Project 2025 and President Donald Trump are largely in sync on immigration. As part of our series, we examine some of the many actions that Trump has taken that were proposed in the conservative document.
Trump, Project 2025 and Immigration
Locations: International
Trump on EU and Japan Investments in the U.S.
In early August, President Donald Trump claimed that a trade deal he negotiated with the European Union in July came with hundreds of billions of dollars that the U.S. can use for “anything we want.” But that’s not how the terms were described in a joint statement with the EU on Aug. 21.
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.
RFK Jr., HHS Wrong About WHO Power Under Updated Global Health Regulations
In justifying the United States’ rejection of updates to global health regulations, the Department of Health and Human Services and Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. falsely claimed that the policy would give the World Health Organization the ability to “order global lockdowns” or “travel restrictions” in response to a pandemic. Experts told us that is “entirely untrue” and “clearly” incorrect.
Trump Exaggerates Tariff Revenue
Treasury Department data show that revenue from tariffs on imported foreign goods increased substantially in April and May, setting monthly records. But the total is less than half the figure President Donald Trump has cited. At least twice this month, the president has wrongly claimed that the U.S. “brought in $88 billion” from tariffs in “two months.”
Trump Video Doesn’t Show ‘Burial Sites’ in South Africa
In a salient moment with the leader of South Africa, President Donald Trump played a video that he said showed “burial sites” for a thousand white farmers — the victims of what he has called a genocide — along a roadside in South Africa. It actually showed a 2020 demonstration bringing attention to the issue of violence against farmers of all races in South Africa.
Trump’s Growing Exaggeration of U.S. Investments
President Trump has repeatedly touted the value of announced financial investments in the U.S. and taken credit for attracting them. He started out citing $3 trillion in investments and, four months later, was claiming totals of more than $10 trillion. It’s unclear where, exactly, he’s getting these totals. But they appear to be an exaggeration of pledges to invest made by various companies and countries.
Due Process and the Abrego Garcia Case
The Supreme Court ruled on the evening of April 10 that the Trump administration must comply with a lower court’s order to “facilitate” the release from custody of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, an immigrant who was deported without a hearing to a mega prison in El Salvador. The case underscores the issue of due process and what legal protections are afforded to noncitizens.
Trump Uses Questionable Figure for U.S. ‘Plants and Factories’ Lost Since NAFTA
When President Donald Trump has talked about the need for higher tariffs on imports of foreign goods because of a decline in American manufacturing, he has often made the claim that “90,000 plants and factories” in the U.S. closed after the North American Free Trade Agreement took effect in 1994. But that figure is questionable, and experts say other factors, such as automation, had more to do with the large decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs than trade.
Independent Analyses Contradict Navarro’s $6 Trillion-Plus Tariff Revenue Estimate
Before President Donald Trump paused some new tariffs that he unveiled on April 2, several economic groups estimated that tariffs he has announced this year could raise between roughly $2 trillion and more than $4 trillion in federal revenue over a 10-year period. But that’s well short of the $6 trillion or $7 trillion that White House trade adviser Peter Navarro claimed the tariffs would raise to help pay for tax cuts, including an extension of the 2017 tax law.