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Davos 2025: Fact-checking Trump’s speech at the World Economic Forum

FOLLOWING his inauguration as the 47th US President, Donald Trumpaddressed the audience virtually at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Thursday last week.

The WEF‘s 2025 annual meeting took place from January 20-24 in Davos, Switzerland, as hundreds of notable public figures, including scores of heads of state and government as well as global CEOs gathered for the event. The forum provides a unique opportunity for global leaders to exchange ideas, forge partnerships, and explore solutions to these complex issues.

This year’s WEF centres around the theme: “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.” The theme highlights the growing divisions in the global community and emphasises the need for collective action to address critical challenges like the climate crisis, economic inequality, and geopolitical instability.

At the event, Trump spoke on various global issues including the US economic situation under the previous administration and his plans for the United States going forward. In this fact-check, we scrutinise some of the claims he made to check their accuracy and provide context.

CLAIM 1

Over the last 4 years, the immediate-past US government racked up $8 trillion dollars in wasteful deficit spending.

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MOSTLY TRUE.

Joe Biden, the immediate-past US President, was sworn in on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021 as the 46th president of the United States after he won the presidential race against Trump in November 2020.

A look at the data curated by Bipartisan Policy Centre show that the budget deficits under the Biden administration were $2.8 trillion, $1.4 trillion, $1.7 trillion, $1.8 trillion and $710 billion for the fiscal year (FY) 2021, FY 2022, FY 2023, FY 2024 and so far in FY 2025 respectively. This amounts to  $8.41 trillion.

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However, we could not independently verify if the deficit spending in the last four years was actually wasteful or not.

THE VERDICT

The claim that the immediate-past US government spent $8 trillion dollars in deficit spending is MOSTLY TRUE, according to publicly available data.

 

CLAIM 2

Inflation currently stands at 50 per cent higher than the historic target.

THE FINDINGS

Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MOSTLY TRUE.

The US Federal Reserve, the central banking system of the United States, set a long-term inflation target of 2 per cent. This target aims to promote price stability and sustainable economic growth. By aiming for inflation that averages 2 per cent over time, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) seeks to ensure that longer-run inflation expectations remain well-anchored at this level.

However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly consumer price index (CPI) report, the United States’ annual inflation rate was 2.89 per cent as of December 2024, up from 2.75 per cent in November – 45 per cent higher than the target. The current rate for the month of January 2025 is yet to be published; as such we can’t categorically determine its percentage as at today.

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THE VERDICT

The claim that inflation currently is 50 per cent higher than the historic target is MOSTLY TRUE; findings show that it is currently 45 per cent higher than the target.

 

CLAIM 3

National energy emergency declared as part of the executive order Trump signed on his first day as US President.

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is TRUE.

Immediately after his inauguration on January 20, 2025, one of the executive orders signed by Trump (according to the list of Presidential actions on The White House website) include declaring a national energy emergency. In the order, he noted that the United States’ capacity for identifying, leasing, developing, producing, transporting, refining, and generating energy and critical minerals is insufficient to meet the nation’s requirements.

Multiple media reports from The Washington PostReuters and The Guardian quoted Trump saying that the nation’s inadequate energy supply and infrastructure was attributed to the harmful and shortsighted policies of the previous administration, and thus exacerbates high energy prices that severely impact Americans, especially those on low and fixed incomes.

THE VERDICT

The claim that Trump declared a national energy emergency as part of the executive order he signed on his first day as US president is TRUE, according to the list of presidential actions and multiple media reports.

 

CLAIM 4

The United States has the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on earth.

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is FALSE.

According to the United States Energy Information Administration, the US became the leading global crude oil producer in 2018 and maintained this position through 2022. U.S. oil refineries process crude oil sourced both domestically and internationally, with various types of companies contributing to the global crude oil supply.

A 2024 report by Vox noted that the United States is the world’s largest crude oil producer, reaching an all-time high in 2023 by averaging nearly 13 million barrels per day, as reported by the US Energy Information Administration.

Further checks revealed that Venezuela and Saudi Arabia hold greater oil reserves than the United States. Venezuela leads as the country with the highest oil reserves, followed by Saudi Arabia; Nigeria ranks 10th while the United States ranks 11th.

