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President Trump is delivering an address to a joint session of Congress in the U.S. Capitol tonight, 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 expected to take stock of what he’s done so far and lay out his vision for the economy, immigration and foreign affairs.

Follow this page tonight for an annotated fact check by reporters from across NPR’s newsroom as the speech unfolds.

Unlawful border crossings

TRUMP: “Within hours of taking the oath of office, I declared a national emergency on our southern border, and I deployed the U.S. military and border patrol to repel the invasion of our country, and what a job they’ve done. As a result, illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded ever. They heard my words and they chose not to come."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents had about 30,000 encounters with migrants attempting to cross the U.S. borders illegally in January, the agency reported. The agency has not reported the numbers for February.

Trump’s claim is not true. CBP has been recording apprehensions since 1925. In 1935, there were only 11,000 apprehensions nationwide for the full year. During President Biden’s administration, unlawful crossings nationwide hit an all-time high in 2022 — CBP reported more than 2.2 million encounters. However, Biden’s last full month in office, December 2024, saw about 48,000 encounters.

— Sergio Martínez-Beltrán, Immigration Correspondent

Eggs

TRUMP: "Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control – the egg prices out of control — and we are working hard to get it back down."

Overall, grocery prices have begun to level off, rising less than 2% between January 2024 and January 2025. But many people still experience supermarket sticker shock. Eggs have been a particular sore spot lately, with prices jumping 53% over the last year. That’s largely due to the ongoing challenge of avian flu, which has forced egg farmers to slaughter tens of millions of egg-laying chickens. The shortfall in egg supply has been compounded by panic buying — similar to what happened with toilet paper in 2020 — leading some stores to limit egg purchases. Last week, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced a $1 billion effort to combat avian flu, including $500 million for new sanitary precautions at egg farms. The USDA is also exploring vaccination for laying hens and increasing the supply of imported eggs.

— Scott Horsley, Chief Economics Correspondent

Energy production

TRUMP: “The previous administration cut the number of new oil and gas leases by 95%, slowed pipeline construction to a halt, and closed more than 100 power plants. We are opening up many of those power plants right now. And frankly we have never seen anything like it."

President Trump has promised to boost fossil fuel production, but the U.S. is already producing record amounts of oil and natural gas. Even though lease auctions and pipeline construction slowed during the Biden administration, crude oil production in 2023 reached 12.9 million barrels a day, eclipsing the previous record set in 2019. 2023 was also a record year for domestic production of natural gas. Much of the domestic boom in oil and gas production is the result of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” techniques.

Recent years have also seen rapid growth in solar and wind power, while coal has continued to decline as a source of electricity.

Trump is hostile to wind energy production. On his first day back in the White House, he signed an executive order temporarily blocking federal leases for offshore wind farms and halting permits for wind projects on land and offshore.

— Scott Horsley, Chief Economics Correspondent

Inflation

TRUMP: “We suffered the worst inflation in 48 years, but perhaps even in the history of our country, they’re not sure. As president, I am fighting every day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again."

Inflation soared to 9.1% in 2022 — the highest rate in 40 years, not 48 — in the wake of the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Robust government spending likely added to the price hikes in the U.S., putting more money in people’s pockets. Demand surged, outpacing tangled supply chains. But high inflation was a worldwide problem, even in countries where governments didn’t spend so heavily.

While inflation has since eased, settling at 3% in January, prices are still climbing faster than most people would like.

While high prices are a source of frustration for many Americans, the average worker has more buying power today than she did before the pandemic. Since February 2020, just before the pandemic took hold in the U.S., consumer prices have risen 22.8% while average wages have risen 25.8%. Wages have been climbing faster than prices for the better part of two years.

— Scott Horsley, Chief Economics Correspondent

Poll numbers

TRUMP: “Now, for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction than the wrong direction. In fact, it’s an astonishing record 27-point swing since Election Day alone.”

More people have said the country has been headed in the wrong direction than the right one for a long time. In an average of the polls compiled by RealClearPolitics it’s been that way every month since June 2009 after former President Obama was sworn in.

And despite improvements in those views since Trump won the election, mostly due to Republican enthusiasm, more people continue to say the country is headed in the wrong direction.

The latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll finds 54% think the country is headed in the wrong direction, while 45% said it’s headed in the right direction. That is a significant improvement from December when 64% thought the country was headed in the wrong direction, again, largely due to Republicans.

RCP has the average at 51% wrong direction, 43% right direction. It’s an improvement, but not net-positive.

— Domenico Montanaro, Senior Political Editor/Correspondent

Catch up on NPR coverage ahead of the address:

➡️Fired federal workers are among the guests invited to Trump’s speech to Congress

➡️Trump will address Congress. Why isn’t this first speech called a State of the Union?

➡️Poll: Majorities say state of the union is not strong, and Trump is rushing change

➡️What you need to know about Trump’s address to joint session of Congress

➡️What will Trump say in his Tuesday address? We look to the past for some clues

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/03/04/follow-npr-s-annotated-fact-check-of-president-trump-s-address-to-congress/