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
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
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
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

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


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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.

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi
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Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi

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How to apply for a drone permit
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Director: Sriram Raghavan

Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18

Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan

Rating: 3.5/5

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

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Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla

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Torque: 230Nm

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Starting price: Dh79,000

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WHAT IS GRAPHENE?

It was discovered in 2004, when Russian-born Manchester scientists Andrei Geim and Kostya Novoselov were experimenting with sticky tape and graphite, the material used as lead in pencils.

Placing the tape on the graphite and peeling it, they managed to rip off thin flakes of carbon. In the beginning they got flakes consisting of many layers of graphene. But when they repeated the process many times, the flakes got thinner.

By separating the graphite fragments repeatedly, they managed to create flakes that were just one atom thick. Their experiment led to graphene being isolated for the very first time.

In 2010, Geim and Novoselov were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics. 

Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg

Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).

Second leg

Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm

Games on BeIN Sports

The specs

Engine: 5.2-litre V10

Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm

Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm

Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto

Price: From Dh1 million

On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022 

The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km

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Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)

Wanderers

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Cons Flaherty

Pens Flaherty 2

Tigers

Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly

Cons Caldwell 2

Pens Caldwell, Cross

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MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League semi-finals, second leg:

Liverpool (0) v Barcelona (3), Tuesday, 11pm UAE

Game is on BeIN Sports

ENGLAND SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope 
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold 
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph 
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck

Score

Third Test, Day 2

New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)

Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings

HOW TO WATCH

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'Lost in Space'

Creators: Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless, Irwin Allen

Stars: Molly Parker, Toby Stephens, Maxwell Jenkins

Rating: 4/5

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BULKWHIZ PROFILE

Date started: February 2017

Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce 

Size: 50 employees

Funding: approximately $6m

Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait

Updated: April 28, 2025, 8:47 AM