Scripps News fact-checks President Trump's State of the Union address
Scripps News fact-checks President Trump's State of the Union address
Wed, February 25, 2026 at 2:36 AM UTC
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President Donald Trump enters to deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (Kenny Holston/New York Times via AP, Pool)
U.S. President Donald Trump is delivering his first State of the Union address of his second term Tuesday night, where he is expected to celebrate the upcoming 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding and argue that the country remains in strong shape.
A team of Scripps News journalists is monitoring for any claims that may be false, misleading, or require additional context to help viewers better understand the facts behind the rhetoric. Here's what we found:
CLAIM: President Biden's administration created the worst inflation in U.S. history.
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Inflation during President Biden’s administration reached a 40-year high in June 2022 at 9.1% year-over-year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, this was not the worst inflation in U.S. history — inflation in the late 1970s and early 1980s was higher, peaking at 13.5% in 1980, according to BLS historical data. Economists note that pandemic-related supply chain disruptions, increased consumer demand, and global energy market shocks contributed to the spike.
CLAIM: The Trump administration "ended DEI in America."
President Trump issued an executive order eliminating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs in the federal government and banning federal contractors from implementing DEI training. However, this applies only to federal agencies and contractors, and does not affect state governments, private companies, universities, or nonprofits that choose to maintain DEI initiatives. On Friday, a federal judge also largely blocked sweeping executive orders seeking to end federal support for DEI programs.
CLAIM: More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country.
According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the U.S. employment level in December was at 163.992 million and there were 8.966 million people working multiple jobs in the U.S. This means that multiple jobholders now account for 5.5% of civilian employment. For context in terms of jobs added, the U.S. economy added just 181,000 jobs in all of 2025 — far below the 1.5 million the U.S. has averaged annually for the last ten years.
CLAIM: The flow of fentanyl is down 56%
Seizures of fentanyl by U.S. Customs and Border Protection has dropped by about half over the past year when compared to former President Joe Biden's last year in office, according to PolitiFact. However, fentanyl seizures don't represent how many drugs are being sent to the U.S. or how many of those are making it across the border.
Source: “AOL Breaking”
