Fact check: President Trump Delivers Remarks to U.S. Embassy Personnel and Business Leaders
Donald Trump · September 12, 2026 · 43 min
Every claim, in order
- FALSEat 43:09· said in 10 broadcasts
“We have $21,000,000,000,000 being invested.”
What the data shows: White House lists $9.6 trillion in commitments (as of Nov 2025), which includes multi-year pledges, aspirational goals, and previously announced projects. Actual U.S. gross private domestic investment ~$5.4 trillion annually (BEA).
- MOSTLY TRUEat 45:27· said in 10 broadcasts
“Of the last administration, they got less than 1,000,000,000,000 less than 1,000,000,000,000 in four years. Less than $1,000,000,000,000 of new investment. Into our country.”
What the data shows: BEA reports new FDI into U.S. totaled $810.9 billion over 2021-2024 (Biden administration): $333.6B (2021), $177.5B (2022), $148.8B (2023), $151.0B (2024).
- FALSEat 45:27· said in 10 broadcasts
“We're at now the new new numbers just came out, We're at almost $21,000,000,000,000 in sixteen months. 21,000,000,000,000, no country has ever done that or close to it.”
What the data shows: BEA reports $232.2 billion in actual foreign direct investment expenditures in 2025; White House documents $9.6 trillion in pledged commitments (not actual investments). No authoritative source confirms $21 trillion in actual new investment.
- MISLEADINGat 46:14· said in 4 broadcasts
“we have, more auto plants being built than we've ever had”
What the data shows: Multiple automakers are investing in U.S. manufacturing, but industry experts say recent announcements mostly represent reallocations at existing facilities rather than new plant construction. No data confirms record-setting levels of new auto plant construction.
- MISLEADINGat 48:32· said in 8 broadcasts
“Ireland is now the sixth largest source of foreign direct investment in The United States with nearly $392,000,000,000 invested in 2025”
What the data shows: Ireland ranked 5th largest source of FDI in US with $389.7 billion position (2024 data); 2025 position data not yet published by BEA.
- MOSTLY TRUEat 48:32
“we hit 80 all time highs during this period of about fifteen months”
What the data shows: S&P 500 reached 56-57 all-time highs in 2024 and 39 in 2025. A 15-month period spanning late 2024 through mid-2025 would yield approximately 70-80 all-time highs.
- FALSEat 49:19· said in 5 broadcasts
“four zero one k's are up about, $4,546,000 dollars”
What the data shows: Fidelity: average 401(k) balance $146,100 (11% increase in 2025); Vanguard: average $167,970 (13% increase in 2025). Year-over-year increases approximately $14,600–$21,800 per account.
- TRUEat 50:05· said in 6 broadcasts
“there are more people working in America and The United States today by far than at any point in the history of our”
What the data shows: -17K — Nonfarm Payrolls for Trump II at month 11 of the term (~2025), per FRED.
- TRUEat 50:05
“the stock market, is one of a kind. It's saying again, record.”
What the data shows: 6,846 — S&P 500 in 2025 (Trump II), per Yahoo Finance.
- MISLEADINGat 50:52· said in 11 broadcasts
“It's the largest tax cut in American history”
What the data shows: The One Big Beautiful Bill (2025) ranks sixth largest in American history by percentage of GDP, third largest since 1980 when including the 2017 tax cuts. In nominal dollars only, it would be largest due to inflation and economic growth.
- MOSTLY TRUEat 52:24· said in 3 broadcasts
“when I left office, we had the highest stock market in the history of our country”
What the data shows: 4,766 — S&P 500 in 2021 (Trump), per Yahoo Finance.
- MISLEADINGat 52:24
“we had the greatest economy. Even though we got hit at the end with the COVID, we had the greatest economy we have we have had.”
What the data shows: Pre-COVID GDP growth 2017-2019 averaged 2.3-2.9% (BEA); unemployment fell to 3.5% by Feb 2020; stock markets reached record highs by end-2020. However, 2020 GDP contracted 3.4%, and 'greatest economy' is subjective with no single metric confirming this across the full term.
- MISLEADINGat 53:11
“they were projecting 25,000 jobs. It turned out to be a 162,000”
What the data shows: BLS reported 162,000 jobs added in August 2026. Economist consensus forecasts ranged from 53,000-58,000, not 25,000.
