Our first quarterly update of various economic and social indicators under Trump’s second term as president.
Trump’s Numbers, April 2026 Update
Issues: trade deficit
A Pre-SOTU Guide to Trump’s Economic Claims
In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has made a series of claims about the economy, a topic that should feature prominently in his State of the Union address to Congress on Feb. 24.
Trump’s Selective Comparison Overstates Trade Deficit Decline
Through President Donald Trump’s first full 10 months in office, the cumulative U.S. trade deficit in goods and services was down 3.9% from the same period in 2024. His claim that he has “slashed our trade deficit by 77%” appears to compare the monthly trade deficit in January 2025 to the deficit nine months later in October.
Trump’s Tariffs Don’t Come Close to Funding Everything He’s Proposed
President Donald Trump has said over the last year that money brought in from his increased tariffs would pay for at least half a dozen initiatives — from reducing the national debt to providing dividend checks to “moderate income patriots” — but the revenue raised so far can’t deliver all of them.
Trump’s Numbers, Second Term
At the one-year mark of Trump’s second term, we launch our “numbers” series, providing various statistical measures of his presidency thus far.
Biden’s Final Numbers
Statistical indicators of President Biden’s four years in office.
Recapping Trump’s Deceptive Tariff Claims
After months of delay, higher tariffs that President Donald Trump had vowed to impose on goods imported from dozens of countries went into effect on Aug. 7. Trump has made a series of false and misleading statements to justify his new tariff policies. Here is a recap of some of his claims that we have fact-checked.
Trump Exaggerates Trade Deficit with Switzerland by Ignoring Surplus in Services
President Donald Trump has cited a $40 billion trade deficit with Switzerland to justify a new, high tariff on imported Swiss goods. But his figure ignores trade in services. The overall goods-and-services deficit is less than $9 billion.
Trump’s Misleading Justification for Higher Tariffs on Imports of EU Goods
The United States and the European Union have reached a preliminary trade deal to avoid a 30% U.S. tariff on imported goods from the EU that President Donald Trump threatened would go into effect on Aug. 1. Trump had argued that higher tariffs were needed because EU tariffs and nontariff policies “cause the large and unsustainable trade deficits” between the U.S. and the EU, but economists disputed that statement.
Trump’s 100th Day Spin
To commemorate his first 100 days in office this term, President Donald Trump gave a speech in Michigan and granted interviews to several news outlets. In our review of his remarks, we found false and misleading claims, including quite a few Trump has made before.