Given Donald Trump’s track record of telling lies, exaggerating, spreading misinformation and making misleading and confusing statements, it was unlikely he would stop doing that for his state of the union address. Indeed, he didn’t.

When it comes to facts, holding Trump to account is difficult. None of the fact-checking done by the media, political opponents, government institutions or others has changed his behaviour. But setting the record straight continues to show its value for anyone wanting to know the facts.

Here are five significant claims Trump made during his speech, compared to the facts.

'Inflation is plummeting'

In the first few minutes of the speech, Trump said “inflation is plummeting” and said it was worse under his predecessor, Joe Biden, than at any point in history.

This is not the case. In 1980, inflation in the U.S. was 13.5 per cent, nearly double what it was in 2022 (when it was eight per cent).

The overall inflation rate has fallen slightly since Trump was elected and as of January, sat at 2.4 per cent, higher than the two per cent target set by the Federal Reserve. That means prices are still rising.

Food costs are rising at an even faster 2.9 per cent. Electricity is up 6.3 per cent, and natural gas is up 9.8 per cent. The shelter index is also up three per cent, meaning housing continues to get more expensive.

How much money have U.S. tariffs raised?

Trump said "hundreds of billions" of dollars have been raised by his tariffs. This is true.

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