The February 24 Promises: A State of the Union Scorecard
On the longest State of the Union in recorded history, President Trump put specific numbers on the record. Here is what the verified data shows.
By Scott Burton Official (10 min read)
President Donald Trump delivered his 2026 State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on February 24, 2026, speaking for one hour and 47 minutes in what the White House described as the longest such address in modern history. Trump declared the state of the union strong, framing his administration’s first year as a historic economic turnaround and presenting a series of specific, numerical claims about investment, inflation, employment, energy, and health care.
Investment and Markets
Trump’s claim: “In 12 months, I secured commitments for more than $18 trillion pouring in from all over the globe.” He also stated that the Dow Jones Industrial Average broke 50,000 four years ahead of schedule, that the S&P 500 hit 7,000, and that the stock market set 53 all-time record highs since the election.
The stock market claims were not disputed by major fact-checkers. The Dow did exceed 50,000 during 2025, and the S&P 500 did reach 7,000. The 53 record highs figure was reported as stated without challenge.
The $18 trillion investment claim drew immediate scrutiny. The White House Investment Tracker, the administration’s own public-facing record of investment commitments, listed a total of approximately $9.6 to $9.7 trillion as of its most recent update — roughly half the figure Trump stated on the floor of Congress. A White House official confirmed to ABC News that the $9.7 trillion figure covers “investments that have materialized or committed” but did not explain the gap between that number and the president’s $18 trillion claim. An analysis by Bloomberg Economics found that more than $2.5 trillion of the White House’s own $9.7 trillion figure does not represent actual investment but rather vague commitments to increase trade or bilateral economic relationships. An additional $3.5 trillion consists of opaque sovereign pledges, and more than $250 billion of the total was announced or planned before Trump took office in January 2025. Fact-checks published February 25, 2026 by NBC News, CNN, CBS News, and NPR all concluded the $18 trillion figure could not be verified through public records.
Inflation and Cost of Living
Trump’s claim: His administration had driven core inflation down to its lowest level in more than five years, with core inflation running at 1.7% in the final three months of 2025. He also stated that the price of eggs is down 60%, that the annual cost of a typical new mortgage is down almost $5,000 since he took office, and that the costs of chicken, butter, hotels, automobiles, and rent are all lower than when he was inaugurated.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its January 2026 Consumer Price Index report on February 11, 2026. The headline CPI rose 2.4% on a 12-month basis as of January 2026, down from 2.7% for the year ending December 2025 and 3.0% when Trump took office in January 2025. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, came in at 2.5% year-over-year as of January 2026 — the lowest annual core reading since March 2021. The monthly core rate averaged 0.2% per month in the final quarter of 2025, which translates to an annualized rate of approximately 2.4% to 2.9%, not the 1.7% Trump cited. Headline and core inflation have fallen since Trump took office, but no standard BLS measure produced a 1.7% reading in the fourth quarter of 2025.
On eggs, the BLS data show the egg price index fell approximately 48% from January 2025 to January 2026, and 34% year-over-year as of the January 2026 report, according to CNBC. Trump’s stated figure of 60% is higher than the BLS-measured decline. On the broader food picture, BLS data for January 2026 show overall food prices were up 2.9% year-over-year. Prices for food at home rose 2.1% and nonalcoholic beverages — including coffee — rose 4.5% over the same period.
On mortgages, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey as of February 26, 2026 — two days after the SOTU — showed the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaging 5.98%. One year earlier, the same survey showed the rate at 6.76%. That is a decline of 78 basis points over 12 months and marks the first time since September 2022 that the 30-year rate averaged below 6%. The direction of Trump’s claim — that mortgage costs have fallen since his inauguration — is supported by Freddie Mac data.
Jobs and Employment
Trump’s claim: More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of the country. 100% of all jobs created under his administration have been in the private sector. 2.4 million Americans have been lifted off food stamps — a record. The administration has added 70,000 new construction jobs.
The BLS Employment Situation report for January 2026, released February 11, 2026, showed approximately 158.5 million Americans employed — a record high. The total number of employed Americans has risen since Trump took office in January 2025, when approximately 157 million people were employed. However, economists note that total employment typically rises with population growth. CBS News reported that the labor force participation rate in January 2026 stood at 62.5% — identical to the rate in December 2024, Biden’s last full month in office — and the unemployment rate ticked up under Trump to 4.3% from 4.1% in December 2024.
On private sector job creation, federal government employment fell by 34,000 in January 2026 alone, as employees who accepted deferred resignation offers in 2025 came off federal payrolls, according to BLS. Private sector gains were real in the same period.
