Trump’s False Claims Dominate “60 Minutes” Interview

President Donald Trump peppered his recent “60 Minutes” interview with at least 18 false statements, most of which had been previously debunked. The interview, conducted by CBS News correspondent Norah O’Donnell and recorded on Friday, aired Sunday and ran for nearly 90 minutes in total, though only about 28 minutes was broadcast on television.

During the exchange, Trump repeated his oft-refuted claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. He also made several inaccurate assertions about the economy, immigration, and his own record in office.

When challenged by O’Donnell about rising grocery prices affecting Americans, Trump falsely claimed prices “are going down.” This statement directly contradicts data from the Consumer Price Index, which shows grocery prices increased about 0.3% since August, approximately 2.7% since September 2023, and 1.4% since January 2024, when Trump returned to office. Price increases were recorded across all six major grocery product categories.

Trump also declared that “we have no inflation” and that inflation is “down to 2%, even less than 2%.” In reality, inflation stands at about 3% as of September, up from roughly 2.9% in August. This rate nearly matches the 3% recorded in January, during the transition from the Biden administration to Trump’s second term.

Another significant misrepresentation came when Trump claimed there is “$17 trillion being invested in the United States right now.” This figure is almost double the White House’s own inflated estimate of $8.9 trillion. A CNN review conducted in October found the administration has been counting trillions in vague investment pledges from foreign countries and companies, many of which were about bilateral trade rather than actual investment in the U.S.

The president also falsely stated that China and other foreign countries pay the tariffs he has imposed on their exports. Economic research, including studies from the federal government’s bipartisan U.S. International Trade Commission, consistently shows that U.S. importers bear almost the entire cost of tariffs and often pass these expenses on to American consumers.

On immigration, Trump greatly exaggerated when he claimed each drug boat coming from South America brings “enough fentanyl to kill 250 million Americans.” Experts note this figure plainly does not match reality. He also falsely claimed to have ended “eight wars,” though his list includes at least two situations that were not wars at all, and at least one conflict that continues.

Trump inaccurately stated that CBS aired an edited interview with his 2024 opponent Kamala Harris “two days” before the election, when it was actually more than four full weeks before Election Day. He incorrectly claimed former President Joe Biden gave $350 billion in aid to Ukraine, though the real figure is well under half that amount. Similarly, he asserted Biden allowed “25 million” migrants to enter the country, another number that is well under half the actual total.

On the topic of artificial intelligence, Trump correctly noted that some AI companies are building their own power plants due to increasing electricity demands. However, he erred when discussing America’s energy production, falsely claiming the U.S. is energy independent primarily because of his policies, when this trend began under previous administrations.

Trump also made misleading statements about the government shutdown, his impeachments, and his previous legal battle with “60 Minutes” itself, further contributing to the pattern of factual inaccuracies throughout the interview.

The president’s tendency to make false claims during media appearances has been well-documented throughout his political career. This latest interview reinforces concerns about the reliability of information coming from the White House as the administration faces numerous domestic and international challenges.

CBS published a full transcript of the interview online, providing viewers with the complete context of the exchange between Trump and O’Donnell.