FactChecking Biden's State of the Union

President Joe Biden used the final State of the Union address before the November election to make his case for a second term in the White House.

In the speech, he touted his administration's accomplishments and talked about its future plans. He also had much to say about former President Donald Trump, the soon-to-be Republican presidential nominee, whom he would only refer to as "my predecessor."

But in some instances, Biden's claims stretched the facts or omitted important context, especially when he was reviewing his own economic record.

The president boasted that under his leadership “wages keep going up,” when inflation-adjusted wages are down over the entirety of his presidency. He then claimed that the U.S. inflation rate of about 3% is the “lowest in the world,” even though several nations have reported lower rates than the U.S.

In addition, Biden suggested that "many" non-college graduates will earn six-figure salaries working in new semiconductor factories, which appears unlikely. He also credited his policies for attracting "$650 billion in private sector investment" in clean energy and advanced manufacturing -- announced investments that are not guaranteed to happen.

For the full analysis, see "FactChecking Biden’s State of the Union."

Reader: Donald Trump promised he would not take his salary payment as president. Did this turn out to be true?

FactCheck.org Deputy Managing Editor Rob Farley: We last wrote about this issue in October 2019, when former President Trump boasted that no president other than him had donated his salary, except maybe George Washington. Trump was wrong.

As we wrote, John F. Kennedy also donated his salary in 1961, according to a Nov. 14, 1962, news article that attributed that information to the Minneapolis Tribune and Des Moines Register. The article said Kennedy was following the practice of Herbert Hoover, who "banked his presidential salary and gave it entirely to charity," according to the Hoover presidential library. Also, Washington refused his salary at first, but historians say he finally accepted it at Congress’ urging.

At that time, we noted, Trump had, in fact, been regularly donating his annual $400,000 salary. The press regularly covered the quarterly announcements of which government programs would be receiving Trump’s donated salary.

But there is some question about whether Trump continued to donate his salary in his final year in office. On July 30, 2021, Washington Post reporter David A. Fahrenthold reported that "Tump’s last known gift [to the National Park Service] came on July 23, 2020, according to government documents." As for the rest of the year, Fahrenthold wrote, "six months after he left office, it’s not clear where Trump donated that remaining salary — or if he donated it at all." Fahrenthold surveyed major federal agencies, and checked with Trump's press office, but never found anything.

After Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee released six years of Trump’s tax returns, the New York Times reported on Dec. 30, 2022, that “in 2020, his last full year in office, the documents show that Mr. Trump reported $0 in charitable giving.”  

Wrapping Up

Here's what else we've got for you this week:

• "Hunter Biden’s Testimony in Context": During a lengthy interview with House investigators on Feb. 28, Hunter Biden repeatedly insisted that his father was never involved in any of his businesses. We lay out how Hunter Biden’s testimony matched up against GOP talking points.
   
• "Role of Illinois Circuit Court Judge Misrepresented in Post About Trump’s Removal from Ballot": The Supreme Court ruled that states may not remove former President Donald Trump from primary ballots based on the Constitution’s insurrection clause. A few days before the ruling, an Instagram post claimed a “traffic court judge” had ruled Trump shouldn’t appear on Illinois’ ballot — misrepresenting Tracie Porter’s role as an Illinois circuit court judge.
   
• "Posts Make Baseless Claim About Net Worth of Ocasio-Cortez": Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York reported having $60,000 at most in bank accounts and other savings and as much as $50,000 in student loan debt in her 2023 financial disclosure report. But social media posts baselessly claim that since becoming a member of Congress, she is “a verified multi-millionaire.”
   
• "Blood Donations from COVID-19 Vaccine Recipients Are Safe, Contrary to Online Claims": People vaccinated with an authorized or approved COVID-19 vaccine can donate blood immediately after receiving a shot if they’re feeling well. Social media posts distort a question from the American Red Cross to baselessly claim the vaccines are unsafe.

• "Las donaciones de sangre de personas vacunadas contra el COVID-19 son seguras, contrariamente a las afirmaciones en línea": Las personas que han recibido vacunas autorizadas o aprobadas contra el COVID-19 pueden donar sangre inmediatamente después de vacunarse si se sienten bien. Publicaciones en las redes sociales tergiversan una pregunta de la Cruz Roja Estadounidense para afirmar sin fundamento que las vacunas no son seguras.
   
• "Los CDC y los expertos afirman que el agua fluorada es segura, al contrario de las advertencias de RFK Jr.": Los Centros para el Control y la Prevención de Enfermedades y múltiples grupos de expertos respaldan la fluoración del agua como una forma segura de reducir las caries dentales. Sin embargo, el candidato presidencial independiente Robert F. Kennedy Jr. hizo una afirmación sobre los efectos del fluoruro en el sistema nervioso y prometió ordenarle a los CDC eliminar el fluoruro del agua potable.