Fact-Checking Trump’s Prime-Time Address on the Economy

The New York Times – Full Transcript of President Trump’s Speech on the Economy – The president sharply attacked his predecessor while insisting that his own record contained nothing but victories.

The New York Times – “The president cited misleading statistics to insist, wrongly, that prices were coming down. President Trump praised what he portrayed as the economic gains under his administration in an address from the White House on Wednesday, even as consumers express concerns about affordability and voice discontent over how he has handled the economy. “I am bringing those high prices down and bringing them down very fast. Let’s look at the facts,” Mr. Trump said, before ticking off a litany of misleading claims. Here’s a look at those facts.

• “When I took office, inflation was the worst in 48 years, and some would say in the history of our country.” False. Inflation had already fallen to 3 percent in January, when Mr. Trump took office. Inflation did reach a four-decade high in the summer of 2022, at about 9.1 percent that June, but had declined since then. That number was also not a record; inflation reached higher points in the 1910s, 1970s and 1980s.
• What Was Said “The price of a Thanksgiving turkey was down 33 percent compared to the Biden last year. The price of eggs is down 82 percent since March, and everything else is falling rapidly, and it’s not done yet.” This is exaggerated. Mr. Trump may have been referring to, and overstating, a report from the American Farm Bureau, which estimated that the cost of a turkey at the grocery store before Thanksgiving had declined by 16 percent this year from last year. But wholesale turkey prices had actually risen this year, according to data from the Agriculture Department and a Purdue University report. This is likely because turkeys are known as loss leaders, or items that retailers may sell at a loss to entice consumers to the store.
• On eggs, Mr. Trump is correct that the wholesale price of eggs had fallen from more than $8 a dozen in late February to $1.45 last week, a decline of more than 80 percent. The retail price of eggs declined less sharply, about 44 percent, from March to September, the month with the most recent data available. Mr. Trump was also wrong that “everything else is falling rapidly.” In fact, the Consumer Price Index rose by 3 percent in September….