“I also know things that other people don't know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation... You'll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday.”
· Remarks to reporters before his New Year's Eve party at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach
Deadline Jan 4, 2017 · 9 years, 8 months overdue
Nothing was revealed on that Tuesday or Wednesday. Trump was briefed by intelligence chiefs on January 6, 2017 and at his January 11 press conference conceded 'I think it was Russia' — the opposite of the inside-knowledge tease. No separate disclosure was ever made.
“[paraphrase] Anyone who kills a police officer will get the death penalty.”
· Campaign and post-election rallies
· ×4
No legislation or executive action establishing a mandatory death penalty for killing a police officer was pursued. PolitiFact rated the promise broken, noting Trump made no move on it.
“[paraphrase] I will hold a major news conference in New York with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my great business in total order.”
· Twitter, during the presidential transition
· ×2
He cancelled on December 12, 2016 and pushed it to January. The press conference finally happened on January 11, 2017, where he announced he would hand management to his sons via a trust but would not divest — an arrangement the director of the Office of Government Ethics publicly called inadequate that same day.
“[paraphrase] Israeli-Palestinian peace is the ultimate deal, and as a deal maker I would love to be the one to do it.”
· Interview with The Wall Street Journal after the election
· ×10
The "Peace to Prosperity" plan was released January 28, 2020 after repeated delays. Palestinian leaders rejected it outright and boycotted the announcement. No Israeli-Palestinian agreement was reached. The administration instead brokered normalization deals between Israel and the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in late 2020.
“Every woman lied when they came forward to hurt my campaign. Total fabrication. The events never happened. Never. All of these liars will be sued after the election is over.”
· 'Closing argument' and first-100-days speech, Eisenhower Hotel, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
He never sued a single accuser. The litigation ran the other way: E. Jean Carroll sued him and juries awarded her $5 million on May 9, 2023 and $83.3 million on January 26, 2024. Summer Zervos's suit was dropped in 2021 after Trump issued a statement.
“On the first day of my term of office, my administration will immediately pursue the following six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, DC.”
· Gettysburg, Pennsylvania speech releasing the written 'Contract with the American Voter'
· ×18
Deadline Oct 23, 2016 · 9 years, 10 months overdue
Mostly late or never. The federal hiring freeze and TPP withdrawal were signed on day four, January 23, 2017, not day one. The constitutional amendment imposing congressional term limits was never proposed. China was not labelled a currency manipulator on day one; the administration reversed that pledge in April 2017, briefly applied the label in August 2019 and removed it in January 2020. Sanctuary-city defunding was ordered but repeatedly blocked in court.
“Real change begins with immediately repealing and replacing the disaster known as Obamacare.”
· "Contract with the American Voter" speech, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×100
The House passed the American Health Care Act in May 2017, but Senate repeal efforts failed. On July 28, 2017, the Senate rejected a scaled-back repeal bill 49-51 after Republicans John McCain, Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voted no. A further attempt (Graham-Cassidy) collapsed in September 2017. The ACA was still law when Trump left office, with 8.2 million people enrolled through healthcare.gov for 2021.
“The Trump Plan will invest $550 billion in infrastructure and create an infrastructure fund.”
· Campaign platform and "Contract with the American Voter," Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×25
No infrastructure bill was introduced in the first 100 days or passed at any point in the term. A $1 trillion plan was rolled out in June 2017 and a $1.5 trillion version in February 2018; neither advanced. Talks with congressional Democrats collapsed on May 22, 2019, when Trump walked out of a White House meeting. "Infrastructure Week" became a recurring joke in Washington.
“[paraphrase] A five-year ban on executive branch officials lobbying the government after they leave, and a lifetime ban on lobbying for a foreign government.”
· "Contract with the American Voter," Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×50
Deadline Oct 23, 2016 · 9 years, 10 months overdue
Executive Order 13770, signed January 28, 2017, contained the pledge but with exemptions, and the lifetime foreign-lobbying ban applied only to lobbying registered under FARA, not to broader foreign consulting. Trump revoked the order entirely on January 19-20, 2021, hours before leaving office, releasing all appointees from the pledge.
