Trump Makes Inaccurate Claims at the State of the Union

*By R.J. Melby *

*Writer/Reporter *

“My fellow Americans, our nation is back, bigger, better, richer, and stronger than ever before…”

This was the opening of President Donald Trump’s state of the union address, which took place February 24th of this year. This proceeds after the end of the Milano Cortino 2026 Winter Olympics.

During his speech, Trump made many bold claims on his administration’s progress with border control and lowering inflation, saying that “This country is winning again. In fact, we’re winning so much that we really don’t know what to do about it. People are asking me ‘Please! Mr. President, we’re winning too much!’”

And to prove how much the country is supposedly winning, Trump brought in the Men’s Olympic Gold Medalist Hockey Team. A deafening roar followed, with chants of “USA! USA!”

This chant continued as Trump talked about his administration’s progress with border control, claiming it as “now the strongest in our history.”

Trump continued to divide his audience, requesting that “If you agree with this statement, then stand up and show your support: The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.” Half of the room cheered while the other half remained seated.

Trump shook his head at those seated, smirking and telling them, “You should be ashamed of yourselves!” He also demanded those seated to “End deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious penalties for public officials who block the removal of criminal aliens.” This was met with shouts of “You’re the murderer!”

After Trump’s first year of presidency, we in Minnesota have experienced the brunt of the Trump administration’s border control efforts, mainly with ICE’s presence and the subsequent deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. It is worth noting that, while inflation has indeed decreased in 2026 according to USA Facts (citing the Bureau of Economic Analysis), it has done so by only an average of 0.2%.

Contrary to Trump’s claims, America is far from winning. According to The Economist, a majority of Americans disapprove of the president and his policies, and the disapproval numbers are still growing. Since the president deployed ICE, Americans are scared to leave their homes. And now, with Trump provoking war with Iran, it becomes increasingly difficult to understand the president’s end goals. This, with the public’s growing frustration with congress’s failure to stop the president, makes it hard to justify that America is winning.