Fact-Check: Trump’s One‑Year Anniversary Claims on Inflation, Gas Prices, Jobs and Deportations
At his Jan. 20, 2026 one‑year press conference, Trump repeatedly claimed "we have no inflation," said gas was "$1.99 in many states," touted $18 trillion in new investment pledges, argued one‑in‑four jobs added under Biden were government positions, and highlighted tough immigration enforcement using curated ICE images and mugshots. Fact checks show December CPI was up 2.7% year‑over‑year, the mid‑January national gas average was about $2.78 with no state averaging $1.99, the White House lists $9.6 trillion in pledges (experts call even that figure implausible), roughly 11% of jobs added were government jobs, and ICE data indicate about 74% of detainees had no criminal convictions while detailed deportation breakdowns are not published.
📌 Key Facts
- At a Jan. 20, 2026 White House news conference marking his first year of a second term, Trump made a wide-ranging set of claims on inflation, gas prices, jobs, immigration, Venezuela and other topics.
- Trump repeatedly said 'we have no inflation' or 'very little inflation,' but December 2025 CPI data were flat month-to-month and up 2.7% year-over-year, contradicting that claim.
- Trump said gas is '$1.99 in many states'; in mid-January 2026 the national average was $2.78 per gallon, no state averaged below $2, the lowest state average was $2.34 (Oklahoma), and only scattered individual stations were under $2.
- He touted $18 trillion in pledged new investment; the White House website lists $9.6 trillion in pledges and outside experts say even that figure is implausibly high and likely includes nonbinding or speculative commitments.
- Trump claimed 'one out of four' jobs added under President Biden were government jobs; data show roughly 11% of the more than 16 million jobs added over Biden’s full term were federal, state or local government positions (about 11% in Biden’s final year as well).
- On immigration and deportations Trump displayed mugshots and curated ICE 'target' images to justify a border crackdown and said deportations focus on 'murderers' and 'drug dealers,' but ICE detention data show about 74% of nearly 70,000 people in detention have no U.S. criminal convictions, and the administration has not published a detailed deportation breakdown by criminal history.
- He asserted that 'for the first time in 50 years' more illegal immigrants are leaving than entering and used stark rhetoric — including comparing criminal illegal aliens to the Hells Angels — tying immigration messaging to his anniversary economic claims.
- Trump praised Venezuelan opposition figure and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado as 'unbelievably nice' and suggested she might be involved in governing even as his administration continues to back interim president Delcy Rodríguez; he also threatened tariffs related to Greenland and, when pressed about acquiring Greenland, said 'You'll find out,' and blamed 'bad public relations people' for not getting credit for economic results.
📊 Analysis & Commentary (1)
One (or maybe five) years of Trump
"A critical, big‑picture commentary arguing that assessing "one year of Trump" by narrow economic metrics misses the far larger and lasting institutional, legal, enforcement, and foreign‑policy transformations the author attributes to the administration — effectively more like multiple years of upheaval."
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
January 20, 2026
11:59 PM
Fact-checking Trump's marathon press briefing at one-year mark of his second term
New information:
- Confirms that December 2025 CPI was flat month‑to‑month but 2.7% year‑over‑year, contradicting Trump’s repeated claim that the U.S. has 'no inflation' or only 'very little inflation.'
- Documents that the national average gas price in mid‑January 2026 was $2.78 per gallon, with no state averaging below $2; the lowest state average was $2.34 in Oklahoma, and only scattered individual stations nationwide were below $2, undercutting Trump’s line that gas is '$1.99 in many states.'
- Notes that the White House’s own website lists $9.6 trillion in pledged new investment since mid‑November, not the $18 trillion figure Trump cited, and experts already consider even $9.6 trillion implausibly high relative to global GDP and likely to include non‑binding or unrealistic pledges.
- Checks Trump’s claim that 'one out of four' jobs added under Biden were government positions and finds that over his full term about 11% of the more than 16 million jobs added were federal, state or local government jobs; in Biden’s final year, government jobs were also about 11% of the 2+ million added.
- Points out that while the Trump administration says it focuses deportations on 'murderers' and 'drug dealers,' available detention data show roughly 74% of nearly 70,000 immigrants in ICE detention have no U.S. criminal convictions, and the administration has not published detailed deportation breakdowns by criminal history.
- Highlights that Trump continues to claim $18 trillion in investment commitments despite his own site and outside experts putting the figure far lower and warning that many 'commitments' are speculative.
9:56 PM
Trump says criminal illegal aliens ‘make Hells Angels look like the sweetest people on Earth’
New information:
- The Fox story makes clear that Trump’s 'reverse migration' line and Hells Angels comparison came in the same week of anniversary messaging as his 'no inflation' claim, tying immigration and economic bragging into a unified narrative.
- It documents the specific claim that 'for the first time in 50 years' more illegal immigrants are leaving than entering, a data point not previously anchored to the anniversary presser coverage.
- It underscores the White House’s use of curated ICE 'target' images at the briefing, something not emphasized in the initial economic‑focused reports.
8:21 PM
‘We have no inflation,’ Trump falsely says in anniversary news conference
New information:
- At a Jan. 20, 2026 White House news conference marking his first year of a second term, Trump repeatedly claimed 'we have no inflation' and 'very little inflation' despite the latest CPI showing a 2.7% year‑over‑year rise in December.
- Trump blamed 'bad public relations people' for his failure to get economic credit, brushing off persistent public concern about high prices.
- He held up mugshots and a stack of papers he said listed crimes by undocumented migrants, using them to justify his border crackdown and post‑raid stance toward Venezuela.
- Trump praised Venezuelan opposition figure and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado as 'unbelievably nice' and suggested 'maybe we can get her involved in some way' in governing, even as he continues to back interim president Delcy Rodríguez.
- Pressed on how far he is willing to go to acquire Greenland after threatening tariffs on European allies, Trump answered, 'You’ll find out.'
January 13, 2026