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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Assessing Trump’s Claims on Iran’s Nuclear and Missile Capabilities

Assessing Trump’s Claims on Iran’s Nuclear and Missile Capabilities

In discussing his reasoning for launching U.S. airstrikes on Iran, President Donald Trump said, “An Iranian regime armed with long-range missiles and nuclear weapons would be a dire threat to every American.” But arms control experts have disputed his claim that Iran “soon” could have missiles capable of reaching the U.S., and they say there’s a lack of evidence that the country “attempted to rebuild” nuclear enrichment facilities damaged by U.S. strikes last year.

Legality of Latest Iran Attack in Question

Legality of Latest Iran Attack in Question

Many Democrats have claimed that President Donald Trump didn’t have the legal authority to unilaterally order the Feb. 28 joint military airstrikes with Israel that resulted in the death of the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. We’ll review what experts already told us in similar past cases.

FactChecking Trump’s State of the Union Address

FactChecking Trump’s State of the Union Address

In the first State of the Union address of his second term, President Donald Trump proclaimed that “our nation is back, bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before.” But our review of his speech found that he distorted a number of facts about the state of the economy, health care, immigration and other topics.

A Pre-SOTU Guide to Trump’s Economic Claims

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 Misleads on Drug Pricing Deals

Trump Misleads on Drug Pricing Deals

President Donald Trump has said that Americans are now paying or will pay “the lowest price anywhere in the world for drugs,” thanks to the administration’s negotiations with pharmaceutical companies. The administration has announced discounted cash prices for a small number of brand-name drugs. There isn’t evidence Trump’s deals so far have led to broad decreases in drug prices, nor is it certain they will in the future.

Trump and Musk Amplify Long-Ago Debunked Mail-In Vote Fraud Claim

Trump and Musk Amplify Long-Ago Debunked  Mail-In Vote Fraud Claim

A social media post cited by Elon Musk to bolster his argument that mail-in voting should be curtailed, and which was subsequently amplified by President Donald Trump, makes the false and long-ago debunked claim that in the 2020 election, “Pennsylvania sent out 1,823,148 mail-in ballots but received back around 2.5 MILLION mail-in ballots.”

Trump Oversells Recent U.S. Economic Growth

Trump Oversells Recent U.S. Economic Growth

In the second and third quarters of 2025, the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in two years. Those growth rates were not “numbers unheard of,” or figures the U.S. “never had” before, as President Donald Trump has claimed.

Manufacturing Construction Spending Declines Under Trump

Manufacturing Construction Spending Declines Under Trump

Spending to build, expand and rehabilitate manufacturing sites in the U.S. has declined since President Donald Trump took office, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Yet, Trump has repeatedly boasted that “factory construction” is up 41%.

Trump’s Immediate Speculation on Shootings Bucks Presidential Norms

Trump’s Immediate Speculation on Shootings Bucks Presidential Norms

President Donald Trump wasted no time in responding to the deaths of two U.S. citizens last month during protests against an immigration crackdown in Minneapolis. Trump and other top administration officials made inaccurate or unsupported statements within hours of the incidents, a departure from how previous presidents responded in similar situations, experts told us.

Trump’s Selective Comparison Overstates Trade Deficit Decline

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.