“[paraphrase] The Middle Class Tax Relief and Simplification Act will let Americans deduct childcare and elder care from their taxes and create Dependent Care Savings Accounts.”
· "Contract with the American Voter," Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×5
The December 2017 tax law did not create the promised child and elder care deduction or Dependent Care Savings Accounts, and did not increase the dependent care deduction. PolitiFact rated the promise broken on December 21, 2017.
“[paraphrase] I will direct the Treasury Secretary to label China a currency manipulator on day one.”
· "Contract with the American Voter," Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×15
Treasury declined to make the designation through 2017, 2018 and most of 2019. It finally labeled China a currency manipulator on August 5, 2019, then reversed the designation on January 13, 2020, ahead of the Phase One signing. PolitiFact rated the promise a compromise.
“[paraphrase] AT&T's purchase of Time Warner is too much concentration of power; my administration will not approve it.”
· "Contract with the American Voter" speech, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×3
The Justice Department sued to stop the merger in November 2017 and lost in district court in June 2018. The D.C. Circuit affirmed in February 2019 and the deal closed. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] We will go through the budget of every department and eliminate wasteful spending.”
· "Contract with the American Voter," Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×3
A March 2017 executive order directed a government reorganization plan; the resulting June 2018 proposal required congressional action that never came. PolitiFact rated the promise broken, noting the president cannot unilaterally reorganize every department.
“[paraphrase] The End Illegal Immigration Act will establish a mandatory two-year minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a prior deportation.”
· "Contract with the American Voter," Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×5
The End Illegal Immigration Act was never introduced in the first 100 days and no mandatory minimum for re-entry was enacted during the term. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] A hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce the federal workforce through attrition, exempting military, public safety and public health.”
· "Contract with the American Voter," Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×4
Deadline Oct 23, 2016 · 9 years, 10 months overdue
A hiring freeze was imposed on January 23, 2017 but lifted on April 12, 2017, replaced by agency-by-agency workforce plans. Federal civilian employment was higher at the end of the term than at the start. PolitiFact rated the promise broken, noting no movement since April 2017.
“I will work with Congress to introduce the following broader legislative measures and fight for their passage within the first 100 days of my Administration.”
· "Contract with the American Voter," Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×5
By day 55, nine of the ten named bills had not been introduced: the Middle Class Tax Relief and Simplification Act, End the Offshoring Act, American Energy and Infrastructure Act, School Choice and Education Opportunity Act, Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act, End Illegal Immigration Act, Restoring Community Safety Act, Restoring National Security Act and Clean Up Corruption in Washington Act. Only a repeal-and-replace bill was introduced, and it did not pass. By April 2017 Trump called the 100-day benchmark a "ridiculous standard."
“[paraphrase] On day one I will cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama.”
· "Contract with the American Voter," Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×10
Deadline Oct 23, 2016 · 9 years, 10 months overdue
Many Obama-era regulations were rolled back, but the central immigration target, DACA, survived. The Supreme Court blocked its rescission in June 2020 and a federal court ordered full reinstatement of the program in December 2020. PolitiFact rated the promise a compromise on January 4, 2021.
“[paraphrase] A requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated, and a temporary moratorium on new regulations.”
· "Contract with the American Voter," Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
· ×6
Deadline Oct 23, 2016 · 9 years, 10 months overdue
A January 20, 2017 memo froze pending rules and Executive Order 13771 of January 30, 2017 imposed the two-for-one requirement, but no blanket moratorium on new regulations was maintained and agencies continued issuing rules. PolitiFact rated the promise a compromise, finding Trump essentially held the line.
“If I'm elected president, I will push for a constitutional amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress.”
