State of the Union fact check: What President Joe Biden got wrong (and right)

Joedy McCreary, Chris Mueller, Andre Byik and Brad Sylvester, USA TODAY
Updated ·8 min read
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Though President Joe Biden largely stuck to the facts during his third State of the Union address Thursday, on several occasions he overstated the truth, left out key context or was simply wrong.

In a wide-ranging speech on issues including inflation, border security and conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, Biden on multiple occasions attacked – but never identified by name – his Republican opponent in November, former President Donald Trump. But in contrasting himself with his challenger and making his case for a second term, Biden occasionally strayed from the truth.

For example, in addressing the economy, a crucial campaign issue, he touted the inflation rate in the U.S. as “the lowest in the world” – even though dozens of countries, including G7 nations Canada and France, have rates that are lower.

Here are the other claims the USA TODAY Fact Check Team dug into.

More: State of the Union replay: Joe Biden hits hard; Katie Britt gives intense response

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Claim: Trump told Putin ‘Do whatever the hell you want’

“Now my predecessor, a former Republican president, tells Putin, quote, ‘Do whatever the hell you want.’ That’s a quote. A former president actually said that, bowing down to a Russian leader.”

Biden mischaracterized Trump’s remarks, which weren’t nearly as broad as this framing implies.

Speaking at a campaign rally in Conway, South Carolina, on Feb. 10, Trump suggested he might not come to the aid of NATO member states attacked by Russia if they weren't contributing enough money to the alliance, USA TODAY reported.

“One of the presidents of a big country stood up and said, ‘Well sir, if we don’t pay and we’re attacked by Russia, will you protect us?’" Trump said, according to the article. “I said, ‘You didn’t pay? You’re delinquent?’ He said, ‘Yes, let’s say that happened.’ No, I would not protect you.”

Trump added, “In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.”

– Andre Byik

Prior fact checks:

Claim: Gross domestic product is up since Biden took office

 “Since I’ve come to office, our GDP is up.”

Biden is correct that GDP has grown since he came to office in January 2021, but this is hardly a unique achievement. Every president since Harry Truman has experienced GDP growth from the beginning to the end of their presidency, according to data from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Herbert Hoover, who was president from 1929 to 1933 during the Great Depression, was the last president who saw GDP drop during his presidency, according to The Balance.

GDP grew by about 22% from January 2021 to December 2023.

– Brad Sylvester

Fact check roundup: Gas tax, border and Social Security: These 2024 presidential candidate claims are misleading

Claim: US inflation rate is the lowest in the world

“Inflation has dropped from 9% to 3% – the lowest in the world!”

Biden is simply wrong here.

The inflation rate refers to the annual percent change in consumer prices compared with the previous year's prices. That number was 3.1% in the U.S. for the year ending in January 2024, a reduction from 3.4% the previous January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But that’s not the lowest in the world.

The latest data from the International Monetary Fund shows the U.S. has a higher inflation rate than dozens of countries. Those with lower rates include G7 countries such as Canada and France (2.4% and 2.5% respectively) and other advanced economies such as New Zealand, Italy, Switzerland, Finland and China. The global average inflation rate is 5.8%, according to the IMF.

The U.S. inflation rate hit a four-decade peak of 9.1% in June 2022, the highest rate since 1981.

– Brad Sylvester

Claim: Biden administration cut the federal deficit by more than $1 trillion

"I’ve already cut the federal deficit by over $1 trillion. "

Biden is correct that the federal deficit has gone down by more than $1 trillion during his time in office. But his description fails to acknowledge the decline is primarily a result of the unique post-pandemic landscape.

The drop was largely a result of "shrinking or expiring COVID relief," according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a nonpartisan group that promotes fiscal responsibility.

The deficit stood at about $3.1 trillion in 2020 and $2.8 trillion in 2021, then fell to $1.4 trillion in 2022 before slightly increasing to $1.7 trillion in 2023, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

That’s still well above where it was before the pandemic. In 2019 the deficit was $984 billion.

– Chris Mueller

Prior fact checks:

Claim: Trump said to ‘get over’ school shooting

“After another school shooting in Iowa, he said we should just get over it.”