Specifically, Saudi Arabia’s proven crude oil reserves are estimated at 267 billion barrels, significantly exceeding the United States’ nearly 36 billion barrels, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

THE VERDICT

The claim that the U.S. has the largest amount of oil and gas of any country on earth is FALSE; while the U.S. is the largest crude oil producer, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela have more oil reserves than the U.S.

 

CLAIM 5

Biden administration imposed $50,000 in additional regulatory costs on the average American household over the last four years.

THE FINDINGS

Checks by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is HALF TRUE.

A report by the United States House Committee on oversight and accountability noted that the Biden-Harris Administration imposed regulatory costs nearly double those of the Obama Administration, despite having only four years to do so compared to Obama’s eight.

The study estimates that the total regulatory burden could amount to $47,136 per U.S. household, which critics argue could negatively impact American families and the economy.

Another article by City Journal highlighted the intensity of the regulation under ex-President Biden as some estimates suggest that Biden’s regulations could lead to a lifetime cost of $47,000 per family.

Furthermore, the study highlights concerns over the regressive nature of these regulations, with low-income households reportedly bearing a disproportionately high share of the costs. In fact, the study suggests that low-income families could pay seven times more in regulatory costs compared to wealthier households, adjusting for their ability to pay.

Another report from Unleash Prosperity highlighted that, based on its main findings, the Biden-Harris administration is set to impose $47,000 in net present value regulatory costs per household from rules finalized during its first term.

THE VERDICT

The claim that the Biden administration imposed $50,000 in additional regulatory cost on the average American household over the last four years is HALF TRUE; while reports confirmed that the immediate-past US administration truly imposed additional regulatory costs, it also showed that the figure is around $47,000. That’s a difference of about $3,000.

 

CLAIM 6

Trump signs executive order to end government censorship saying the citizen speech will no longer be labeled as misinformation or disinformation.

THE FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is TRUE.

On the day of Trump’s inauguration as the 47th US president, dozens of executive orders were signed by him shortly before his official inauguration ceremony. These orders revolve around immigration, civil rights, trade, the hiring of federal workers, and U.S. foreign aid to demographic diversity.

Some of the executive orders have sparked concerns mostly among US residents and online. For instance, the order to end birthright citizenship has stirred public debates especially among immigrants in the country. Media reports also indicated that a US federal court has halted the execution of that particular order.

To verify the claim, our fact-checkers reviewed the list of presidential actions signed by Trump as published on the White House website and found out that actions to end government censorship was on the list.

Titled “Restoring Freedom Of Speech And Ending Federal Censorship,” it was among the 60 executive orders signed by Trump on January 20, 2025.

THE VERDICT

The claim that Trump signed an executive order to end government censorship on citizen speech is TRUE; the order was among the US presidential actions signed on January 20, 2025.

 

CLAIM 7

NATO defence spending was at 2 per cent.



THE FINDINGS

Checks by The FactCheckHub show the claim is TRUE.

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is a military alliance formed in 1949 to provide collective defence and promote stability and security among its member countries.




     

     

    Established to counter the Soviet Union during the Cold WarNATO‘s mission includes a broader range of security concerns. NATO has 32 member countries as of January 2025, spanning from North America to Europe. These countries, called NATO Allies, are sovereign states that come together through NATO to discuss political and security issues and make collective decisions by consensus.

    Defense spending is the payments made by a national government (excluding regional, local and municipal authorities) specifically to meet the needs of its armed forces, those of Allies or of the Alliance.

    To verify the claim of the percentage they remit to the alliance, our fact-checkers reviewed the report of NATO Alliance obtained from its official website. It was discovered that 2 per cent of all the members countries’ annual GDP is collectively agreed as the payment terms for NATO allies since 2014 and it is still the benchmark as of January 2025.

    THE VERDICT

    The claim that the defence spending of NATO countries is 2 per cent of their annual GDP is TRUEdata obtained from NATO website revealed.

     

    Fatimah Quadri is a Journalist and a Fact-checker at The ICIR. She has written news articles, fact-checks, explainers, and media literacy in an effort to combat information disorder.
    She can be reached at sunmibola_q on X or fquadri@icirnigeria.org

    Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.

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