Did US President Donald Trump make false claims in his first address?

In his inaugural address on Monday, President Donald Trump spoke on various issues including immigration, the economy, electric vehicles and the Panama Canal.

Soon after AP, did a fact check and claimed that Trump made several inaccurate statements during his speech.


On immigration, Trump stated, "I will direct all members of my Cabinet to marshal the vast powers at their disposal to defeat what was record inflation and rapidly bring down costs and prices."

Hoewver, according to fact-checkers, there is no evidence supporting his claim that other countries send criminals and mentally ill individuals across the U.S. border.

Trump also said he would address record inflation. Data shows inflation reached 9.1% in June 2022 under President Biden and has since decreased to 2.9% as of December. Higher inflation rates have occurred in the past, like the over 14% rate in 1980. While some consumer goods prices like eggs and milk have recently fluctuated, these changes are attributed to various factors, including bird flu and supply chain issues. Gas prices, which dipped during the pandemic under Trump due to decreased demand, have fallen from a high of $5.06 in June 2022 to $3.15 in December.

Regarding tariffs, Trump promised to create an External Revenue Service to collect them, saying, \"It will be massive amounts of money pouring into our Treasury, coming from foreign sources." Economists counter that American consumers often bear the cost of tariffs.

Trump also pledged to "revoke the electric vehicle mandate.” However, no such mandate exists. The Environmental Protection Agency's 2023 emissions limits encourage electric vehicle sales but don't mandate them.

Finally, Trump falsely claimed China operates the Panama Canal, saying American ships are overcharged. Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vasquez refuted these claims, stating, "The price rules are uniform for absolutely all those who transit the canal and clearly defined.” He also confirmed China does not operate the canal. The U.S. relinquished control of the canal to Panama in 1999.