During a recent speech at the Detroit Economic Club, President Donald Trump made a series of statements regarding the current state of the economy, inflation, and various policies. However, many of his claims were misleading or outright false. This article aims to provide a detailed fact-check of Trump's remarks, focusing on key economic topics such as inflation, consumer prices, and tariffs.
Trump boldly asserted that "inflation has stopped," but this statement is misleading. The most recent Consumer Price Index report indicated that average consumer prices were up by 2.7% in December compared to the previous year and 0.3% higher than in November. This contradicts Trump's claim, as prices have not decreased but rather continued to rise during his current presidential term.
Moreover, Trump further claimed that "prices are down." In contrast, the data shows that overall consumer prices have increased by about 2.2% since January 2025, indicating that affordability is still a significant issue for Americans.
Addressing grocery prices, Trump stated that they are "starting to go rapidly down." This is inaccurate, as the recent CPI report revealed a spike in grocery prices, which rose by 0.7% from November to December—the fastest monthly increase in over three years. In December, grocery prices were 2.4% higher than the same time last year, refuting Trump's assertion that they are declining.
Trump also repeated his claim that prescription drug prices would come down by "thousands of percentage points" due to his "Most Favored Nation" policy. This is mathematically impossible; a reduction of more than 100% would imply that Americans would be paid to take their medications, which is not the case. This statement lacks any basis in reality and demonstrates a misunderstanding of how drug pricing works.
Trump claimed that the Biden administration is responsible for "the worst inflation in the history of our country." While inflation did reach a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022, this was not the highest ever recorded. The all-time high was 23.7% in 1920, a significant distinction that Trump neglected to mention. Furthermore, inflation had decreased to 3.0% before Trump resumed office in January 2025.
Trump asserted that "$18 trillion is being invested in our country," a figure that is misleading. Current estimates from the White House indicate that major investment announcements during this term total approximately $9.6 trillion, which itself is considered an exaggeration. Many of these so-called investments are vague pledges and do not represent actual capital being injected into the economy.
During his speech, Trump claimed, "We have the highest growth we have ever had." While it’s true that the economy saw a robust growth rate of 4.3% in the third quarter of 2025, it was not the highest in history. Previous periods, especially post-pandemic in 2020 and 2021, experienced even stronger growth.
Trump claimed that gas prices are "under $2 in many places," a statement that lacks context. No state had an average gas price below $2 at the time of his speech; the lowest was around $2.23 in Oklahoma. Although gas prices have decreased since his inauguration, they are not as low as Trump suggested.
Regarding tariffs, Trump claimed that "China is one of our biggest taxpayers right now." This is misleading; tariffs on Chinese imports are paid by U.S. businesses and consumers, not China. This misconception often leads to confusion about who ultimately bears the cost of tariffs.
Trump reiterated his claim that he achieved "no tax on Social Security for our seniors." While his administration did implement a temporary tax deduction, many Social Security recipients still pay taxes on their benefits. Furthermore, his assertion that eliminating fraud in federal programs would balance the federal budget is unfounded, as the annual budget deficit far exceeds estimated losses due to fraud.
In discussing elections, Trump claimed, "We did good in Michigan," and incorrectly asserted, "We won the whole thing in Michigan." While he won Michigan in the 2016 and 2024 elections, he lost to Biden in 2020. Claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election have been thoroughly debunked.
Trump criticized the Biden administration for allegedly allowing "25 million people" to enter the U.S. as migrants, a figure that is grossly exaggerated. Actual encounters with migrants during Biden's administration were under 11 million, including rapid expulsions. Trump's claims regarding migrants with criminal records are similarly misleading, as they misrepresent data spanning several decades.
In conclusion, Trump's speech at the Detroit Economic Club was filled with inaccuracies regarding inflation, consumer prices, and various economic policies. Fact-checking these claims is essential to understand the true state of the economy and the implications for American consumers and businesses.