In a speech delivered to the Detroit Economic Club on Tuesday, former President Donald Trump made a series of verifiably false statements regarding the state of the U.S. economy, inflation, and international trade, according to a detailed fact-check by CNN's Daniel Dale.
Inflation and Consumer Price Claims Debunked
During his more than hour-long address, Trump asserted that inflation had been "stopped" and that consumer prices had gone "down" during his administration. He specifically claimed grocery costs were starting to fall "rapidly." CNN's fact-checker Daniel Dale presented concrete data contradicting these statements.
Dale cited the Consumer Price Index report released just hours before Trump's speech, which showed average consumer prices were 2.7% higher in December compared to a year ago. He also noted that from January to December 2024, average prices actually rose by 2.2%, directly countering the claim of an overall decline.
Regarding groceries, the data revealed a spike of 0.7% from November to December—the fastest month-to-month increase in over three years. Prices in December were 2.4% higher than in the same month of the previous year.
Impossible Promises on Drug Prices and Tariffs
Trump further claimed his administration was slashing prescription drug costs "by 300, 400, 500 and even 600% and more," suggesting they would come down "thousands of percents." Dale pointed out the mathematical impossibility of such statements.
"If the president magically got drug companies to reduce the prices of all their drugs to $0, that would be a 100% cut," Dale explained. A reduction exceeding 100% would imply Americans would be paid to acquire medications, which is not happening.
On international trade, Trump repeated the falsehood that China pays the tariffs imposed on its imports to the U.S., even stating China is "one of our biggest taxpayers right now." Economic consensus holds that these costs are primarily borne by American importers and consumers, not the exporting country.
Additional Falsehoods on Elections and Immigration
Dale reported that Trump strayed from his teleprompter to make incorrect claims on other subjects. He falsely stated he "won" Michigan in the 2020 election, a state actually won by President Joe Biden.
Trump also accused his predecessor of "letting in 25 million people" as migrants. Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection tallied under 11 million "encounters" during that period, a figure that includes both apprehensions and expulsions and does not equate to individuals entering or staying in the country.
Dale's full analysis, which methodically dismantles these and other claims from the Detroit event, is available on CNN's platform.