· Campaign rally, Colorado Springs, later item one of the Gettysburg contract
· ×6
No term-limits amendment was proposed by the White House or brought to a vote in either chamber during the term. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in November 2016 there was no chance of it passing, and the administration did not pursue it further.
“[paraphrase] A lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government.”
· Campaign rally, Green Bay, Wisconsin; restated in the Gettysburg contract
· ×8
Deadline Oct 18, 2016 · 9 years, 11 months overdue
Executive Order 13770 of January 28, 2017 included a lifetime ban limited to activity requiring FARA registration. Trump revoked the order on January 19-20, 2021, eliminating the ban. A companion promise to ban foreign lobbyists from raising money in American elections was never implemented; PolitiFact rated both broken.
“We are going to stop the inflow of drugs into New Hampshire and into our country 100 percent.”
· Campaign speech, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
· ×25
Trump declared a public health emergency on October 26, 2017. Overdose deaths topped 70,000 in 2017, dipped slightly in 2018, then hit a record above 70,000 in 2019 and about 93,000 in 2020 according to CDC provisional data. NPR reported in October 2020 that the epidemic had never been worse.
“[paraphrase] We will work with colleges to reduce the cost of tuition.”
· Campaign speech, Columbus, Ohio
· ×4
No federal action reduced tuition. The Education Department rescinded the gainful employment rule in 2019 and weakened borrower defense to repayment rules, which The American Prospect cited as easing conditions for for-profit colleges rather than lowering costs.
“If I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation... you'd be in jail.”
· Second presidential debate, Washington University, St. Louis
· ×40
No special counsel was ever appointed to investigate Clinton. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had a federal prosecutor review the matter in 2017 and 2018 without appointing a special counsel, and no charges followed. Trump later said he felt it "would be a terrible thing" to pursue.
“I'm under a routine audit and it'll be released, and as soon as the audit is finished it will be released.”
· First 2016 presidential debate, Hofstra University
· ×6
Deadline Oct 10, 2016 · 9 years, 11 months overdue
Trump repeated the 'after the audit' line from 2015 onward and abandoned it once in office. Nothing in law bars releasing returns under audit. A 2022 House Ways and Means report found the mandatory presidential audit was not even started until 2019. Six years of returns became public only in December 2022 after the House Ways and Means Committee forced their release.
“[paraphrase] A concealed carry permit should be valid in all 50 states.”
· Campaign Second Amendment position paper
· ×6
The House passed a concealed carry reciprocity bill in December 2017, but the Senate never took it up and it did not become law. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] We have to expand treatment for the mentally ill; the halfway houses and institutions need to come back.”
· Campaign Second Amendment and public safety materials
· ×4
Some funding increased through the 21st Century Cures Act and opioid response grants, but the administration's budgets repeatedly proposed cuts to SAMHSA programs and to Medicaid, the largest payer for mental health care. PolitiFact rated the record mixed and the promise a compromise.
“We're bringing it from 1 percent up to 4 percent. And I actually think we can go higher than 4 percent. I think you can go to 5 percent or 6 percent.”
· Economic Club of New York speech
· ×30
Annual real GDP growth peaked at 2.9 percent in 2018, matching the best year of Obama's second term, and never reached 3 percent in any calendar year. Real GDP fell 2.2 percent in 2020 during the pandemic recession, the largest drop since the Great Recession.
“I am going to be the greatest jobs president that God ever created... we will produce 25 million jobs over 10 years.”
· Economic Club of New York speech (jobs boast from June 16, 2015 launch)
· ×10
The United States finished Trump's term with a net loss of about 2.7 million jobs, the first net job loss under any president since records began in 1939. Even before the pandemic, job growth from January 2017 to February 2020 trailed the pace of Obama's second term.
“[paraphrase] The tax plan will eliminate the alternative minimum tax.”
· Campaign tax plan
· ×4
The 2017 law repealed the corporate AMT but retained the individual AMT with higher exemption amounts through 2025. The 3.8 percent net investment income tax also remained. PolitiFact rated the promise broken on December 20, 2017.
