Donald Trump walked into the Detroit Economic Club yesterday with the air of a man taking a victory lap. One year into his second term, the atmosphere was thick with the scent of high-stakes policy and the usual political theater. If you’re asking "how many lies did trump tell last night," the answer isn't a simple tally you can scribble on a napkin. It’s a mix of bold economic claims, some genuine cooling of inflation data, and the return of some very familiar—and debunked—grievances.
The speech lasted about an hour. During that time, the President touched on everything from grocery prices and the "booming" auto industry to the sale of the Panama Canal and his long-standing feud with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. It was vintage Trump: fast-paced, loosely scripted, and challenging for anyone trying to keep up with a fact-check in real-time.
Breaking Down the Economic Claims in Detroit
The meat of the speech focused on the "strongest and fastest economic turnaround in our country's history." Trump didn't hold back, claiming that grocery prices are "starting to go rapidly down" and that costs for rent and cell phones are plummeting.
Honestly, the data is a bit more stubborn than that.
While inflation has certainly cooled from the post-pandemic peaks, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released data just hours before he spoke that showed a slightly different reality. Nationally, grocery prices actually rose 2.7% over the course of 2025. In December alone, five out of the six major food group indexes went up. So, saying they are "rapidly" going down is, at best, a massive exaggeration of a few specific items like eggs, which have indeed dropped significantly from their record highs.
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The Good, the Bad, and the Gas Prices
To be fair, he wasn't wrong about everything. You've probably noticed it at the pump. Gas prices have seen a genuine dip, and Trump was quick to point out that some stations in the Detroit area are seeing prices as low as $2.30. That’s a win he’s happy to claim, even if global oil markets usually have more to say about that than any one president.
Airfares are also down. That's a verified fact. But when he moved into the territory of rent, the ground got shakier. While rent growth has slowed down—meaning it’s not rising as fast as it used to—it hasn't actually "gone down" for most Americans. In places like Grand Rapids and metro Detroit, rents have climbed by 35% to 45% since 2015. People aren't feeling a "plummet" in their monthly housing costs yet.
The Return of the "Rigged" Narrative
It wouldn't be a Trump speech without a trip down memory lane regarding the 2020 election. At the top of his remarks, the President reiterated his unproven claims that widespread fraud cost him Michigan years ago. He told the crowd he won the state "three times" but only got credit for two.
There is zero evidence for this.
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Even with his own allies in the Justice Department and various oversight roles now, no data has surfaced to support the idea that the 2020 results were fraudulent. Bringing this up in 2026 feels like a strategic move to keep his base energized, but in terms of factual accuracy, it remains firmly in the "false" category.
Feuds and Foreign Policy: Powell and the Panama Canal
One of the more surprising moments last night was his escalated attack on Jerome Powell. Trump called the Fed Chair either "incompetent or crooked," citing a DOJ investigation into a Federal Reserve building renovation. He’s been pushing for Powell’s exit for a year, largely because he wants interest rates slashed faster than the Fed is willing to move.
Then there was the Panama Canal. Trump lamented its "sale," a talking point he’s used for decades that refers to the 1977 treaty. It’s a bit of a head-scratcher to bring up in a 2026 economic speech, but it serves his broader narrative of "America being ripped off" by past administrations.
How the Tallies Compare
When fact-checkers like PolitiFact and the Washington Post look at a speech like this, they don't just count "lies." They look at "misleading claims."
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- The "Impossible" Drug Price Cuts: Trump claimed to have slashed pharmaceutical prices by 400% to 600%. Mathematically, you can't reduce a price by more than 100% unless you're paying people to take the medicine. It’s a hyperbole that his supporters view as a figure of speech, but economists view as nonsense.
- Wage Growth vs. Inflation: He claimed wages are rising faster than inflation "for the first time in years." In reality, real wages (adjusted for inflation) have been fluctuating. They did outpace inflation by about 1.1% in 2025, but they fell during much of the previous three years. It's a "true-ish" statement wrapped in a "false" context.
- The "Greatest Economy Ever": This is his favorite refrain. While the stock market has hit new highs in early 2026, many metrics—like consumer sentiment—are actually lower than they were a year ago. The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index dropped from 71.7 to 51 over the last twelve months. People are worried, even if the President is cheering.
Why the Number of Lies Matters (and Why It Doesn't)
Counting the number of lies told last night is a bit like counting raindrops in a thunderstorm. Some people see a flood of misinformation that undermines democracy. Others see a leader using "truthful hyperbole" to sell a vision of a stronger America.
The real takeaway isn't just a number. It's the strategy. By flooding the zone with a mix of genuine wins (gas prices, airfares) and wild exaggerations (grocery "plummets," 600% drug cuts), the administration creates a narrative where the vibes matter more than the spreadsheets.
Navigating the Information
If you're trying to stay informed, the best move is to look at the raw data from the BLS or independent trackers like the Tax Policy Center. They don't have a political dog in the fight. For example, when Trump says the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act" saves families $20,000, the Tax Policy Center notes the average is closer to $800. That’s a massive gap that affects your actual bank account.
Keep an eye on the "Phase 2" Gaza plan and the Greenland negotiations mentioned in the morning briefings today. These are the developing stories that will likely be the subject of the next round of speeches—and the next round of fact-checks. The best way to handle the "how many lies" question is to stop looking for a single number and start looking for the delta between the rhetoric and your own receipts.