Trump did use this phrase in remarks on Jan. 5, but not as abruptly as Biden’s citation implies.

Speaking a day after a sixth grader was killed and five people were injured in a shooting at a high school in Perry, Iowa, Trump offered the victims and their families “our support and our deepest sympathies” and asked for comfort “for the whole state.”

Then came the comment Biden referenced:

“We’re really with you as much as anybody can be,” Trump said. “It’s a very terrible thing that happened, and it’s just horrible to see that happening. That’s just horrible. So surprising to see it here, but have to get over it. We have to move forward.”

Trump then resumed his condolences, saying, “But to the relatives and to all of the people that are so devastated right now, to a point they can’t breathe, they can’t live, we are with you and we love you and cherish you.”

– Joedy McCreary

Prior fact checks:

Claim: Pandemic tax credit caused cut child poverty in half

“The Child Tax Credit I passed during the pandemic … cut child poverty in half”

This is accurate, but it's only half the story.

The child poverty rate fell from 12.6% in 2019 to  9.7% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2021 – the latter drop being its largest on record, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a nonpartisan think tank. The organization attributes the change to the Biden-endorsed expansion of the Child Tax Credit in 2021.

But that measure ran out in 2022, after which the child poverty rate shot back up, to a three-year high of 12.4%. That rise was “due almost entirely to the expiration of the CTC enhancements” along with other components of Biden’s COVID-19 response package, ITEP concluded.

In his speech, Biden called for restoring the Child Tax Credit.

– Joedy McCreary

Claim: US-China trade deficit lowest in more than a decade

"Our trade deficit with China is down to the lowest point in over a decade."

In 2023, the U.S. trade deficit with China declined by more than $100 billion to $279.4 billion, the smallest total since 2010, Bloomberg reported. A trade deficit occurs when the value of a country's imports exceeds the value of its exports.

But Biden is taking credit for a trend that also has ties to his predecessor and 2024 opponent, Trump. Chinese imports have faced higher tariffs since Trump imposed them in 2018.

The Biden administration has kept most of the Trump administration tariffs in place, according to the Tax Foundation. Biden's administration has taken additional steps to reduce China's role in U.S. supply chains and sought to increase trade with strategic allies, according to Bloomberg.

– Chris Mueller

Claim: Alabama court 'shut down' IVF treatments

"The Alabama Supreme Court shut down IVF treatments across the state."

In late February, Alabama's largest hospital paused in vitro fertilization after the state's Supreme Court ruled embryos created during the treatment should be legally treated as children.

In vitro fertilzation, or IVF, refers to a medical procedure that combines eggs and sperm in a lab dish before transferring the fertilized eggs into the uterus, according to Yale Medicine.

But Biden, who had called the ruling by Alabama's high court "outrageous and unacceptable," didn’t quite tell the whole story. He failed to mention that state lawmakers this week gave final approval to legislation protecting in vitro fertilization providers and patients.

– Chris Mueller

Claim: Prescription drugs cost 40% more in the U.S. than in other nations

“I’m going to get in trouble for saying that, but anyone who wants to get in Air Force One with me and fly to Toronto, Berlin, Moscow – I mean, excuse me, well, even Moscow, probably – and bring your prescription with you and I promise you I’ll get it for you for 40% the cost you’re paying now.”

Biden is mostly right here.

A 2024 report from Rand, a global policy think tank, found prescription drug prices in the U.S. average 2.78 times those seen in 33 other nations. The report uses data through 2022.

“Put another way, prices in other countries were 36 percent – or a little more than one-third – of those in the United States,” Rand reported.

Prices for unbranded generic drugs, which account for 90% of prescription volume in the U.S., are about 67% of the average cost in the comparison nations, according to a Rand news release about the study. That means the U.S. pays less in this category.

“These findings provide further evidence that manufacturers’ gross prices for prescription drugs are higher in the United States than in comparison countries,” said Andrew Mulcahy, a senior health economist at Rand, in the news release. “We find that the gap is widening for name-brand drugs, while U.S. prices for generic drugs are now proportionally lower than our earlier analysis found.”

– Andre Byik

Prior fact checks:

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden's State of the Union: Fact check on what's right and wrong

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