Creating his own reality, President Trump’s speech last night was a blend of bombast, bluster — and baloney.
It didn’t take long for fact checkers from sources like CNN, The Guardian, and NBC News to spot numerous false and exaggerated claims made by President Trump during his nationally televised speech last night.
Over the years, the president has made a habit of pushing information that has no connection to reality, and last night was no exception.
While watching, I made a short list of Trump’s whoppers and here’s what I came up with:
Trump said inflation has “stopped" and that he inherited the “worst inflation in the history of our country.” This is total bull. First off, it hasn’t stopped. Inflation came in at 2.7% this month, a slight improvement over the year, but still well above the 2% target that government economists would like to see. Secondly, this is far from the worst inflation in the history of our country. It was much higher at other points, like the 1970s and 1980s. It was even significantly higher during the relatively recent post-pandemic months of 2022. Where does Trump come up with his stuff?
Then there was that absurd claim that he has attracted $18 trillion in investments into the United States. Bloomberg says that the “investment commitments are closer to $7 trillion” and that “many of those are in question.” The reason they’re in question is that they sound more like estimates, vague pledges and previously committed projects.
His claim that 25 million undocumented immigrants (an “invading army” is how he put it) crossed the border during the Biden administration was debunked by NBC fact checkers who report that the number is 7.4 million.
One of the funnier exaggerations was his claim that he has reduced prescription drug prices by as much as 500%. Why is it funny? Because you can’t reduce something by more than 100%.
Given that Trump’s lies have been exposed and catalogued thousands of times (more than 30,000 so far), this sampling from last night’s speech was probably to be expected. More noteworthy this time, though, was his delivery, which USA Today described as “unnerving” and “crazed.” The Atlantic called it “a fear-drenched rant.” Fox News reported on the speech’s contents but didn’t make observations about Trump’s demeanor.
I found the president to be exceptionally combative, but then, coming off some recent poll numbers that show his approval ratings are barely hanging on to 40%, with several sinking below that figure, Trump has good reason to be defensive and even somewhat desperate.
John Tsitrian is a businessman and writer from the Black Hills. He was a weekly columnist for the Rapid City Journal for 20 years. His articles and commentary have also appeared in The Los Angeles Times, The Denver Post and The Omaha World-Herald. Tsitrian served in the Marines for three years (1966-69), including a 13-month tour of duty as a radioman in Vietnam. Republish with permission.
Photo: public domain, wikimedia commons
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