Trump's speech under the microscope. Fallacies and exaggerations about Gaza and other issues on social media
Afrasianet - In his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump gave a broad overview of his administration's achievements at home and abroad, saying his country has regained its forces and made breakthroughs in oil, peace and counter-narcotics.
However, the New York Times monitored a series of allegations that it described as false or exaggerated, putting the president's numbers and promises to the test of facts. The following is a presentation of what the newspaper called fallacies and exaggerations in Trump's speech.
Trump said the United States and Venezuela together have more than 60 percent of the world's oil, following a deal that gives Washington control of much of Venezuela's reserves. But data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that the two countries together have only about 22 percent of the world's proven reserves, about 349 billion barrels out of about 1.6 trillion barrels.
The war on Gaza
President Trump has declared that he has ended Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, and that it has saved thousands of lives. But the ceasefire he helped broker in October 2025 halted much of the fighting, while Israeli operations and strikes continued, and the death toll in the Strip since that date has risen to more than 1,000.
Elements of Trump's peace plan in the Gaza Strip also remained stalled, including the disarmament of the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas), while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a 15-point plan backed by the Trump administration.
Drugs
President Trump claimed that U.S. strikes on drug smuggling boats destroyed 97 percent of the drugs destined by sea, and that smuggling had decreased by a similar percentage.
But the New York Times says the claim lacks evidence, and experts in the region believe the strikes may have disrupted some routes, but prompted smugglers to change their ways. An internal DEA assessment also suggests that the strikes did not affect cocaine supplies or prices within the United States.
Other allegations
The newspaper also stopped at other claims, including Trump's repeated claim that he had brought in $21 trillion in foreign investment, while the figure included broad promises and previously announced investments. He said he had made the biggest tax cuts in history, even though the latest cuts were the sixth.
He also exaggerated the size of the manpower and the abundance of ammunition, despite the war on Iran depleting the US stockpile, and attributed a role to himself in ending 8 wars, although in some cases there were truces or conflicts that were not resolved at all.
The newspaper concludes that the speech combined the achievements announced by the administration with figures and results that are not supported by available data, especially in the files of oil, drugs, military munitions and wars.
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