Latest Stories By Louis Jacobson

Showing 13-24 of 1260 items

Is Donald Trump keeping his promises on immigration, tariffs and DOGE?

March 3, 2025

When President Donald Trump addresses Congress March 4, he will describe a rapid-fire effort to deliver on his campaign promises to make Americans safer and wealthier. By the numbers, Trump has been very busy; he signed more than 70 executive orders in about six weeks. But many of his policies on immigration, tariffs, consumer prices, […]

How does the US spend taxpayer money? What to know as DOGE, Elon Musk look for cuts

February 24, 2025

As the Department of Government Efficiency roots through federal computer systems for taxpayer-funded programs to cut, billionaire Elon Musk said his team is working toward a $1 trillion target. “The overall goal is to try to get a trillion dollars out of the deficit, and if the deficit is not brought under control, America will […]

Social Security card with thumb covering the number

Are 150-year-old Americans receiving Social Security checks, as Elon Musk said?

February 17, 2025

In a closely watched Oval Office event, billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk shared some of the findings and rationale behind his Department of Government Efficiency, which President Donald Trump has tasked with cutting spending across the government. As an example of his work so far, Musk cited some “crazy things” that had emerged in just the […]

Cybertruck on the beach

Ask PolitiFact: Is the State Department about to pay Tesla $400 million for Cybertrucks? No

February 13, 2025

Editor’s note, Feb. 25, 2025: On Feb. 24, NPR reported it had obtained a document detailing that the State Department under former President Joe Biden had planned to spend $483,000 in fiscal year 2025 to buy electric vehicles, plus $3 million for supporting equipment, including charging stations. That would have been a small fraction of […]

Trump raises fist at Super Bowl 2025 on field in New Orleans, 2-9-2025

Fact-check: President Donald Trump’s Super Bowl LIX interview with Fox’s Bret Baier

February 9, 2025

In his Super Bowl Sunday interview, President Donald Trump defended efforts carried out by Elon Musk to slash the federal budget, including at the U.S. Agency for International Development, and he said more is coming.  Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier that “maybe in 24 hours” he will tell Musk, the billionaire leading the Department […]

Elon Musk at Donald Trump’s inauguration in Washington, 1-20-2025

Do Elon Musk and DOGE have power to cut spending, close agencies?

February 7, 2025

The Department of Government Efficiency — the Trump administration’s cost-cutting agency, headed by billionaire business owner Elon Musk — has put hundreds of federal officials on leave, gained access to sensitive federal payment systems and led the charge to shutter federal agencies. The pushback against DOGE, as it is called, has been swift, as lawmakers […]

Did Donald Trump’s firing of aviation officials make the DC crash likelier? Doubtful, experts say

January 30, 2025

Even as emergency responders were working to recover the remains of passengers and crew members who died in the Jan. 29 midair collision near the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, social media users, especially critics of President Donald Trump, pointed to some of Trump’s policies as contributors to the crash. “Just last week, Trump FIRED […]

Cargo ship in Panama Canal

New Trump tariffs could put even more downward pressure on economy because they’re less targeted

January 29, 2025

Imposing tariffs is one of the constants linking Donald Trump’s first and second presidencies. During his first term, Trump applied tariffs to imported solar panels, washing machines, steel and aluminum, and billions of dollars of Chinese goods. Then, during his 2024 presidential run, he offered an even more aggressive trade agenda, promising a 10% to […]

School meals? Cancer trials? What we know about Trump’s federal funding freeze

January 28, 2025

School meals for low-income students. Cancer treatment trials. Housing assistance for veterans. These are among the federal programs that might — or might not — be on the chopping block after the White House issued a sweeping, but vague, Jan. 27 late-night memo that ordered a temporary pause on all grants, loans and financial assistance.  […]

Donald Trump PolitiFact En Espanol, 01-25-2025

PolitiFact seguirá los avances de 75 promesas de Donald Trump

January 22, 2025

Durante los próximos cuatro años, PolitiFact evaluará periódicamente el progreso de 75 promesas que el presidente Donald Trump hizo durante la campaña de 2024. Las propuestas en la agenda del segundo mandato de Trump incluyen: Deportaciones masivas de personas en el país ilegalmente Imposición de aranceles del 10% al 20% a aliados de América del […]

Juramentación del Donald Trump 01-20-2025

Verificamos lo que Donald Trump dijo en su inauguración presidencial

January 20, 2025

WASHINGTON — Donald Trump se juramento como el presidente número 47 de los Estados Unidos el 20 de enero en la Rotonda del Capitolio, donde habló sobre el comienzo de una nueva “América” bajo su mandato.  Trump criticó al Departamento de Justicia, y la frontera bajo la administración del expresidente Joe Biden, resaltando que su […]

Donald Trump swears in as president oin Washington, 1-20-2025

Fact-checking President Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day speeches

January 20, 2025

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump took his second oath of office Jan. 20 as the 47th president of the United States, offering an agenda heavily foreshadowed by his campaign promises. Speaking from inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda because of the subfreezing temperatures, Trump said, “The golden age of America begins right now.” He vowed to […]

Showing 13-24 of 1260 items