Washington DC, March 5, 2025
President Trump delivered an address to a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol Tuesday night, six weeks into his second term. Since his inauguration, he has worked briskly to try to radically reshape the government and signed dozens of executive orders, many upending policies created by former President Biden. Trump is took stock of what he’s done so far and laid out his vision for the economy, immigration and foreign affairs.
Reporters from across NPR’s newsroom fact-checked the address and offered context as the speech unfolded.
By topic:
- Immigration
- Inflation
- Energy
- Culture
- Spending and tax cuts
- Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
- Trade and tariffs
- Climate
- Foreign policy
Here are a few highlights:
Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)
Social Security fraud
TRUMP: “We’re also identifying shocking levels of incompetence and probable fraud in the Social Security program that our seniors and that our seniors, people that we love rely on, believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members, people aged 100 to 109 years old.”
Trump and his adviser Elon Musk have both claimed, without evidence, that there is rampant fraud in the Social Security system. In his remarks, Trump asserted that government databases list millions of people aged well over 100 years old, including 1.3 million people between 150 to 159 years old and over 130,000 people aged over 160.
But a 2023 report from the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General said that there were nearly 19 million Social Security number-holders aged 100-plus who didn’t have information about their deaths in the system and that “almost none of the 18.9 million number-holders currently receive SSA payments.”
The SSA’s acting commissioner, Leland Dudek, has also knocked down these claims.
— Shannon Bond, Power and Influence Correspondent
Trade and tariffs
Reciprocation for trade deficits
TRUMP: “Whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them. That’s reciprocal, back and forth. Whatever they tax us, we tax them. If they do non-monetary tariffs to keep us out of their market, then we will do non-monetary barriers to keep them out of our market. There’s a lot of that too. They don’t even allow us in their market. We will take in trillions of dollars and create jobs like we have never seen before.”
Earlier today, President Trump imposed stiff new tariffs on imports from Mexico and Canada, two of the United States’ biggest trading partners. Most imported goods from those countries now face a 25% tax, although energy imports from Canada are being taxed at a lower rate of 10%. The president also added an additional 10% tariff today on all imports from China, on top of the 10% tax he imposed last month. While Trump insists these tariffs are paid by foreign companies, most of the cost is borne by businesses and individuals in the United States.
Canada and China have already retaliated with tariffs of their own on U.S. exports, and Mexico has vowed to do the same in the coming days. Many exporters suffered from the trade wars during Trump’s first term in the White House — especially farmers and manufacturers. Trump is also considering additional tariffs on steel, aluminum imports and other products.
— Scott Horsley, Chief Economics Correspondent
Climate
Climate change
TRUMP: “I terminated the ridiculous Green New Scam.”
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order “terminating the Green New Deal.” There is no Green New Deal that has been enacted by the U.S. government. The broad slogan encompasses an array of climate policy proposals advocated for by some Democratic lawmakers and progressive activists.
Under Trump’s executive order, the administration froze grant payments for a broad array of climate and environmental projects under the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Those laws were signed by former President Joe Biden and authorize hundreds of billions of dollars aimed at protecting the environment and spurring investment in clean energy and new infrastructure. Republican-led states have been big beneficiaries of that spending. Federal judges have ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze the funding.
— Michael Copley, Climate Correspondent
Foreign Policy
Ukraine aid
TRUMP: “The United States has sent hundreds of billions of dollars to support Ukraine’s defense.”
The most widely used tracker of Ukraine aid shows the U.S. has provided $114 billion since the full-scale Russian invasion three years ago — though Trump often talks about $350 billion. It is not clear where he gets that figure. Over half of the aid the U.S. has provided is military aid, while the rest is financial and humanitarian. Additionally, Europe collectively has provided $132 billion.
— Greg Myre, National Security Correspondent
Source – NPR