“[paraphrase] Lower the business tax rate from 35 percent to 15 percent.”
· Campaign tax plan and Economic Club of New York speech
· ×12
The December 2017 law cut the corporate rate to 21 percent, not the promised 15 percent. PolitiFact rated the promise a compromise on December 20, 2017. The estate tax was likewise not eliminated; the exemption was roughly doubled instead.
“[paraphrase] Cut 1 percent of non-defense discretionary spending every year.”
· Campaign economic plan
· ×4
Federal spending rose in every year of the term. Trump signed budget deals in 2018 and 2019 that raised discretionary spending caps, and fiscal 2020 outlays reached $6.55 trillion. PolitiFact rated the promise broken, finding Trump abandoned the pledge.
“[paraphrase] Provide six weeks of paid maternity leave to any mother with a newborn child whose employer does not provide the benefit.”
· Child care policy speech, Aston, Pennsylvania
· ×6
No national paid maternity leave program was enacted. Proposals appeared in budget documents but were not taken up by Congress. The 2019 defense authorization act gave 12 weeks of paid parental leave to federal employees only, which PolitiFact cited in rating the broader promise a compromise: the vast majority of private-sector workers still had no paid leave.
“[paraphrase] I am proposing to redirect $20 billion in existing federal dollars to school choice.”
· Education speech, Cleveland, Ohio
· ×6
Congress did not appropriate the $20 billion. Federal charter school program funding rose only modestly, and a proposed federal tax-credit scholarship never passed. PolitiFact rated the promise broken, finding increases were minimal.
“[paraphrase] We will build an active Army of around 540,000 soldiers.”
· Military readiness speech, Union League, Philadelphia
· ×4
Active-duty Army end strength stayed near 475,000 through the term; recruiting shortfalls led the Army to abandon growth targets in 2018. PolitiFact rated the promise broken. Related pledges for a 350-ship Navy and 1,200 Air Force fighters were rated compromises, with numbers rising but falling well short.
“[paraphrase] We will rebuild the Marine Corps to 36 battalions.”
· Military readiness speech, Philadelphia
· ×2
The Marine Corps did not expand to 36 battalions. Its 2020 Force Design 2030 plan instead cut infantry battalions and eliminated all tank units. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] We will triple the number of ICE deportation officers.”
· Immigration speech, Phoenix, Arizona
· ×5
A January 2017 executive order called for 10,000 additional ICE officers, but Congress did not fund the expansion. Enforcement and Removal Operations staffing grew only modestly over the term. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] We will cancel all federal funding to sanctuary cities.”
· Immigration speech, Phoenix, Arizona
· ×12
A January 25, 2017 executive order directing the cutoff was blocked by a federal judge in San Francisco in November 2017. Attempts to attach conditions to Byrne JAG grants produced conflicting appellate rulings and were largely enjoined. Funding was not cancelled. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] We will cancel visas to foreign countries that will not take back their citizens we are deporting.”
· Immigration speech, Phoenix, Arizona
· ×4
Visa sanctions were imposed on a handful of countries, including Cambodia, Eritrea, Guinea and Sierra Leone in 2017 and additional countries later, but not on all nations classified as recalcitrant. PolitiFact rated the promise a compromise.
“We are going to convene my top generals and give them a simple instruction. They will have 30 days to submit to the Oval Office a plan for soundly and quickly defeating ISIS.”
· Foreign policy speech, Youngstown, Ohio; restated on September 6, 2016 in North Carolina
· ×3
He did start the clock: a presidential memorandum on January 28, 2017 gave the Pentagon 30 days, and Defense Secretary James Mattis delivered a preliminary framework around February 27, 2017. PolitiFact rated it a compromise — a plan was produced but it was largely a continuation of the Obama-era campaign, and ISIS's territorial defeat did not come until March 2019. Retired Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling called the 30-day order 'sophomoric.'
