose to pay the Affordable Care Act penalty or claim an exemption rather than buy insurance.

Tax filings did include roughly that many penalty or exemption cases, but exemptions covered many circumstances and did not show that all consciously rejected affordable coverage.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org CPAC-speech review

False

The proposed defense increase was one of the largest or most historic in U.S. history.

The proposed base-budget increase was large, but several enacted increases in the 1980s and other years were larger in percentage and inflation-adjusted dollar terms.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org defense-increase review

Misleading

The United States had already spent about $6 trillion on wars in the Middle East.

Direct war-related appropriations were about $1.7 trillion; estimates near $6 trillion included projected future veterans' care, interest and broader long-term costs.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Supported

The 2015 murder rate experienced its largest single-year percentage increase in nearly half a century.

FBI data showed a 10.8% increase from 2014, the largest percentage rise since 1971, although the murder rate remained below earlier peaks.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org joint-address review

Supported

U.S. stock-market value had increased by roughly $3 trillion since the election.

Broad-market capitalization estimates were in that range by late February, although market moves cannot be attributed to one cause.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: S&P Dow Jones Indices market data

False

The proposed defense increase was one of the largest or most historic in U.S. history.

The proposed base-budget increase was large, but several enacted increases in the 1980s and other years were larger in percentage and inflation-adjusted dollar terms.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org defense-increase review

Misleading

The United States lost roughly one-third of its manufacturing jobs because of NAFTA.

Manufacturing employment fell by roughly that share from its historical peak, but much of the decline occurred outside the NAFTA period and reflected automation, productivity, recessions and trade with many countries.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org inaugural-address review · FactCheck.org CPAC-speech review

Misleading

Affordable Care Act premiums had risen by double or triple digits nationwide.

Average benchmark premiums rose about 25% across HealthCare.gov states for 2017; Arizona's 116% increase was an outlier, and subsidies shielded most marketplace enrollees from the full increase.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

The vast majority of people convicted of terrorism-related offenses since 9/11 came from outside the United States.

The Justice Department list mixed international-terrorism cases with limited details and excluded domestic-terrorism prosecutions, so it could not support the broad comparison Trump drew.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

False

The United States had left its borders wide open for anyone to cross.

Border Patrol staffing and budgets had more than doubled since 2001, and hundreds of thousands of apprehensions were made annually.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

The United States had already spent about $6 trillion on wars in the Middle East.

Direct war-related appropriations were about $1.7 trillion; estimates near $6 trillion included projected future veterans' care, interest and broader long-term costs.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

The current immigration system cost American taxpayers many billions of dollars per year.

The cited National Academies report found mixed fiscal effects across generations and an overall positive long-run economic impact; Trump presented only the first-generation cost estimate.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

43 indexed transcripts · 43 factual-claim reviews complete

2017-03

March 2017

Health-care advocacy, economic claims and the unsupported wiretap allegation.

47claims38/38reviews complete

Month complete: 38 of 38 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported12False11Misleading22Unresolved2
False

The proposed defense increase was one of the largest or most historic in U.S. history.

The proposed base-budget increase was large, but several enacted increases in the 1980s and other years were larger in percentage and inflation-adjusted dollar terms.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org defense-increase review

False

President Obama had Trump's phones wiretapped during the 2016 campaign.

Trump offered no evidence, and the FBI director and congressional intelligence leaders said they had no information supporting the allegation.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org wiretap evidence review

Misleading

Affordable Care Act premiums had risen by double or triple digits nationwide.

Average benchmark premiums rose about 25% across HealthCare.gov states for 2017; Arizona's 116% increase was an outlier, and subsidies shielded most marketplace enrollees from the full increase.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

False

The proposed defense increase was one of the largest or most historic in U.S. history.

The proposed base-budget increase was large, but several enacted increases in the 1980s and other years were larger in percentage and inflation-adjusted dollar terms.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org defense-increase review

Misleading

Affordable Care Act premiums had risen by double or triple digits nationwide.

Average benchmark premiums rose about 25% across HealthCare.gov states for 2017; Arizona's 116% increase was an outlier, and subsidies shielded most marketplace enrollees from the full increase.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

Nearly half a million jobs had been added in the two employment reports issued since Trump took office.

The reports showed 454,000 added jobs, but most January survey data were collected before Trump took office and could not reasonably be credited to his administration.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org jobs-number review

Misleading

The Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines would have to use American steel.

