On February 24, 2026, President Donald Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in U.S. history, speaking to a joint session of Congress for an unprecedented 1 hour and 48 minutes. The address — part policy speech, part campaign rally — covered topics including the economy, immigration, crime, foreign policy, social programs, and Trump’s legislative proposals. While the speech was historic in length, many of the claims the president made were widely challenged by independent fact-checkers for inaccuracies, exaggeration, or misleading framing.
Record-Setting Length
Trump’s 2026 address officially lasted nearly 108 minutes, surpassing former President Bill Clinton’s 2000 State of the Union — previously the longest at about 88 minutes — and easily topping Trump’s own previous lengthy speech to Congress in 2025. The address included not just Trump’s remarks but also frequent interruptions such as applause and heckling from members of Congress.
Economy: Bold Claims, Mixed Reality
A central focus of Trump’s address was the state of the U.S. economy. He repeatedly framed the economy as stronger and improving under his leadership, but several of his key assertions were found to be misleading or overstated:
Inflation and prices
Trump said inflation was “plummeting” and that gas prices had fallen significantly. While inflation did decrease somewhat compared to when he took office, economists and fact-checkers stressed that the decline was modest and part of a longer trend that began before his presidency. Gasoline prices also remained higher than Trump suggested, with national averages well above his claimed figures.
Jobs and employment
Trump claimed that more Americans are working “than at any time in history.” While employment numbers have reached new high totals, this is influenced by natural population growth and long-term trends; job growth rates under Trump’s second term lagged some recent years, and the employment-to-population ratio did not rise significantly.
Investment claims
The president touted securing $18 trillion in global investment commitments, but reporters and fact-checkers noted that much of this figure was based on announced pledges and memoranda of understanding — not actual realized investments. Publicly available data showed a smaller total of confirmed investment projects.
Crime and Public Safety
Trump highlighted major declines in violent crime, particularly murder rates. There was agreement among some analysts that the murder rate did drop significantly in 2025 and that the decline could be one of the largest year-over-year drops on record. However, whether it represented the lowest murder rate in 125 years — as Trump claimed — was uncertain and difficult to verify due to inconsistent historical crime data.
Immigration: Exaggerated Statements
Immigration was another repeated theme. Trump framed border security as a success and made assertions about reductions in illegal crossings and drug flows. Yet key claims — such as dramatic decreases in illegal immigration or fentanyl trafficking — were not fully supported by publicly available Border Patrol or federal data. In some cases, Trump’s language suggested “zero” illegal entries, a point fact-checked as false given ongoing migrant encounters at the border.
On immigration enforcement, Trump referenced violent crimes he blamed on immigration. At least one such example cited did not involve an immigrant, and fact-checkers noted the president’s statements often conflated unrelated issues.
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