Fact check: what PolitiFact and FactCheck.org found in US leaders' claims

PolitiFact and FactCheck.org, two of the main US fact-checking organisations, regularly review statements by American officials. This roundup collects 23 of their checks from 2025 and 2026 on claims made by President Donald Trump, members of his administration and congressional leaders, and on viral posts about US politics. They are grouped by topic, with each claim, the verdict and the organisation that issued it.

PolitiFact rates claims on a scale from True to False, with "Pants on Fire" as its lowest rating. FactCheck.org publishes written findings rather than ratings; where it is the checker, this article reports its finding.

Tariffs, prices and the economy

"We're taking in almost $2 billion a day in tariffs." Donald Trump, April 2025. PolitiFact: False. The Treasury's daily statement for 8 April 2025 showed $192 million in customs duties and certain excise taxes. The Tax Foundation estimated about $800 million a day as of 10 April. PolitiFact said the $2 billion figure only works if trade volumes do not fall despite the higher tariffs.

"Tariffs are a tax cut for the American people." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, March 2025. PolitiFact: False. Surveys of American Economic Association members found 94% to 95% agree that tariffs reduce general economic welfare, because importers and consumers pay them. PolitiFact noted federal spending was $6.4 trillion in fiscal 2024 against $3.3 trillion in imports, so even a 100% tariff could not replace income taxes.

Trump's tax and spending bill "does not add to the deficit." Karoline Leavitt, May 2025. PolitiFact: False. Independent estimates projected the bill would raise deficits by roughly $3 trillion to $4 trillion over 10 years, including $3.2 trillion from the Penn Wharton Budget Model and $3.3 trillion from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. PolitiFact said her $1.6 trillion savings figure counted spending cuts but left out about $3.8 trillion in lost tax revenue.

On food aid in the same bill: "We are not cutting" SNAP. House Speaker Mike Johnson, May 2025. PolitiFact: False. The Congressional Budget Office estimated $285.7 billion in reductions to SNAP spending from 2025 to 2034 and projected that expanded work requirements would remove about 3.2 million people from benefits in a typical month.

The Biden administration and the Agriculture Department "directed the mass killing of more than 100 million chickens." Karoline Leavitt, January 2025, on the egg shortage. PolitiFact: Half True. USDA data show about 108 million egg-laying hens died from bird flu or culling since 2022. But culling infected flocks was also USDA policy during Trump's first term and in the 2015 outbreak, so the policy was not specific to Biden.

Prices are "all coming down now. The food, the groceries, it's all coming down." Donald Trump, August 2026. PolitiFact: Mostly False. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show overall prices up about 4.3% and grocery prices up 3.4% since January 2025, with gasoline up 34% and electricity up 8%. Annual inflation reached 3.5% in June 2026.

On gasoline: "You're still paying lower than (under) Biden and Obama." Donald Trump, October 2026. PolitiFact: Half True. At a national average of $4.42 a gallon, prices were higher than at any point under Obama, when they never topped $4.17. Measured as a share of household income, however, gasoline was more affordable than in most Obama and Biden years.

"We had about 20% of American refining capacity that went offline." Vice President JD Vance, October 2026, blaming the Biden era for high fuel prices. PolitiFact: False. The 20% figure applies to California's gasoline refining capacity, not the national total, and national refinery use stayed relatively stable under both Biden and Trump. PolitiFact identified the war with Iran that began on 28 February 2026 as the main driver of higher prices.

His roughly $3 billion rise in net worth came from stocks: "You should have had stock." Donald Trump, November 2026, in a "60 Minutes" interview. PolitiFact: Mostly False; FactCheck.org also reviewed the interview. Trump's financial disclosures attribute about $1.4 billion of the gain to cryptocurrency ventures and about $400 million to other businesses. Forbes estimated a 14% rise in the S&P 500 would have added only about $6 million to his stock holdings.

On Venezuelan oil: "We're making hundreds of billions of dollars, and so are they." Donald Trump, August 2026. PolitiFact: False. The most credible estimate of oil revenue since the United States took control of Venezuela's oil industry in January 2026 is about $13 billion, PolitiFact found. Venezuela's entire economy is about $111 billion according to the IMF.

Crime and immigration

"Now we haven't had a murder in a long time," speaking of Washington, D.C. Donald Trump, November 2026. FactCheck.org: false. City data showed nine homicides in the 30 days before 10 November 2026 and 88 so far that year. Homicides were down 26% from the same period of 2025, a real decline but not an absence of murders.

"Zero people came in through our southern border" in the last 17 months. Donald Trump, November 2026. FactCheck.org: false. Border Patrol still apprehends roughly 5,000 to 10,000 people a month trying to cross illegally, and Customs and Border Protection has acknowledged thousands who evaded capture. Crossings have fallen sharply, but not to zero.