On food stamps, NBC News reported that the 2.4 million figure refers to the number of Americans the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan think tank, projects will lose eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program as a result of new work requirements included in the One Big Beautiful Bill signed in July 2025 — not Americans who left the program due to improved economic circumstances. Approximately 42 million Americans remain enrolled in SNAP as of the most recent available data.
On construction jobs, BLS data show 44,000 construction jobs were added from January 2025 to January 2026 — roughly 26,000 fewer than the 70,000 Trump cited.
Energy
Trump’s claim: American oil production is up by more than 600,000 barrels per day. American natural gas production is at an all-time high. The United States has received more than 80 million barrels of oil from Venezuela. Gas prices are below $2.30 in most states.
On oil production, the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s February 2026 Short-Term Energy Outlook shows U.S. crude oil production averaged 13.60 million barrels per day in 2025, compared to 13.235 million barrels per day in 2024 — an annual average increase of approximately 365,000 barrels per day. EIA data show the single highest monthly production figure on record was October 2025 at 13.864 million barrels per day. The 600,000 barrels per day figure depends on the specific baseline and comparison period used, and exceeds the annual average increase reported by EIA.
On natural gas, the EIA’s February 2026 STEO forecasts record U.S. dry natural gas production in both 2026 and 2027, and production rose throughout 2025. NPR’s SOTU fact-check found the natural gas production claim to be accurate.
On Venezuela, Trump’s statement that the United States has received more than 80 million barrels of oil from Venezuela followed the January 3, 2026 U.S. military operation in Caracas that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, who was extradited to New York on narcoterrorism charges. The 80 million barrel figure was not disputed by major fact-checkers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had previously stated in January that the U.S. planned to take between 30 and 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil already produced and packaged and sell it in the marketplace. Some experts quoted by Al Jazeera noted that the logistics of oil transfers are complex and that questions remain about whether all reported volumes represent commercial flows. The administration’s characterization of Venezuela as a “new friend and partner” reflects the change in Caracas’s government following Maduro’s removal.
On gasoline prices, GasBuddy, which tracks approximately 150,000 stations nationwide, reported that the cheapest 10% of all U.S. stations had gas priced at $2.30 as of February 23, 2026 — the day before the SOTU. The national average as reported by AAA was approximately $2.92 per gallon as of the same period. Only eight stations nationwide were selling a gallon of gas for under $2.00, according to CBS News. The $2.30 figure represents the price floor at the least expensive stations, not a national average or a majority-of-states figure.
Health Care and Prescription Drugs
Trump’s claim: His administration has taken prescription drug prices from the highest in the world to the lowest. Differences of 300% to 600% are now visible and available at trumprx.gov. He also called on Congress to pass the Great Health Care Plan to stop payments to big insurance companies and send money directly to the American people.
TrumpRx.gov launched as a functional direct-to-consumer portal on February 5, 2026 — 19 days before the SOTU. The site lists 43 brand-name medications from five pharmaceutical manufacturers — AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer — that have reached pricing agreements with the administration. Discounts on listed drugs range from 33% to 93% measured against the drugs’ list prices. Examples include Eli Lilly’s Zepbound starting at $299 per month, down from a list price of approximately $1,088, and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy pill at as little as $149 per month, down from a list price of approximately $1,349. The administration said more manufacturers and drugs will be added in coming months.
Health policy experts cited by CNN, NPR, and STAT News at launch noted that the discounts are calculated against list prices, which often do not reflect what insured patients actually pay after rebates and negotiations. The site requires cash payment and cannot be used in conjunction with Medicare or Medicaid. STAT News found that approximately 18 of the 43 listed brand-name drugs are available as generics at lower prices through other platforms. The site itself cautions users that their insurance copay may be lower than the TrumpRx cash price.
Trump’s claim that no prior president had lowered drug prices was disputed. NBC News noted that President Joe Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, which capped insulin at $35 per month for Medicare beneficiaries, imposed a $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap on drug costs for Medicare enrollees, and authorized Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices directly with manufacturers for the first time.
The Great Health Care Plan is a legislative framework Trump introduced on January 15, 2026, calling on Congress to enact it into law. It is not a signed law or executive order. Key provisions include codifying the administration’s Most-Favored-Nation drug pricing deals, reinstating ACA cost-sharing reduction payments, sending premium subsidy money directly to eligible Americans rather than to insurers, requiring insurance companies to publish claims denial rates and overhead costs in plain English, and mandating price transparency for any provider or insurer accepting Medicare or Medicaid. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimated the cost-reducing provisions could reduce primary deficits by approximately $50 billion over a decade, though the ACA subsidy provision could add as much as $350 billion in costs depending on its final design. As of the February 24 SOTU, Congress had not acted on the proposal.
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