Donald Trump repeatedly made false and misleading claims during his inaugural address.
Here are the facts on some of the false claims offered during Trump’s speech.
Trump claims on the Panama Canal
The claim: Trump pledged to take back the Panama Canal, while repeating a number of false claims including that 38,000 Americans died during the building of the canal. He also claimed that “China is operating” the canal.
The facts: The official death toll for the American construction effort behind the Panama Canal stands at about 5,600 people. Although the true number may be higher, the majority of deaths would have come from workers from Caribbean islands such as Antigua, Barbados and Jamaica.
The administrator of the Panama Canal has also denied Trump’s claim that China was controlling the canal’s operations. He has said that Chinese companies operating in the ports were part of a Hong Kong consortium that won a bidding process in 1997, and US and Taiwanese companies are operating other ports along the canal as well.
Trump claims inflation caused by ‘massive overspending’
The claim: Trump claimed that the US experienced “record inflation” that he said was caused by “massive overspending and escalating energy prices”.
The facts: US inflation peaked at a four-decade high in summer 2022, when it was 9.1%. But the highest inflation rate in the country was 23.7% in June 1920.
The most recent data shows that as of December inflation had fallen to 2.9%.
Trump claims US outspends on healthcare globally
The claim: Trump said the US spends more money on healthcare than any other country in the world.
The facts: Trump is correct. The US does spend more on healthcare per capita, almost twice the average of other wealthy countries.
Trump claims the US can’t respond to climate emergencies
The claim: Trump said the US can no longer deliver basic services in times of emergency, citing the wildfires in California and flooding in North Carolina.
The facts: Trump has repeatedly spread incorrect claims about both of these events. He and other fellow Republicans boosted false claims about the recovery effort in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, including that the US government can influence the weather to theories that crucial aid was being withheld, prompting some government officials to warn of threats to federal emergency workers.
Trump, during the wildfires in California, called on the Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, to “release the water” from northern parts of the state, despite the state’s water experts saying water supply was not an issue, but rather generators to pump the water.
Trump claims the US has shielded ‘dangerous criminals’
The claim: Trump said the US has provided sanctuary and protection for “dangerous criminals”, many of who he says come from “prisons and mental institutions” and illegally entered the US.
The facts: Trump has made these claims many times before, without offering any evidence. Although some US cities have seen an influx of immigrants, most have arrived legally, with work permits or with authorization to stay while their cases are worked out in the courts.
Overall, immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than the US-born, according to multiple studies, including from the conservative Cato Institute.