The memorandum promoted domestic steel, but the administration exempted Keystone XL and the largely completed Dakota Access pipeline.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org pipeline-steel review

Unresolved

As much as 75% of federal regulation could be eliminated.

The statement did not define whether the percentage referred to rules, pages or costs; the two-for-one order did not establish a three-quarter reduction.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org first-100-days review

False

The proposed defense increase was one of the largest or most historic in U.S. history.

The proposed base-budget increase was large, but several enacted increases in the 1980s and other years were larger in percentage and inflation-adjusted dollar terms.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org defense-increase review

Misleading

Affordable Care Act premiums had risen by double or triple digits nationwide.

Average benchmark premiums rose about 25% across HealthCare.gov states for 2017; Arizona's 116% increase was an outlier, and subsidies shielded most marketplace enrollees from the full increase.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

Affordable Care Act premiums had risen by double or triple digits nationwide.

Average benchmark premiums rose about 25% across HealthCare.gov states for 2017; Arizona's 116% increase was an outlier, and subsidies shielded most marketplace enrollees from the full increase.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Supported

U.S. stock-market value had increased by roughly $3 trillion since the election.

Broad-market capitalization estimates were in that range by late February, although market moves cannot be attributed to one cause.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: S&P Dow Jones Indices market data

False

The Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines were required to use American steel.

The administration exempted Keystone XL, and Dakota Access was already largely built when the domestic-steel memorandum was issued.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org early-jobs review

False

The proposed defense increase was one of the largest or most historic in U.S. history.

The proposed base-budget increase was large, but several enacted increases in the 1980s and other years were larger in percentage and inflation-adjusted dollar terms.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org defense-increase review

Misleading

Affordable Care Act premiums had risen by double or triple digits nationwide.

Average benchmark premiums rose about 25% across HealthCare.gov states for 2017; Arizona's 116% increase was an outlier, and subsidies shielded most marketplace enrollees from the full increase.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

The Affordable Care Act was a 2,700-page law that no one read or understood.

Page counts vary by document format, and the assertion that no lawmaker read or understood it was an unsupported universal claim.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

False

Many of the best physicians were leaving medicine entirely because of the Affordable Care Act.

The number of active physicians increased by nearly 8% after the law was enacted; no evidence supported a mass exodus caused by it.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org first-100-days review

Supported

The U.S. statutory corporate income-tax rate was among the highest in the developed world.

The combined federal and average state statutory rate was the highest among OECD countries, although effective rates were lower.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: OECD corporate tax statistics

False

The Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines were required to use American steel.

The administration exempted Keystone XL, and Dakota Access was already largely built when the domestic-steel memorandum was issued.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org early-jobs review

Misleading

Affordable Care Act premiums had risen by double or triple digits nationwide.

Average benchmark premiums rose about 25% across HealthCare.gov states for 2017; Arizona's 116% increase was an outlier, and subsidies shielded most marketplace enrollees from the full increase.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

False

TransCanada dropped its multibillion-dollar Keystone XL lawsuit after Trump threatened to terminate the pipeline.

The company had only suspended the proceeding at the time; it formally discontinued the claim after the State Department issued the permit.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org first-100-days review

Misleading

Charter Communications had newly committed to invest $25 billion and create 20,000 jobs after Trump's election.

The investment and hiring plans were tied to a merger and had been announced well before the election.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org Charter investment review

Supported

Women were the sole or primary breadwinners in about 40% of households with children.

Pew's analysis of Census data found mothers were the sole or primary provider in 40% of households with children under 18, though the cited age cutoff sometimes varied in Trump's wording.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: Pew Research Center breadwinner mothers analysis

38 indexed transcripts · 38 factual-claim reviews complete

2017-04

April 2017

The first 100 days, immigration and jobs claims, and an Associated Press interview.

30claims36/36reviews complete

Month complete: 36 of 36 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported16False6Misleading8Unresolved0

Major context

Associated Press interview

A first-100-days interview produces related claims about immigration, the border wall, China and the administration's economic record.

Zero-verdict due diligence: Unresolved remained at zero after a second review of the month's attributable claims, full-transcript inventory and claim-specific evidence.

False

The Obama stimulus was a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill that produced no visible construction projects.

The roughly $840 billion law included tax cuts and social benefits as well as about $80 billion for infrastructure, which financed numerous transportation and public-works projects.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org first-100-days review

Misleading

The administration had created roughly 600,000 jobs in its first 100 days.

