Whether it be from watching the news, reading an article, or listening to the radio, Americans rely on the government to provide factual information about our country and its affairs: so why does Donald Trump and his administration not do this? During President Donald J. Trump’s State of the Union Address on Feb. 24, President Trump made false claims that he ended wars that were never actual conflicts, and “overstated the performance of the economy during this presidential term to date, overstated the inflation he inherited from the Biden administration, used highly misleading figures when discussing gasoline prices, and wrongly asserted, twice, that foreign countries are paying the tariffs that are actually being paid by U.S. importers,” according to CNN Political News (CNN.com). Beginning his address at 9 PM, and lasting approximately one hour and 48 minutes, Trump’s State of the Union Address set a record for being the longest.
Starting off strong, Trump praised America for its 250th anniversary of liberty and independence, but soon after, his claims became questionable. Regarding the economy, Trump falsely claimed that he inherited “a stagnant economy” with “inflation at record levels” following the Biden Administration, which proves to be untrue. According to FactCheck.org, “The annual inflation rate was 3%, down from its peak of 9.1% under Biden, when Trump took office,” showing that Trump did not inherit record levels of economic inflation. Also, Trump expressed that unemployment is at its lowest, but due to the previous government shutdown and stricter immigration rules, unemployment has increased under the Trump Administration.
Continuing, Trump highlighted one of his favorite topics in the economy: gas prices. During his 2024 campaign, he promised to get “gasoline below $2 a gallon”, according to BBC News. While gas prices may have dropped slightly since Trump took office, they certainly are not below two dollars per gallon. In his address, Trump said, “And when I visited the great state of Iowa just a few weeks ago, I even saw $1.85 a gallon for gasoline, the lowest in four years, and falling fast.” Perhaps, in the middle of Iowa the gas prices are relatively cheap, but for a majority of states they are still as high as before. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, as of March 16, the nationwide average for gasoline is $3.72 per gallon. This shows that a majority of states in America are dealing with high gas prices that are not below $2 a gallon.
Towards the end of his speech, the President addressed the seizing of Venezuela that took place in January. Trump illustrated how it was “one of the most complex, spectacular feats of military competence and power in world history,” and that “foreign leaders, I won’t tell you who, called me and they said, very impressive, very impressive.” Now of course we do not know if these “foreign leaders” called President Trump directly and said those exact words, but we do know that foreign leader Nicolas Maduro of Venezuela was captured and probably did not think Trump’s actions were “very impressive.” According to PBS News, “Trump said the U.S. would run Venezuela and tap its oil reserves. He said Venezuela stole U.S. oil.” Though the oil acquired through the raid can help Americans, it was not done in an ethical way. Kidnapping anyone does not pose as a moral decision reflecting the liberties and greatness of America.
Concluding Trump’s address, he thanked people involved with supporting the military and its involvement in Venezuela and also explained the various victories of the United States throughout its history: “Americans ventured out across the daunting and dangerous continent. We carved past through an unforgiving wilderness, settled a boundless frontier, and tamed the beautiful but very, very dangerous Wild West. Together we mastered the world’s mightiest industries, shattered history’s monstrous tyrannies. And we liberated millions from the chains of fascism, communism, oppression, and terror.”
Ultimately, President Trump’s State of the Union Address elaborated upon the current economic and political state of America through questionable statistics and obscure facts and events.
