Fact-checkers challenge Trump’s ‘eight wars’ claim, back him on crime

Fact-checkers delivered a mixed verdict on President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, backing some immigration and crime claims while disputing others on voter fraud, Medicaid and foreign conflicts.

Reviews from PolitiFact, FactCheck.org, The New York Times and others found that Trump’s assertion that “zero illegal aliens” were admitted into the country was an accurate characterization even though illegal crossings have continued at low levels. 

The fact-checkers also confirmed his claim that the national murder rate is at a historic low but labeled his statements about “rampant” voter fraud, Medicaid and the number of wars he ended as misleading.

The fact-checks underscored how Trump’s address was a blend of verifiable points and broader claims that grabbed headlines but could be misleading to voters, who Trump is hoping will keep Republicans in power in Congress as he stares down a tough 2026 midterm election cycle.

Immigration

When Trump said Tuesday that “zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States,” he was referencing U.S. Border Patrol detaining or deporting migrants attempting to enter the country illegally or by using asylum claims, rather than following the Biden administration’s protocol and releasing them into the country.

Fact-checkers acknowledged the reversal in illegal immigration policies under Trump. They pointed out that illegal border crossings are still happening, but at a far lower pace.

“Encounters with people trying to illegally cross the U.S. southern border have dropped significantly during Trump’s second term,” PolitiFact noted, adding that authorities encountered about 10,000 migrants in January compared to more than 60,000 in January 2025. 

Trump’s comments about illegal immigrants committing crimes were more disputed, fact-checkers found, noting that the Department of Homeland Security’s figures did not reflect that the Biden administration allowed nearly 12,000 murderers to enter the country illegally, as Trump claimed during his speech.

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NPR noted that Trump called Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska’s killer an immigrant, despite lacking evidence of that. The outlet noted that local media have reported that the suspect, Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. 

Brown was seen in grisly surveillance footage repeatedly stabbing Zarutska, 23, while she was riding the light rail home from work in August 2025. Her murder has become a national example of local prosecutors’ lax policies toward repeat offenders.

When Trump said more broadly that the nation’s murder rate is the lowest it has been in 125 years, fact-checkers found that was true.

‘Eight wars’

Several fact-checkers took issue with Trump touting that he ended “eight wars.”

Trump gained widespread praise for brokering a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas that led to a return of Israeli hostages, and the president has been credited with establishing a truce between Israel and Iran after carrying out damaging airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

The New York Times said that eight wars, though, was “exaggerated,” and FactCheck.org called the figure “inflated.”

The fact-checkers pointed to Trump’s disputed involvement in India’s ceasefire with Pakistan. Trump also “counts some international disagreements that weren’t wars,” FactCheck.org said.

Trump was involved in mediating a border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand, and brokered peace agreements between Armenia and Azerbaijan and also Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Trump also has referenced wars between Serbia and Kosovo, and Egypt and Ethiopia, but some have said those involve tense disagreements and do not amount to war.

Voter fraud

A top flashpoint for fact-checkers was Trump’s assertion that “cheating is rampant” in federal elections.

“Trump made a rapid-fire series of false claims about US elections,” wrote CNN reporter Daniel Dale.

Trump made the comments while demanding Congress pass the SAVE America Act, which would impose a physical proof of citizenship requirement on anyone registering to vote in federal elections.

It is illegal for noncitizens to vote, and voters must declare under penalty of perjury that they are U.S. citizens as part of the registration process. State officials are required by federal law to practice voter roll maintenance to make sure voters who are registered are valid. 

State and federal prosecutions of noncitizen voting have been exceedingly rare, but Trump and his base have contended that noncitizen voting is prevalent and simply going undetected.

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NPR pointed to observations by election expert David Becker, who runs the nonprofit Center for Election Innovation and Research.

“Even states that are looking everywhere to try to amplify the numbers of noncitizens … when they actually look, they find a surprisingly, shockingly small number,” Becker said.

The New York Times said the number of noncitizens casting ballots is “infinitesimally small,” noting a Trump DHS study that found up to 0.2% of registered voters could potentially be noncitizens.

Jobs

Fact-checkers labeled Trump’s assertion that more Americans were working than ever before as true, but they said the president’s claim about job growth was misleading.

Job growth remained steady under Trump while the population was the largest it has ever been, meaning labor force participation has not kept up with the population, the New York Times noted.

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Protecting Medicaid

Fact-checkers swatted down Trump’s claim that he would “always” protect Medicaid, noting that the “big, beautiful bill,” his signature tax and spending plan enacted in July 2025, cut nearly $1 trillion from the program by changing its eligibility requirements.

“With fewer people on Medicaid, the program costs less,” FactCheck.org noted.

Fox News Digital reached out to the White House for comment.

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