Trump's Cabinet Meeting: A Fact Check Frenzy

During a recent Cabinet meeting, President Trump shared some surprising claims. He said the US gave Ukraine $350 billion in aid, while Europe only gave $100 billion. But experts say that's not true. Europe actually gave more, about $259 billion, while the US gave around $125 billion. The US did give more military aid, but not by much. Trump also said Obama only sent bedsheets to Ukraine, but that's not right either. Obama sent over $600 million in security help, including radars and drones. Trump also talked about trade. He said the EU doesn't buy US farm products, but that's false. The EU bought $12. 3 billion worth of US farm goods in 2023. He also said the EU was created to harm the US, but experts say that's not true. The EU was formed to help Europe and promote peace. Trump also talked about tariffs on China. He said the US made hundreds of billions from these tariffs, but that's not accurate. The US has been collecting tariffs from China for a long time, and it's actually US consumers who pay most of the cost. He also said the US loses $200 billion a year to Canada, but the real number is much lower. The US trade deficit with Canada was about $40. 6 billion in 2023. Trump also talked about the economy. He said there was no inflation during his first term, but that's not true. Inflation was 1. 4% when he left office. He also said inflation is stopping, but it's actually at 3%. He also talked about education rankings, saying the US is last, but that's not true. The US ranks well above average in reading and science.

Trump also talked about fentanyl deaths. He said the US loses 300, 000 people a year to fentanyl, but that's not accurate. The real number is much lower, around 55, 000. He also talked about ISIS, saying he got rid of them in three weeks, but that's not true. The ISIS "caliphate" was declared liberated more than two years into his presidency. Trump also talked about mail-in voting, saying the US is the only country that does it, but that's not true. Many countries, including Canada and Germany, allow mail-in voting. He also talked about fentanyl coming from Canada, but most fentanyl seizures happen at the Mexican border. Trump also talked about military equipment left in Afghanistan. He said the US left tens of billions of dollars worth of equipment to the Taliban, but the real number is much lower, around $7. 1 billion. He also talked about federal employees not responding to an email from Elon Musk, saying they might not exist or be working for another company. But there are other reasons why they might not have responded. Trump also talked about Social Security, saying some people get checks even after they're 200 years old. But the Social Security Administration has a system to stop payments to people listed as being age 115 and older. A 2023 report found 18. 9 million people age 100 or older who were not marked as deceased, but only 44, 000 of these were receiving payments.

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