Payroll employment rose by roughly that amount across the first three reports, but January largely predated the administration and presidents cannot claim sole, immediate causation for national employment changes.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: BLS Employment Situation, January 2017 · BLS Employment Situation, February 2017 · BLS Employment Situation, March 2017 · FactCheck.org first-100-days interview review

Supported

The U.S. statutory corporate income-tax rate was among the highest in the developed world.

The combined federal and average state statutory rate was the highest among OECD countries, although effective rates were lower.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: OECD corporate tax statistics

Supported

NATO allies had agreed to move toward spending 2% of GDP on defense.

The 2014 Wales pledge called for allies below the guideline to move toward 2% within a decade; it was a political commitment rather than a debt owed to the United States.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: NATO defence spending guidance

False

The proposed border wall would cost $10 billion or less.

Contemporaneous internal and congressional estimates placed construction substantially higher, before maintenance and land-acquisition costs.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org wall-cost review

Supported

Illegal border crossings were at their lowest level in at least 17 years.

Southwest-border apprehensions in March 2017 were the lowest monthly total in available Customs and Border Protection data going back to 2000.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact border-apprehension review

Supported

The U.S. statutory corporate income-tax rate was among the highest in the developed world.

The combined federal and average state statutory rate was the highest among OECD countries, although effective rates were lower.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: OECD corporate tax statistics

Misleading

The administration had created more than 500,000 jobs.

Payrolls had risen by about that amount in the first three reports, but January's survey largely preceded the inauguration and short-run changes cannot be attributed wholly to one administration.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact jobs review

Misleading

The administration had created roughly 600,000 jobs in its first 100 days.

Payroll employment rose by roughly that amount across the first three reports, but January largely predated the administration and presidents cannot claim sole, immediate causation for national employment changes.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: BLS Employment Situation, January 2017 · BLS Employment Situation, February 2017 · BLS Employment Situation, March 2017 · FactCheck.org first-100-days interview review

Misleading

The administration had created roughly 600,000 jobs in its first 100 days.

Payroll employment rose by roughly that amount across the first three reports, but January largely predated the administration and presidents cannot claim sole, immediate causation for national employment changes.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: BLS Employment Situation, January 2017 · BLS Employment Situation, February 2017 · BLS Employment Situation, March 2017 · FactCheck.org first-100-days interview review

36 indexed transcripts · 36 factual-claim reviews complete

2017-05

May 2017

Russia-investigation claims, tax-code assertions and the first presidential foreign trip.

13claims40/40reviews complete

Month complete: 40 of 40 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported5False7Misleading1Unresolved0

Zero-verdict due diligence: Unresolved remained at zero after a second review of the month's attributable claims, full-transcript inventory and claim-specific evidence.

False

The Trump-Russia story was made up by Democrats as an excuse for losing the election.

U.S. intelligence agencies had concluded Russia interfered in the election, and federal investigators were examining links involving Trump associates.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact Russia-story review

Supported

NATO allies had agreed to move toward spending 2% of GDP on defense.

The 2014 Wales pledge called for allies below the guideline to move toward 2% within a decade; it was a political commitment rather than a debt owed to the United States.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: NATO defence spending guidance

False

Trump's first foreign trip had created or saved millions of jobs.

The announced commercial agreements did not establish millions of new or protected U.S. jobs, and several figures covered tentative or previously planned deals.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact foreign-trip jobs review

40 indexed transcripts · 40 factual-claim reviews complete

2017-06

June 2017

The Cedar Rapids rally, immigration enforcement, health insurance and estate-tax claims.

29claims41/41reviews complete

Month complete: 41 of 41 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported6False13Misleading10Unresolved0

Major context

Cedar Rapids rally

Trump advances a related set of claims about MS-13 enforcement, Iowa health insurance and the estate tax.

Zero-verdict due diligence: Unresolved remained at zero after a second review of the month's attributable claims, full-transcript inventory and claim-specific evidence.

Supported

U.S. stock-market value had increased by roughly $3 trillion since the election.

Broad-market capitalization estimates were in that range by late February, although market moves cannot be attributed to one cause.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: S&P Dow Jones Indices market data

False

The proposed defense increase was one of the largest or most historic in U.S. history.

The proposed base-budget increase was large, but several enacted increases in the 1980s and other years were larger in percentage and inflation-adjusted dollar terms.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org defense-increase review

Misleading

Affordable Care Act premiums had risen by double or triple digits nationwide.

