President Donald Trump is set to deliver his first State of the Union address since returning to office, focusing on his administration’s key priorities: the economy, immigration, crime, energy, and national security. While Trump has consistently touted his accomplishments and criticized his predecessor’s record, many of his claims contain significant inaccuracies that may appear in his upcoming address.

The U.S. economy under Trump’s second term has shown mixed performance. Despite his characterization of America as “the hottest country anywhere in the world” after years as a “dead country,” the economy was far from stagnant when he took office. In 2024, during Biden’s final year, U.S. GDP grew by 2.8%, outpacing almost every other wealthy nation except Spain.

The economy’s trajectory has been uneven during Trump’s second term. GDP contracted in the first quarter of 2025 before rebounding in the second half, then slowed again in the fourth quarter. Overall, annual GDP growth for 2025 registered at 2.2%. While a key inflation measure reached a five-year low in January, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge shows persistent inflation in furniture, clothing, and grocery costs.

Job creation has significantly decelerated, with employers adding only 181,000 jobs in 2025—the lowest non-recession figure since 2002. Economists attribute this slowdown to uncertainty created by tariffs, AI developments, and employers who aggressively staffed up post-pandemic now pausing recruitment efforts.

The U.S. stock market performed well with a 17% gain in the S&P 500, but underperformed compared to several international markets, including South Korea’s 71% surge, Hong Kong’s 29%, Japan’s 26%, Germany’s 22%, and the UK’s 21%.

Trump’s claim of securing up to $18 trillion in investments lacks substantiation. The White House website lists a more modest $9.6 trillion, which appears to include investment commitments made during the Biden administration. A January study cast doubt on whether more than $5 trillion in investment commitments from America’s major trading partners would materialize.

On immigration, Trump continues to assert that increased immigration has led to a crime surge. However, FBI statistics show no evidence of crime spikes perpetrated by migrants, either along the southern border or in cities experiencing significant migrant arrivals like New York. Studies indicate that undocumented immigrants are actually less likely than native-born Americans to be arrested for violent, drug, or property crimes.

The president frequently mentions “300,000 missing migrant children,” mischaracterizing an August 2024 Department of Homeland Security Inspector General report that criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement for inconsistent monitoring of unaccompanied migrant children after their release from government custody.

In energy policy, Trump champions coal as “beautiful, clean coal,” despite evidence to the contrary. Though carbon dioxide emissions from coal have decreased over three decades, UN-backed research indicates coal production must be drastically reduced to address climate change. Coal burning continues to emit sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain, smog, and respiratory illnesses.

Trump regularly criticizes wind power as expensive and harmful to birds. However, onshore wind ranks among the cheapest electricity generation sources, with new wind farms producing energy at around $30 per megawatt hour. While wind turbines do pose some risk to birds, the National Audubon Society considers climate change the greater threat to avian populations.

As midterm elections approach in 2026, Trump continues to falsely claim he won the 2020 presidential election, despite extensive recounts, audits, and court challenges confirming Biden’s victory with 306 electoral votes and over 7 million more popular votes. Trump also characterizes his 2024 win as a “landslide,” though he won 312 electoral votes to 226, with a narrow popular vote margin of 49.8% to Harris’s 48.32%.

Trump takes credit for 2025’s significant decrease in violent crime, claiming the U.S. murder rate dropped to its lowest in 125 years. While a January study by the Independent Council on Criminal Justice showed a 21% decrease in homicide rates from 2024 to 2025, this continues a downward trend that began several years earlier, with violent crime already dropping to near pre-pandemic levels around 2022 during Biden’s presidency.

In foreign policy, Trump’s claim of having “solved” eight international conflicts significantly exaggerates his impact. While he has helped mediate various international relations, his influence on conflicts between Israel and Hamas, Israel and Iran, and other global hotspots is not as definitive as he suggests.