Topic
6 entries.
“We're going to drill, baby, drill... prices will come down, and with everything.”
Drilling deregulation did not translate into lower consumer prices. A UC Berkeley energy professor called the claim that more extraction would drive down inflation 'a direct falsehood.' By 2026 electricity was up nearly 7% year over year, household power bills rose 6.7% in 2025, and gasoline hit a record $4.15 a gallon over Labor Day 2026.
“[paraphrase] We will fill up the Strategic Petroleum Reserve right to the top — immediately.”
The SPR was not refilled to capacity. Purchases were limited by appropriations and by the very oil prices the administration was trying to keep low, and refill slowed further once the February 2026 Iran war drove crude higher. PolitiFact still listed the promise as unfulfilled at the one-year mark.
“[paraphrase] I'll approve Keystone XL, but I want a piece of the profits for the United States.”
Trump issued a presidential permit in March 2017 and a replacement permit in March 2019, but no profit-sharing arrangement was ever negotiated and the pipeline was not completed. It remained tied up in litigation through the term, and the permit was revoked on January 20, 2021.
“[paraphrase] We're going to cancel billions in global warming payments to the United Nations.”
The administration withheld the remaining $2 billion pledged to the Green Climate Fund and began Paris Agreement withdrawal, effective November 4, 2020, but continued other U.N. climate-related contributions. PolitiFact rated the promise a compromise, finding spending lower than under Obama but still significant.
“Get ready because you're going to be working your asses off.”
Coal production fell 26.5 percent over the term and coal mining employment fell about 25 percent, according to FactCheck.org. Coal-fired plant retirements averaged about 12 gigawatts a year from 2017 to 2020, a higher rate than under Obama's second term. PolitiFact rated the promise a compromise in July 2020, finding the decline was slowed but no comeback occurred.
“[paraphrase] We are going to get rid of the EPA in almost every form, leaving little tidbits.”
The EPA was not eliminated. Congress rejected proposed budget cuts of about 31 percent and kept funding roughly flat, though agency staffing fell to its lowest level since the 1980s and more than 100 environmental rules were rolled back or targeted. PolitiFact rated the promise a compromise on July 17, 2020.