Average benchmark premiums rose about 25% across HealthCare.gov states for 2017; Arizona's 116% increase was an outlier, and subsidies shielded most marketplace enrollees from the full increase.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

The United States had already spent about $6 trillion on wars in the Middle East.

Direct war-related appropriations were about $1.7 trillion; estimates near $6 trillion included projected future veterans' care, interest and broader long-term costs.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

False

The proposed defense increase was one of the largest or most historic in U.S. history.

The proposed base-budget increase was large, but several enacted increases in the 1980s and other years were larger in percentage and inflation-adjusted dollar terms.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org defense-increase review

Misleading

The United States had already spent about $6 trillion on wars in the Middle East.

Direct war-related appropriations were about $1.7 trillion; estimates near $6 trillion included projected future veterans' care, interest and broader long-term costs.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

Affordable Care Act premiums had risen by double or triple digits nationwide.

Average benchmark premiums rose about 25% across HealthCare.gov states for 2017; Arizona's 116% increase was an outlier, and subsidies shielded most marketplace enrollees from the full increase.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Supported

Jon Ossoff did not live in Georgia's 6th Congressional District.

Ossoff lived just outside the district while supporting his fiancée's medical training; House candidates are not legally required to reside in the district.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact residency review

False

The administration was deporting MS-13 members by the thousands.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported hundreds, not thousands, of MS-13 arrests and removals in the relevant period.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org Iowa-rally review

False

All health insurers had fled Iowa.

Iowa faced severe marketplace uncertainty, but insurers still sold individual coverage and one carrier had filed to remain in every county for 2018.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org Iowa-insurer review

Misleading

The estate tax forced family farms to be sold instead of passed to heirs.

A sale can occur in individual cases, but very few farm estates owed federal estate tax and special valuation and payment rules reduced the burden.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org estate-tax review

False

The proposed defense increase was one of the largest or most historic in U.S. history.

The proposed base-budget increase was large, but several enacted increases in the 1980s and other years were larger in percentage and inflation-adjusted dollar terms.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org defense-increase review

Supported

All 168 VA medical centers offered same-day primary and mental-health services.

The VA announced systemwide same-day primary and mental-health services at its medical centers by the end of 2016, before Trump took office.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: VA same-day services announcement

41 indexed transcripts · 41 factual-claim reviews complete

2017-07

July 2017

Russia-election claims, economic assertions and a law-enforcement address.

17claims36/36reviews complete

Month complete: 36 of 36 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported6False3Misleading7Unresolved1
Misleading

Gas prices were the lowest in the United States in more than ten years.

Prices were the lowest for a July Fourth holiday in 12 years, but lower nationwide prices had occurred during other parts of the preceding decade.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact gasoline-price review

Misleading

President Obama did nothing after learning that Russia interfered in the 2016 election.

The response was criticized as limited, but Obama imposed sanctions, expelled Russian personnel, closed compounds and authorized covert measures.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact Obama-response review

False

John Podesta refused to give the Democratic National Committee server to the FBI and CIA.

Podesta did not control the DNC server. The DNC used a private cybersecurity firm that supplied forensic images and findings to the FBI.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact DNC-server review

False

The proposed defense increase was one of the largest or most historic in U.S. history.

The proposed base-budget increase was large, but several enacted increases in the 1980s and other years were larger in percentage and inflation-adjusted dollar terms.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org defense-increase review

Misleading

Affordable Care Act premiums had risen by double or triple digits nationwide.

Average benchmark premiums rose about 25% across HealthCare.gov states for 2017; Arizona's 116% increase was an outlier, and subsidies shielded most marketplace enrollees from the full increase.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Misleading

Trump had cut more regulations than any previous president or administration.

Trump set records for Congressional Review Act reversals and slowed new rules, but the sweeping comparison varied with the measure and often counted delayed or withdrawn actions as cuts.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org Trump economic record review

Misleading

Obama gave Iran $150 billion and $1.8 billion in cash.

The larger figure referred to Iran's own assets freed by sanctions relief; the cash settled a decades-old arms dispute rather than constituting a gift.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org Iran payment review

Supported

Second-quarter GDP growth was 2.6%, about twice the first-quarter rate.

The initial Bureau of Economic Analysis estimate was 2.6% annualized, compared with a then-revised 1.2% first-quarter rate.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact speech review

36 indexed transcripts · 36 factual-claim reviews complete

2017-08

August 2017

Charlottesville, the Phoenix rally, White House renovation and the Pershing story.

