On Tuesday night, Donald Trump delivered his State of the Union before a joint session of Congress. As expected, fact-checkers were ready to debunk much of what the president had to say.

Trump's SOTU

After a year in office, Donald Trump has been forced to deal with a constant stream of controversy, mostly due to his own decision making. Whether it's his questionable policies, reckless behavior on social media, or the ramifications dealing with issues like the Russian investigation or his own alleged infidelities, Trump has done his best to deflect from the negative and focus on the positive.

In his latest attempt to do so, Trump appeared in front of Republicans and Democrats in Congress with millions watching around the word to deliver his State of the Union, though Politifact and other fact-checkers were on target, as reported on January 30.

Several times during his speech, Donald Trump made comments that weren't factually accurate. "After years and years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages," Trump claimed, to which Politifact pointed out wasn't true since wages have been increasing over the last five years.

After Trump said that he signed the biggest tax cut in American history, FactCheck.org noted that "It is not the biggest tax cut.

It is the 8th largest cut since 1918 as a percentage of gross domestic product, and the 4th largest in inflation-adjusted dollars." After also claiming that many Americans received "thousands and thousands" of dollars due to the tax cut, Politifact noted that the majority have received less than $1,000.

Trump on energy

"We are now very proudly an exporter of energy to the world," Donald Trump went on to claim, to which Politifact described as leaving experts on the issue "perplexed." "We have eliminated more regulations in our first year than any administration," Trump said, but FactCheck.org was forced to clarify, noting that the growth of federal regulations has slowed slightly, but that there was an increase in the use of restrictive phrases like "prohibited."

Trump on trade

On the issue of trade, Donald Trump claimed that the United States has "finally turned the page on decades of unfair trade deals." In response, fact-checkers pointed out that the trade deficit for goods and services has actually grown under the Trump administration by 11.5 percent.

Trump on immigration

The commander in chief also put focus on his immigration plans, which received predictable groans from Democrats. Despite praising his administration's actions on the MS-13 gang, as well has the need to end "chain migration," Politifact points out that Trump has "overstated" his progress.

Conclusion

Even after having much of his rhetoric and claims debunked, Donald Trump is unlikely to change his tune anytime soon. With another three years in office, only time will tell how the Trump presidency plays out, though it's not going over well with a current approval rating of under 40 percent.
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