President Trump’s first year back in office was marked by frequent, repeated false or misleading claims across economics, foreign policy and public safety. This analysis highlights 25 prominent examples from 2025 — from inflated investment figures and impossible drug-price reductions to false narratives about Ukraine, migration and vaccines. Many claims were contradicted by public records, independent data or video evidence.
Analysis: Donald Trump’s Top 25 Falsehoods of 2025 — A Year of Repetition and Exaggeration
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House on April 29. - Andrew Harnik/Getty Images/File
President Donald Trump’s first calendar year back in the White House produced an almost uninterrupted stream of misleading and demonstrably false statements. In 2025 the variety of his fabrications narrowed into a set of repeatable talking points, but their frequency remained relentless.
Why This Matters
Repeated falsehoods from a sitting president shape public debate, influence policy decisions and can erode trust in institutions. Below is a clarified and reorganized account of 25 of the most prominent false or misleading claims Trump made in 2025, chosen for their frequency, potential consequence and distance from verifiable facts.
Lie: Trump Secured $17 Trillion Or $18 Trillion In Investment In 2025
Trump repeatedly asserted he had attracted "$17 trillion" (later "$18 trillion") in investments in his first year back. The White House website at one point cited $8.8 trillion — a number that many analysts said was overstated — and public, verifiable totals remained below $10 trillion. Trump amplified a disputed figure despite the public record.
Lie: "Every Price Is Down"
Trump claimed there was "no inflation" and that "every price is down," including groceries. Data and consumer experience contradicted those blanket assertions: many goods and services rose in price, and polls showed most Americans did not accept his characterization.
Vehicles line a shipping terminal at the Port of Oakland in California, on April 15. - Noah Berger/AP/File
Lie: Prescription Drug Prices Would Fall By "2,000%, 3,000%"
The president touted impossibly large reductions from his "most favored nation" drug-pricing policy — sometimes citing declines of 500% up to 3,000%. Such percentages are mathematically nonsensical (any drop greater than 100% would imply payment to consumers) and misrepresent realistic savings claims.
Lie: Foreign Countries Pay U.S. Tariffs
Trump maintained that tariffs were paid by foreign governments. In reality, U.S. importers pay tariffs to the government and often pass those costs on to U.S. consumers. Trump’s own remarks about lowering tariffs to reduce coffee prices undercut his claim.
Lie: Portland Was "Burning Down"
Trump described Portland as "burning to the ground" despite the fact that clashes were geographically limited and did not amount to the widespread conflagration he portrayed. Residents, officials and journalists repeatedly disputed the exaggeration.
Lie: Washington, D.C., Had No Murders For Six Months
In November Trump twice claimed the capital had gone six months without a murder. Police data and independent tracking (including coverage by The Washington Post) showed more than 50 homicides during the six months before his speech.
An anti-ICE protester holds an American flag near the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement building in Portland, Oregon, on October 18. - Mathieu Lewis-Rolland/Getty Images/File
Lie: "I Invaded Los Angeles And We Opened Up The Water"
Trump linked Los Angeles wildfires to a water action and later claimed he had "invaded Los Angeles" to open water flows. The action he described involved moving roughly two billion gallons of water within California’s Central Valley — not an invasion of Los Angeles nor a measure directly tied to the city’s wildfires.
Lie: Maryland’s Democratic Governor Called Trump "The Greatest President Of My Lifetime"
After Gov. Wes Moore criticized Trump’s public-safety claims about Baltimore, Trump said Moore privately praised him at the Army-Navy game. Video of the encounter, recorded for a documentary and later aired, did not show Moore offering that praise.
Lie: Ukraine "Started" Russia’s War
The president repeatedly suggested Ukraine was responsible for Russia’s 2022 invasion, reversing the historical record: Russia launched the large-scale war in 2022. Trump’s statements mischaracterized the origin and dynamics of the conflict.
Lie: He Was "Joking" When He Promised To End The Ukraine War Immediately
Trump campaigned on promises to end the Ukraine war within 24 hours of returning to office or "before I even arrive at the Oval Office." When those pledges went unfulfilled, he later characterized those campaign statements as jest — a claim at odds with how seriously he presented them on the campaign trail.
A Ukrainian serviceman walks near apartment buildings damaged by a Russian military strike in the frontline town of Kostiantynivka in Ukraine's Donetsk region, on November 28. - Ukrainian Armed Forces/Reuters
Lie: The U.S. Government Planned To Spend $50 Million On "Condoms For Hamas"
To argue for cutting foreign aid, Trump alleged the government planned to send $50 million to buy "condoms for Hamas." Fact-checking found no evidence to support the allegation; Trump later inflated the figure to $100 million.
