Former President Donald Trump recently spoke at a press conference at his Los Angeles-area golf club, revisiting topics from a recent debate and making several false and misleading claims regarding crime, the economy, and immigration.
One of the claims made by Trump was that crime has surged under the Biden administration. While there was an increase in homicides during the COVID-19 pandemic, recent FBI data shows a decline in the overall violent crime rate in the first three months of 2024 compared to the same period last year. Trump referred to statistics from the Bureau of Justice, suggesting an increase in crime, but experts have cautioned that these figures are still preliminary and may overstate the actual crime reduction.
Trump also falsely claimed that violent crime has risen due to an influx of migrants, stating that thousands of people are being killed by “illegal migrants” in the U.S. However, FBI statistics do not differentiate crimes by the immigration status of the perpetrator, and there is no evidence of a significant increase in crimes committed by migrants.
Regarding inflation, Trump inaccurately stated that prices have risen drastically, which is not entirely true. Inflation did increase in 2021-22, but it was higher in 1980, reaching over 14%. Economists attribute the recent inflation spike to disruptions in global supply chains caused by the pandemic and other factors, such as the conflict in Ukraine.
Next, Trump cast doubt on the honesty of the voting system, suggesting that millions of ballots are sent out indiscriminately. Election officials, however, have procedures in place to ensure the integrity of the voting process by issuing only one mail ballot per eligible voter and continuously updating voter lists for accuracy.
Additionally, Trump misrepresented the recent downward revision of U.S. job numbers, falsely claiming that a whistleblower forced the government to adjust job gains by 818,000. In reality, this revision is part of a routine annual process conducted by career government employees.
Lastly, Trump alleged that Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration were covertly flying in hundreds of thousands of “illegal immigrants.” In truth, a Biden policy implemented since January 2023 allows a specific number of individuals from certain countries to enter the U.S. monthly under parole authority for humanitarian reasons or public benefit.