"There's no American citizens have been arrested or detained." Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, October 2025, in Gary, Indiana. PolitiFact: Pants on Fire. Lawsuits, news reports and DHS statements contradicted it, and ProPublica documented 170 cases of US citizens detained by immigration agents nationwide.

"We have 1.6 million illegal aliens that have gone home voluntarily." Kristi Noem, August 2025. PolitiFact: Half True. The figure comes from a Center for Immigration Studies estimate of a 1.6 million drop in the unauthorised population over six months, which also counts people who were deported, died or changed legal status. The survey behind it has a margin of error of about 830,000.

"We flooded the country with 30 million illegal immigrants," blamed for high housing costs. JD Vance, November 2025. PolitiFact: Mostly False. Estimates put the unauthorised immigrant population at 12 million to 14 million as of 2023, less than half his figure. Experts point mainly to a shortage of about 4.7 million homes and to higher interest rates.

"Democrats want hospitals (to be) paid MORE to treat illegal aliens than American citizens." Mike Johnson, October 2025, during the government shutdown. PolitiFact: False. The Democratic proposal would restore federal emergency care funding to its previous level, not pay hospitals more for undocumented patients. Undocumented immigrants are not eligible for regular Medicaid.

Elections

US cities such as Detroit and Philadelphia "will often take weeks to Rig, I mean, calculate" results. Donald Trump, October 2026, contrasting them with Brazil's fast count. PolitiFact: Pants on Fire. Brazil runs a single national system with uniform voting machines and no mail voting, while US states set their own mail ballot deadlines and certification rules. Counting speed is not evidence of fraud.

The government "identified approximately 278,000 noncitizens who are registered to vote in federal elections." Donald Trump, July 2026. FactCheck.org: unsupported. DHS has not published its methodology, and experts say the figure is likely highly inaccurate. About 28,000 of the cases came from a verification tool that has previously flagged US citizens. Neither Trump nor DHS said any of these people voted.

Ohio Democratic candidate Amy Acton "is trying to double your state income tax." Donald Trump, October 2026. PolitiFact: False. The claim rests on a rival campaign's estimate that includes costs Acton has not proposed, such as universal childcare. Her campaign said she would not raise income taxes.

Foreign policy

"I stated, numerous times, that it would take 4-6 weeks to get rid of THE IRAN NUCLEAR THREAT, and I did it in one night!" Donald Trump, October 2026. PolitiFact: False. In March 2026 Trump described the timeline as the length of the overall war, not a separate nuclear goal. Experts said the strikes set back Iran's nuclear programme without eliminating it.

Viral fakes about US politics

A video showing Trump being taken to Walter Reed hospital. Facebook posts, April 2026. PolitiFact: False. The video was generated by artificial intelligence. Walter Reed said its signs did not match the footage, and Google's SynthID detector found an AI watermark.

"Leaked Donald Trump audio about the Epstein files and Venezuela." Facebook posts, January 2026. PolitiFact: False. The opening of the clip matches a TikTok video carrying an OpenAI Sora watermark. The rest is authentic November 2025 footage of Trump explaining his hoarse voice.

Rep. Maxine Waters "calls for the United States to grant citizenship to every undocumented protester in Los Angeles." Facebook posts, June 2025. PolitiFact: False. In her full remarks on 8 June 2025 Waters spoke about considering citizenship for immigrants generally, not for every protester.

Elsewhere in the region

Fact-checking in Southeast Asia follows different models. In the Philippines, independent groups such as VERA Files and Rappler issue checks. In Singapore, corrections often come from the government itself under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA), so the checker is also a party to the dispute.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. urged Filipinos to bathe once a week because of an expected Super El Nino. Facebook quote cards, November 2026. VERA Files: False. The quote card was made with AI. Marcos urged households to collect rainwater, but said nothing about bathing.

The Supreme Court dismissed the impeachment case against Vice President Sara Duterte. Facebook page, September 2026. VERA Files: False. No dismissal appeared in court or Senate records, and the trial had run 31 session days as of 29 September. The trial remains pending.

Photos show Sara Duterte visiting a Moro Islamic Liberation Front camp. Social media posts, September 2026. Rappler: False. Detection tools flagged both images as likely AI generated, and regional police said she had not visited the area recently.

The government inflates land and housing prices to grow national reserves. Reform Party leader Kenneth Jeyaretnam, March 2025. Singapore government (POFMA correction): False. The government said state land is sold at fair market value set by the Chief Valuer and that new flats are priced at a significant discount to resale flats. It was his ninth correction direction since July 2023.

How to read these checks

A rating applies to a specific statement at a specific time, not to the speaker as a whole. Several claims above contain an accurate element, such as the real fall in homicides in Washington or in border crossings, attached to an overstated conclusion. Readers can look up the officials named here in our officials directory.