UJ
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President Donald Trump continues to make false statements, not only about the 2020 election he lost but also regarding the 2024 election he claims to have won.
In a speech delivered on Saturday at the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump admitted he secured 77 million votes in 2024; however, he inaccurately asserted that his total was “actually much more than that,” alleging that unspecified individuals “cheated like hell.”
This assertion has no factual basis. Trump’s reported vote amount stands as his real total, and there are no indications of failed cheating attempts by vote counters or his Democratic rivals.
This claim comes less than two weeks after Trump unfoundedly questioned the vote count legitimacy of his 2024 opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris, who garnered over 75 million votes.
At CPAC, Trump made numerous other false statements, many of which have been previously debunked. Below is a fact-check of some of these claims.
Biden and Hostages in Gaza: Trump praised the release of six hostages by Hamas from Gaza, stating, “We got six more back.” However, he then wrongly claimed, “Biden got none back, by the way, just so you understand: none, zero.”
Setting aside the debate over who deserves credit for the current ceasefire-for-hostages agreement—the Biden administration or the incoming Trump administration—it’s a fact that 105 hostages were released by Hamas during a brief truce brokered in part by Biden’s administration about a year prior to Trump’s electoral win.
Trump’s Poll Numbers: Trump reiterated a false statement from Friday, claiming his “poll numbers” are the highest “that any Republican president has ever had.” He did not clarify which numbers he was referring to, but recent significant polls show his approval rating in the 40s and 50s, far from the best ever recorded for a Republican president. For example, George W. Bush reached 92% approval shortly after the September 11 attacks in 2001, while George H.W. Bush hit 89% following the Gulf War in 1991; Ronald Reagan, Gerald Ford, and Dwight Eisenhower all had peaks ranging from the high 60s to the high 70s, per data from the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research at Cornell University.
US Aid to Ukraine vs. European Aid to Ukraine: Trump repeated a misleading claim he has made previously, saying that Europe has provided Ukraine only $100 billion in aid while the United States has given $350 billion. He attributed this discrepancy to “a stupid, incompetent president and administration.”
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German organization that closely monitors wartime assistance to Ukraine, the European Union and individual European nations had committed a higher total of wartime military, financial, and humanitarian aid to Ukraine through December (approximately $258 billion) compared to the US’s approximately $124 billion. Europe also provided more military, financial, and humanitarian aid (around $138 billion) than the US’s allocated total of about $119 billion.
While the US held a slight edge in one specific category (military aid), contributing about $67 billion compared to Europe’s roughly $65 billion, this was nowhere near the significant disparity Trump described.
The Prevalence of Autism 15 Years Ago: Trump again exaggerated the rise in autism prevalence over the last two decades, accurately stating it is currently 1 in 36 children, but incorrectly claiming that 15 years ago, it was around 1 in 10,000 or 1 in 20,000. Actual statistics from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that in 2010, the prevalence was 1 in 68 children, which is significantly lower than Trump’s figures.
Panama Canal Deaths: Trump reiterated his false claim that “38,000 people died, from our country, building the Panama Canal.” This number is far from accurate, as experts on the canal’s construction indicate. Historical records, while imprecise, estimate about 5,600 deaths during the canal’s American construction phase from 1903 to 1914, the majority of whom were Afro-Caribbean workers from the Caribbean islands like Barbados and Jamaica, as stated by Julie Greene, a history professor at the University of Maryland and author of “The Canal Builders: Making America’s Empire at the Panama Canal.” The late historian David McCullough, who also wrote a book on the canal’s history, found that only about 350 of those who died were white Americans.
Iran and Terror Groups: Trump repeated his incorrect assertion that during his first presidency, Iran allocated no funding to terrorist organizations such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories, claiming “they had no money for Hamas or Hezbollah; everybody knows that.” While funding for terror groups did decline during the latter part of his presidency largely due to his sanctions’ adverse effects on the Iranian economy, it never completely ceased as four experts informed UJ in 2024. Additionally, Trump’s own administration acknowledged in 2020 that Iran continued to fund terrorist groups including Hezbollah. A more detailed fact check can be found here.
The US Trade Deficit with China: Trump reiterated his false claim that under Biden, the US trade deficit with China exceeded $1 trillion last year. The most recent full-year figure for the goods and services deficit with China in 2023 was roughly $252 billion, which is lower than any year during Trump’s presidency. While the goods and services deficit for 2024, set to be released in March, might be marginally higher than the 2023 number, initial goods-only trade data suggests it will not even approach $1 trillion.
Harris’ Role at the Border: Trump continued his incorrect assertion that Harris served as the Biden administration’s “border czar.” This labeling was not accurate as the Biden administration consistently clarified that Harris was never responsible for border security. Harris was assigned a more limited immigration-focussed role in 2021, leading diplomatic efforts with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras to address the factors driving migration toward the US.
Biden and Electric Vehicles: Trump repeated his false claim that Biden set a mandate “where everybody has to have an electric car.” Although Biden indeed leaned toward legislation and regulations promoting reduced emissions and the adoption of electric vehicles, there was never a mandate requiring American consumers to purchase electric cars. The tailpipe regulations laid out by the Biden administration in 2024 aimed for electric vehicles to comprise 35% to 56% of new vehicles sold by 2032.
Tariffs and Wealth: Advocating for tariffs on foreign imports, Trump reiterated his false assertion that the “richest” period for the US was during the high-tariff era from 1870 to 1913. Today, the US is significantly wealthier than it was back then, with per capita gross domestic product many times higher.