20claims24/24reviews complete

Month complete: 24 of 24 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported10False7Misleading3Unresolved0

Major context

Phoenix campaign rally

Trump presents a connected economic record built around job creation, market highs and the statutory corporate tax rate.

Zero-verdict due diligence: Unresolved remained at zero after a second review of the month's attributable claims, full-transcript inventory and claim-specific evidence.

Misleading

The United States had already spent about $6 trillion on wars in the Middle East.

Direct war-related appropriations were about $1.7 trillion; estimates near $6 trillion included projected future veterans' care, interest and broader long-term costs.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org address-to-Congress review

Supported

A major White House renovation had been planned before Trump took office.

The General Services Administration said the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning replacement was planned during the prior administration.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact renovation review

False

The Charlottesville white-nationalist demonstrators had a permit while the counterprotesters did not.

The rally had a permit for Emancipation Park, and counterprotest groups also held permits for nearby public spaces.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact permit review

False

General Pershing's use of bullets dipped in pig blood stopped terrorism for 35 years.

Historians found no reliable evidence for the alleged mass execution or for the claimed 35-year cessation of violence.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact Pershing-story review

Misleading

The economy had created way over one million jobs since the election.

Payrolls had risen by about 1.1 million since January, but the pace was slower than in the comparable period a year earlier and was not solely attributable to Trump.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org Phoenix-rally review

Supported

The U.S. statutory corporate income-tax rate was among the highest in the developed world.

The combined federal and average state statutory rate was the highest among OECD countries, although effective rates were lower.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: OECD corporate tax statistics

False

The proposed defense increase was one of the largest or most historic in U.S. history.

The proposed base-budget increase was large, but several enacted increases in the 1980s and other years were larger in percentage and inflation-adjusted dollar terms.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org defense-increase review

24 indexed transcripts · 24 factual-claim reviews complete

2017-09

September 2017

The first U.N. General Assembly address and its economic and ISIS claims.

17claims56/56reviews complete

Month complete: 56 of 56 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported12False3Misleading2Unresolved0

Major context

United Nations General Assembly address

Trump's first General Assembly address includes multiple assessable claims about jobs, unemployment, markets and the campaign against ISIS.

Zero-verdict due diligence: Unresolved remained at zero after a second review of the month's attributable claims, full-transcript inventory and claim-specific evidence.

Supported

The U.S. statutory corporate income-tax rate was among the highest in the developed world.

The combined federal and average state statutory rate was the highest among OECD countries, although effective rates were lower.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: OECD corporate tax statistics

Supported

The U.S. statutory corporate income-tax rate was among the highest in the developed world.

The combined federal and average state statutory rate was the highest among OECD countries, although effective rates were lower.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: OECD corporate tax statistics

Supported

The U.S. statutory corporate income-tax rate was among the highest in the developed world.

The combined federal and average state statutory rate was the highest among OECD countries, although effective rates were lower.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: OECD corporate tax statistics

Misleading

The United States had achieved more against ISIS in eight months than in many years combined.

ISIS had lost substantial territory in 2017, but those gains continued a campaign and territorial decline that began before Trump took office.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org ISIS context

Supported

The U.S. statutory corporate income-tax rate was among the highest in the developed world.

The combined federal and average state statutory rate was the highest among OECD countries, although effective rates were lower.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: OECD corporate tax statistics

56 indexed transcripts · 56 factual-claim reviews complete

2017-10

October 2017

Tax-reform promises, small-business claims and labor-market figures.

24claims40/40reviews complete

Month complete: 40 of 40 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported9False7Misleading7Unresolved1

Major context

Harrisburg tax-reform speech

A tax-reform address to truckers produces related claims about pass-through businesses and who would receive the proposed rate reduction.

Misleading

Many truckers would see their top tax rate fall substantially under the proposal.

Some higher-income owner-operators could benefit, but most truck drivers were employees and would not receive the advertised pass-through rate.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org trucker-tax review

Misleading

The national debt doubled during the preceding eight years.

Debt held by the public more than doubled, while gross federal debt rose about 88%; the unqualified claim blurred the two measures and rounded upward.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: Treasury historical debt outstanding

Supported

The U.S. statutory corporate income-tax rate was among the highest in the developed world.

