President Trump began his second administration much as he left the first one, falsely questioning the outcome of the 2020 election and berating the criminal justice system in remarks throughout the day.
In his inaugural remarks, Mr. Trump delivered a more tempered version of election talking points, including inaccurate claims about the state of the economy, immigration, world affairs, and federal and local investigations into his own conduct.
But in addressing supporters afterward at the Capitol Rotunda, he reprised his grievances about the 2020 election, falsely blaming Nancy Pelosi for security lapses and asserting, incorrectly, that the election had been rigged.
Here’s a fact-check:
What Was Said
This needs context. For months, Mr. Trump has claimed that other countries like Venezuela “dumped” millions of criminals into the United States through the southern border. He tempered the claim to the more unspecific “many” in his inauguration address.
Immigration experts have said they could not corroborate Mr. Trump’s claims of “millions” of criminal migrants. Nor is there any evidence that other countries were emptying prisons to send convicted criminals to the United States.
From the 2021 to 2024 fiscal years, border officials arrested more than 160,000 people with criminal convictions or outstanding warrants at the southern border and official ports of entry. Most were turned away. Moreover, many studies have shown that migrant populations, including unauthorized immigrants, are not more likely to commit crimes than the native-born population.
What Was Said
This is misleading. Inflation reached a peak of 8 percent in 2022. That was the highest since 1981, but not a “record.” Inflation was higher in the 1980s and 1910s. And most economists agree that federal spending that occurred under both Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden contributed to recent inflation, but that it was not the sole cause. Other causes include pandemic-created disruptions to supply chains and the global economy, Russia’s war on Ukraine and pent-up demand.
It is also worth noting that under the Biden administration, the oil and gas industry has been producing record amounts of oil and near-record amounts of gas — undermining Mr. Trump’s implied argument that the industry was being handcuffed by his predecessor.
What Was Said
This is misleading. There is no federal electric vehicle mandate, but the Biden administration has instituted a set of regulations that would, in effect, compel automakers to sell more electric vehicles.
The rules include limiting tailpipe pollution, with a goal of ensuring that a majority of all vehicles sold in the United States are electric or hybrid by 2032. Many car manufacturers have said they would prefer if the rules remain in place, having invested billions of dollars already.
What Was Said
This lacks evidence. Mr. Trump has repeatedly accused Mr. Biden of orchestrating prosecutions against him. But of the four criminal cases against Mr. Trump, two were brought by state or local prosecutors, meaning that the Justice Department under Mr. Biden had no control over them. His two other criminal cases were overseen by a special counsel, whom the former attorney general appointed to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest. And there is no evidence that Mr. Biden has personally directed any of those cases.
Moreover, Mr. Trump has repeatedly threatened to prosecute or imprison his own political enemies. And in his first term, he repeatedly sought to target his perceived foes for investigation.
What Was Said
“China is operating the Panama Canal.”
— in the Inaugural Address
False. The Panama Canal is operated by the Panama Canal Authority, an agency of Panama and governed by 11 members of a board of directors — not China. The canal has been fully owned and administered by Panama since 1999, under a treaty negotiated by former President Jimmy Carter in the 1970s.
In a 1999 fact sheet about the transfer of the canal from the United States’ control to Panama’s, the State Department noted that “the Panama Canal Authority will manage, operate and maintain the canal, its complementary works, installations and equipment, and will provide for the orderly transit of vessels through the canal.”
Mr. Trump, though, has a point that Washington officials are increasingly concerned with China’s growing influence over shipping and ports, including the canal.
What Was Said
“We offered her 10,000 soldiers, think of it, 10,000 soldiers. In other words, J6 wouldn’t be J6. There would be no J6. But she rebuffed them. She didn’t like it, no.”
— in remarks after the Inaugural Address
This lacks evidence. There is no evidence that Mr. Trump ordered 10,000 National Guard troops before the Jan. 6 riot. Nor is there any evidence that his offer was rebuffed by Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the House at the time. Mr. Trump had discussed a potential deployment in the days before — to protect himself and his supporters from counterprotesters, not to secure the Capitol, according to the House Jan. 6 committee. But former Trump administration officials have testified that he did not formally request or order that deployment.
What Was Said
This lacks evidence. For years, Mr. Trump has made a litany of false claims about the 2020 election, misrepresenting the counting process, repeating conspiracy theories about voting machines and citing baseless examples of fraud. In his remarks on Monday, he claimed that he could not have lost that election because “I got nine million more than anybody else has ever gotten and they said we lost.” Left unsaid: Mr. Biden received even more votes in 2020.
A group of prominent conservative officials reviewed 64 lawsuits filed by Mr. Trump and his supporters contesting the 2020 election and found that they “failed to produce substantive evidence to make their case.”
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