In a visit Tuesday to Warren, Michigan, President Donald Trump celebrated his first 100 days back in office by touting his accomplishments, while embellishing some and misrepresenting others.
By MELISSA GOLDIN
The speech of about 90 minutes was reminiscent of a campaign rally and covered much of the same ground as he lobbed insults at the previous administration and detractors.
In highlighting his accomplishments, he made a number of false and misleading statements on topics such as the state of the economy and the price of eggs.
Here’s a look at the facts.
Trump exaggerates drop in gas prices
TRUMP: “Gasoline was almost $4 not so long ago. And now, Mike, we just hit $1.98 in a lot of states. Think of it.”
THE FACTS: As of Tuesday, no state had an average gas price of $1.98. Mississippi had the lowest price, at $2.67 per gallon of regular gas. Trump previously made this claim about the level of gas prices on April 16, but they had not fallen as low as $1.98 that day either — or any day in the last two weeks. Mississippi and Tennessee were tied for the lowest average price on April 16, at $2.707 per gallon of regular gas.
National average prices rose under former President Joe Biden to a high of $5.01 in June 2022 before falling to $3.09 in December of that year. Prices rose again to a high of $3.88 in September 2023, but were down to $3.139 in December 2024. They were at $3.13 nationally as of Tuesday. The last time prices surpassed $4 was in August 2022.
Cost of eggs not as low as Trump says
TRUMP: “Since I took office, the cost of eggs is down 87% now.”
THE FACTS: The retail price of a dozen large eggs decreased in price to $2.07 in September 2023, but has been on the rise since October 2024. As of March, they were up to $6.23.
Wholesale egg prices, on the other hand, fell significantly in March, but not by 87%. They were at a high of $8.17 for a dozen large eggs on March 3 and had dropped to $2.92 by March 26 — a decrease of approximately 64%.
University of Arkansas agricultural economist Jada Thompson told the AP earlier this month that because the wholesale prices did not start dropping until mid-March, there may not have been enough time for the average price for the month to decline. And grocery stores may not have immediately passed on the lower prices.
Inflation was already falling under Biden
TRUMP: “We’re ending the inflation nightmare. The worst that we’ve had, probably in the history of our country.”
THE FACTS: Inflation started falling long before Trump started his second term. Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 after rising steadily in the first 17 months of Biden’s presidency from a low of 0.1% in May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic. As of December, it had fallen to 2.9%. The most recent data shows that, as of March, it had fallen to 2.4%. Other historical periods have seen higher inflation, such as a more than 14% rate in 1980, according to the Federal Reserve.
Coal production is cleaner, but it still creates emissions
TRUMP: “We stopped their crusade on coal. Did you see what I did the other day? Clean, beautiful coal.”
THE FACTS: The production of coal is cleaner now than it has been historically, but that doesn’t mean it’s clean.
Planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from the coal industry have decreased over the past 30 years, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Energy lobbyist Scott Segal told the AP earlier this month that “the relative statement that coal-fired electricity is cleaner than ever before is true, particularly when emissions are measured per unit of electricity produced.”
And yet, coal production worldwide still needs to be reduced sharply to address climate change, according to United Nations-backed research.
Along with carbon dioxide, burning coal emits sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides that contribute to acid rain, smog and respiratory illnesses, according to the EIA.
Trump misleads on Biden-era ‘electric vehicle mandate’
TRUMP: “I terminated Joe Biden’s insane electric vehicle mandate where you were mandated to buy an electric vehicle. You were mandated within just a few years to buy an electric vehicle.”
THE FACTS: It’s misleading to claim that the Biden administration implemented such a mandate. In April 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency announced strict limits on greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles. The agency said these limits could be met if 67% of new-vehicle sales are electric by 2032.
And yet, the new rule did not include a requirement for automakers to boost electric vehicle sales directly. It set emissions limits and allowed automakers to choose how to meet them.
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced on March 12 that the agency would reconsider the rule, but it has not yet been terminated.
In 2019, Kamala Harris co-sponsored a bill as a U.S. senator called the Zero-Emission Vehicles Act that would have required 100% of new passenger vehicles sold to be zero-emission by 2040. The bill, which stalled in committee, did not ban ownership of vehicles that produce emissions. ___
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