He said what? A fact check of some of Trump's wildest claims

The first 100 days of the Trump administration have been punctuated by at-times outlandish statements

Donald Trump holds a chart as he delivers remarks on 'reciprocal' tariffs. In his first 100 days, the US President has announced policies with machinegun rapidity. AFP

President Donald Trump's first 100 days have been filled with wild promises, exaggerated statements and dubious claims that often don't pan out.

Long known for his hyperbole, the master salesman who has hawked everything from steaks and university degrees to property and wine is now using his pulpit to sell the world on his vision of America.

Here is a look at some of his more remarkable statements:

The US will ‘own’ Gaza

On February 4, Mr Trump made one of the most extraordinary statements of his political career, saying the US would take an “ownership position” of the Gaza Strip and force its two million residents to leave so America can develop the enclave into a “Riviera of the Middle East”.

“We're going to take over that piece, and we're going to develop it, create thousands and thousands of jobs, and it'll be something that the entire Middle East can be very proud of,” Mr Trump said at a press conference alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Analysts said Mr Trump’s proposal was “profoundly illegal” and the President soon backed away from his plan.

Fuzzy maths

Mr Trump in February outlined plans to begin selling a “gold card” to the world’s wealthiest people. In return for a $5 million investment in the US, gold card holders would be able to live and work in America.

At a Cabinet meeting on February 26, Mr Trump claimed his administration would be able to sell as many as 10 million gold cards, creating enough revenue to pay off the national debt, currently at $36.7 trillion, in its entirety.

“If we sell 10 million, which is possible, 10 million highly productive people coming in … that's $50 trillion, that means our debt is totally paid off, and we'll have $15 trillion above that,” he said.

But Mr Trump’s projection is fantasy. Various estimates show that the entire global population has fewer than 10 million people with a net worth greater than $5 million. Even if all of them decided they wanted to live in America and give their wealth to the US government, Mr Trump’s estimate is far removed from the realm of possibility.

‘Economic catastrophe’

Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed he inherited a failing economy from former president Joe Biden. In a speech to Congress, he said the Biden administration had left him “an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare.”

Inflation was high under Mr Biden, ultimately a factor into his election defeat. It peaked at 9.1 per cent in 2022 but fell steadily during the rest of his term.

The unemployment rate, meanwhile, dropped to 4 per cent in January, while the economy expanded a healthy 2.8 per cent in 2024.

Many economists expect Mr Trump’s tariffs to have an inflationary effect as costs are passed on to consumers, and talk of a “soft landing” for the US economy has been eclipsed by fears of a Trump-induced recession.

Golden Age of America?

In that same speech to Congress, Mr Trump said his tariffs would be about quickly making America “rich again and making America great again”.

“There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re OK with that. It won’t be much,” he said.

Depending on one’s definition of “much”, this statement is misleading at best. Since Mr Trump announced his tariff regime, investors have lost trillions of dollars as US stock markets plunged, the dollar has lost nearly 10 per cent of its value against the euro and Treasury bond yields are rising, making it more expensive for the US government to borrow.

It is all far from Mr Trump’s pledge to usher in a Golden Age of America.

'Reciprocal' tariffs

Mr Trump has been obsessed with tariffs since the 1980s and has not changed his commitment to them in the decades since, despite changes to the global economy.

When he announced tariffs against most countries earlier this month, he pitched them as “reciprocal” measures to counter what other countries charge the US.

But in many cases the tariffs are not reciprocal at all. Instead, they were calculated by the size of a country's trade deficit with the US.

Ukraine peace in 24 hours

During his 2024 election campaign, Mr Trump said repeatedly he would be able to end the war between Russia and Ukraine “in 24 hours” upon taking office. He has changed his tone since becoming President again.

As various US envoys have held talks looking for an end to the war, both Mr Trump and his senior officials have become more reserved about the prospects of a peace deal. Secretary of State Marco Rubio suggested the US might soon back away from negotiations altogether without more progress, adding a comment that sounded like a repudiation of the President's remark.

“No one’s saying this can be done in 12 hours,” Mr Rubio said.