The combined federal and average state statutory rate was the highest among OECD countries, although effective rates were lower.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: OECD corporate tax statistics

Misleading

Trump had cut more regulations than any previous president or administration.

Trump set records for Congressional Review Act reversals and slowed new rules, but the sweeping comparison varied with the measure and often counted delayed or withdrawn actions as cuts.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org Trump economic record review

Supported

NATO allies had agreed to move toward spending 2% of GDP on defense.

The 2014 Wales pledge called for allies below the guideline to move toward 2% within a decade; it was a political commitment rather than a debt owed to the United States.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: NATO defence spending guidance

Supported

The U.S. statutory corporate income-tax rate was among the highest in the developed world.

The combined federal and average state statutory rate was the highest among OECD countries, although effective rates were lower.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: OECD corporate tax statistics

Unresolved

Cutting the corporate tax rate would raise the typical household's income by about $4,000.

The figure was a long-run model estimate that depended on contested assumptions about investment and wage incidence; it was not an observable outcome at the time of the claim.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org $4,000 claim analysis

Misleading

Trump had cut more regulations than any previous president or administration.

Trump set records for Congressional Review Act reversals and slowed new rules, but the sweeping comparison varied with the measure and often counted delayed or withdrawn actions as cuts.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org Trump economic record review

40 indexed transcripts · 40 factual-claim reviews complete

2017-11

November 2017

The Asia trip and a concentrated set of tax-reform claims in St. Charles.

23claims50/50reviews complete

Month complete: 50 of 50 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported10False7Misleading5Unresolved1

Major context

St. Charles tax-reform speech

Trump makes a concentrated cluster of assessable claims about GDP, corporate rates, wage effects and the historical size of the tax cut.

False

NATO allies owed the United States money for years below the 2% spending guideline.

The guideline measured each ally's own defense spending and did not create arrears payable to Washington.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: NATO defence-expenditure guidance

50 indexed transcripts · 50 factual-claim reviews complete

2017-12

December 2017

Labor-market claims, the tax bill and a claim about Hillary Clinton's FBI interview.

39claims34/34reviews complete

Month complete: 34 of 34 indexed Trump-participation transcripts have completed factual-claim extraction and independent evidence review.

Supported12False18Misleading9Unresolved0

Major context

Cabinet meeting labor-market claims

Cabinet remarks pair an accurate unemployment-rate figure with a broader and misleading account of people outside the labor force.

Zero-verdict due diligence: Unresolved remained at zero after a second review of the month's attributable claims, full-transcript inventory and claim-specific evidence.

False

Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI and nothing happened to her.

The FBI found Clinton had been careless but did not conclude that she made criminally false statements during her interview.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact FBI-interview review

Misleading

A pool of nearly 100 million people outside the labor force was starting to come back to work.

The 95 million figure included retirees, students, caregivers and others not seeking work; labor-force participation had not shown a broad surge back into employment.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: PolitiFact labor-force review

Supported

The U.S. statutory corporate income-tax rate was among the highest in the developed world.

The combined federal and average state statutory rate was the highest among OECD countries, although effective rates were lower.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: OECD corporate tax statistics

Misleading

The U.S. military had been completely rebuilt and was stronger than ever.

Readiness and budgets improved in some areas, but the historical superlative and claim of complete rebuilding had no common measure and overstated remaining modernization needs.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org Trump economic record review

Misleading

Trump had cut more regulations than any previous president or administration.

Trump set records for Congressional Review Act reversals and slowed new rules, but the sweeping comparison varied with the measure and often counted delayed or withdrawn actions as cuts.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org Trump economic record review

Misleading

The tax legislation delivered $3.2 trillion in tax cuts for American families.

That was a gross figure before tax increases and excluded the legislation's overall net cost; benefits also extended beyond families and changed over time.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org tax-benefit review

Misleading

Trump had cut more regulations than any previous president or administration.

Trump set records for Congressional Review Act reversals and slowed new rules, but the sweeping comparison varied with the measure and often counted delayed or withdrawn actions as cuts.

Speaker
Donald J. Trump

Evidence: FactCheck.org Trump economic record review

34 indexed transcripts · 34 factual-claim reviews complete
Completion boundary

All 459 indexed Trump-participation transcripts for 2017 are marked Review complete, so the full-year tally is published. Records with no independently assessable factual claim remain visible with a zero count. The source inventory began with 460 items; silent Halloween B-roll was excluded because it was not a Trump-participation transcript.