- MISLEADINGat 55:30
“factory construction is booming like it has never boomed”
What the data shows: Census Bureau data: Manufacturing construction spending peaked at $249.8B in August 2024, declined 6.7% through Q3 2025, and fell to $174.8B (seasonally adjusted annual rate) by May 2026—30% below peak.
- MISLEADINGat 56:16
“We've unleashed our vast energy resources to make America the number one supplier of oil and natural gas on Earth, We're, bigger than Saudi Arabia now Saudi Arabia and Russia combined”
What the data shows: US is world's largest oil producer (EIA, 2023) but not largest exporter of oil; largest LNG exporter. Combined oil+gas production does not exceed Saudi Arabia + Russia combined as of 2024 (EIA International Energy Statistics).
- MISLEADINGat 57:02· said in 5 broadcasts
“It's 65,000,000,000 barrels of oil. It's good for five hundred years.”
What the data shows: Venezuela's proven reserves total ~303 billion barrels (EIA/OPEC 2024). A US-Venezuela agreement announced August 29, 2026 covers 65 billion barrels from 17 strategic fields. At current production (~1 million bbl/day), total reserves last ~500 years; the 65 billion subset alone would last ~178 years.
- MISLEADINGat 58:35
“under our leadership, we've made record investments the United States military”
What the data shows: FY2026 defense spending totals ~$1.05 trillion in nominal dollars, the largest single appropriation in US history. However, in inflation-adjusted constant 2024 dollars, it remains ~12% below the 2010 peak of $1,061.7bn. The claim's use of 'record' without context conflates nominal dollars with real spending levels.
- FALSEat 63:12· said in 11 broadcasts
“We've had 25,000,000 people coming through the southern border over the last administration.”
What the data shows: CBP recorded approximately 11 million total border encounters during Biden's four years (FY2021-2024), with 8.72 million at the Southwest border specifically.
- FALSEat 63:12· said in 2 broadcasts
“in the last sixteen months, zero zero people came in”
What the data shows: CBP Southwest Border apprehensions Jan 2025 YTD and prior 16 months show ongoing crossings. Jan 2025 alone: ~10K apprehensions reported. Zero is factually incorrect.
- MISLEADINGat 63:12
“they're down 97% in water”
What the data shows: CBP air and marine operations show 98% drop in seized drug pounds July-November 2025 (mainly marijuana). However, Coast Guard—which handles most maritime interdictions—seized 510,000 lbs cocaine in FY2025, a 200% increase. Seizure data cannot measure total drugs entering US.
- FALSEat 63:58· said in 7 broadcasts
“Each one of those boats can kill twenty five thousand people. On average, twenty five thousand people.”
What the data shows: Coast Guard seizure data shows 61,740 lbs cocaine = 23 million lethal doses (372 per pound). Typical boat seizures range 1,000-2,000 lbs, yielding ~370,000-740,000 lethal doses per vessel, not 25,000.
- FALSEat 64:45
“drugs are down now in America and The United States by 62”
What the data shows: CDC data shows overdose deaths declined 13.2% in the 12 months ending January 2026, and 14% in 2025. From the 2022 peak to January 2026, deaths fell approximately 36%.
- MOSTLY TRUEat 65:31
“crime in our nation's capital, Washington DC was through the roof... we have crime down to Washington DC”
What the data shows: Violent crime down 35% in 2024 vs 2023 (lowest in 30+ years per DOJ/MPD); homicide down 41% H1 2026 vs H1 2025. But aggravated assault up 45%, gun assault up 13% in same period.
- FALSEat 67:50· said in 4 broadcasts
“We have the lowest crime numbers, the best crime numbers we've had in the history of our country.”
What the data shows: FBI UCR data shows violent crime rates in 2023 were higher than several years in the 1950s–1960s and comparable to early 1990s levels. Crime is down from 2020–2021 pandemic peaks but not at historical lows.
- TRUEat 67:50
“The murder rate is down, lowest it's”
What the data shows: FBI UCR reports 2025 murder rate at 4.1 per 100,000 inhabitants, tied with 1955-1956 for lowest in FBI records since 1950s.
- MISLEADINGat 69:23
“We have more oil than anybody, as you know.”
What the data shows: As of 2024, the US has substantial proven oil reserves (~11 billion barrels, EIA), but Russia and Saudi Arabia have larger proven reserves. The US is the world's largest oil producer by volume (EIA Petroleum Supply Monthly, 2024), but does not have the largest reserves.
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