Lie: Every Drug Boat In The Caribbean "Kills 25,000 Americans"
Defending strikes on alleged drug-smuggling vessels, Trump claimed each such boat "kills 25,000 Americans." Experts and public data found this number implausible; provisional federal data put total U.S. overdose deaths from all drugs in 2024 at roughly 82,000.
Lie: He "Didn’t Say" He Would Release Full Footage Of A September Strike
On Dec. 3 Trump told an ABC reporter he would "certainly" release additional Pentagon footage of a follow-up September strike. Five days later he denied having said so, then called ABC "fake news" — contradicting the earlier on-camera quote.
Lie: Foreign Leaders Emptied Prisons And Mental Institutions To Send People To The U.S.
Trump repeatedly claimed that leaders abroad emptied prisons and mental hospitals and sent unwanted people to the U.S. Campaign and White House aides were unable to produce evidence of any such coordinated practice.
An explosion caused by a police munition is seen while supporters of President Donald Trump riot in front of the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. - Leah Millis/Reuters
Lie: Trump Ended Seven Or Eight Wars
At the U.N. and elsewhere Trump claimed he had ended seven (later eight) wars. His list included disputes that were never wars during his term (for example Egypt and Ethiopia) and conflicts that remained unresolved or resumed. The claim exaggerated and mischaracterized the diplomatic record.
Lie: "The People Of Canada Like" Becoming The 51st U.S. State
Trump suggested Canadians welcomed the notion of annexation and becoming the 51st state. Polling showed roughly nine in ten Canadians opposed the idea.
Lie: Capitol Rioters "Didn’t Assault"
In continuing efforts to recast Jan. 6, 2021, Trump characterized participants as nonviolent and suggested they "had no guns." Video evidence and conviction records from multiple trials show that many rioters did assault law enforcement and some were armed.
Lie: Critical Media Coverage Is "Illegal"
Trump often described negative press coverage as "illegal." That claim has no legal basis and was treated as false by major news organizations.
President Donald Trump, joined by Republican lawmakers, signs the "One, Big Beautiful Bill" Act on the South Lawn of the White House on July 4. - Eric Lee/Getty Images
Lie: He Didn’t Pressure The Justice Department To Prosecute His Opponents
When asked about whether he instructed the Justice Department to "go after" certain political opponents, Trump denied doing so. Public posts on his Truth Social account months earlier had publicly urged Attorney General Pam Bondi to act "NOW" against specific figures — contradicting the blanket denial.
Lie: Obama, Biden And Comey "Made Up" The Epstein Files
Trump asserted that files connected to Jeffrey Epstein were fabricated by James Comey, Barack Obama and the Biden administration. The Epstein files are documented records; investigations into Epstein spanned multiple administrations, and Trump’s claim misstates the timeline and record.
Lie: The 2020 Election Was "Rigged And Stolen"
Trump continued to assert that the 2020 election was "rigged and stolen" — a central falsehood he has repeatedly promoted since 2020 despite multiple court rulings, official audits and bipartisan statements affirming the election’s results.
Lie: The U.S. Is "The Only Country In The World" With Mail-In Voting
Trump argued the U.S. was unique in using mail-in voting. Dozens of democracies, including Canada, the U.K., Germany, Australia and Switzerland, use mail-in or absentee voting systems.
Lie: Babies Receive 80-Plus Vaccines At Once
Trump claimed infants receive a "vat of 80 different vaccines" or "82 vaccines in a shot." That is false: children do not receive dozens of vaccines at once, and immunization schedules and combinations are well-documented by public health authorities.
Lie: His Big Domestic Bill Left Medicaid Unchanged
Trump insisted his "big, beautiful" domestic policy bill left Medicaid "the same." Independent analyses, including the Congressional Budget Office, concluded the legislation made significant changes, reduced federal funding by hundreds of billions of dollars and was projected to increase the number of uninsured people by 2034.
Lie: The Bill Was "The Single Most Popular Bill Ever Signed"
Despite polls showing the bill was broadly unpopular — in some analyses more unpopular than major laws of recent decades — Trump claimed it was "the most popular bill ever signed." He offered no evidence to support that sweeping assertion.
Note: This list is subjective and focuses on repeated or consequential falsehoods from 2025. Each entry summarizes widely reported examples and public fact checks from the year.