“[paraphrase] I will call for an international conference focused on halting the spread of radical Islam.”
· Foreign policy speech, Youngstown, Ohio
· ×2
No new international conference was convened. The administration continued meetings of the existing Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS, which PolitiFact counted as partial fulfillment in rating the promise a compromise.
“She'll be holding a press conference over the next couple of weeks... she came in totally legally.”
· Campaign remarks / interviews after reports questioned Melania Trump's early US work visas
· ×2
Deadline Aug 23, 2016 · 10 years overdue
Trump promised his wife would hold a news conference to produce documents proving she entered the US legally. The press conference never happened. In September 2016 her lawyer released a letter instead, and reporting later showed she had worked on a visitor visa before receiving a work visa.
“I'm going to be working for you. I'm not going to have time to go play golf.”
· Campaign rally in Virginia; repeated at rallies through 2016 alongside attacks on Obama's golfing
· ×15
Trump visited golf clubs on 92 days in his first year and on 237 of the first 1,022 days of his first term — roughly a quarter of his presidency. By 2020 he had golfed more than Obama had at the same point, while claiming the opposite. He kept the habit in his second term, spending 106 of his first 473 days back in office at golf courses.
· Republican National Convention acceptance speech, Cleveland
· ×10
The federal government shut down three times during the term, including the longest shutdown in U.S. history, 35 days from December 22, 2018 to January 25, 2019, over border wall funding. Roughly 800,000 federal workers went without pay and the Congressional Budget Office estimated a $11 billion hit to GDP, $3 billion of it permanent.
“[paraphrase] I am going to be the greatest champion working people have ever had in the White House.”
· Republican National Convention acceptance speech, Cleveland
· ×20
The administration rescinded the Obama-era overtime rule expansion and issued a narrower version in 2019, narrowed the joint-employer standard, and rolled back workplace safety and tip-pooling protections. The American Prospect listed the worker-protection record among the broken promises.
“[paraphrase] We're going to bring back manufacturing and the factories that left.”
· Speech at Alumisource, Monessen, Pennsylvania
· ×50
Manufacturing employment ended the term down about 178,000 jobs, according to FactCheck.org. The sector entered a technical recession in 2019, contracting for consecutive quarters before the pandemic. PolitiFact rated the promise broken in July 2020, finding no overall improvement for the sector.
The total U.S. trade deficit in goods and services rose 36.3 percent from 2016 to 2020, reaching nearly $654 billion in 2020, according to FactCheck.org.
China remained a WTO member throughout the term. The administration blocked appointments to the WTO Appellate Body, paralyzing it in December 2019, but took no action to remove China from the organization. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
No 35 percent tariff on offshoring companies was imposed, and the End the Offshoring Act promised in the Gettysburg contract was never introduced. Labor Department data on trade-related layoffs showed offshoring continued, including by companies Trump had singled out.
“[paraphrase] I'll approve Keystone XL, but I want a piece of the profits for the United States.”
· Energy policy speech, Bismarck, North Dakota
· ×6
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.”
· Energy policy speech, Bismarck, North Dakota
· ×4
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.”
· Campaign rally, Charleston, West Virginia
· ×40
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] Increase fees on all temporary visas issued to Mexican CEOs and diplomats, on border crossing cards and at ports of entry.”
· Campaign memo on making Mexico pay for the wall
· ×3
No increase in visa fees aimed at Mexico was implemented during the term, and the related plan to seize remittances was never pursued. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] We can balance the budget fairly quickly.”
· Campaign interviews
· ×8
The deficit grew every year of the term, from $585 billion in fiscal 2016 to $984 billion in fiscal 2019 and $3.1 trillion in fiscal 2020. PolitiFact rated the promise broken, noting the deficit was growing rather than shrinking.
“[On paying off the $19 trillion national debt] Over a period of eight years.”
· Interview with Bob Woodward and Robert Costa, The Washington Post
· ×5
Debt rose throughout the term. FactCheck.org calculated that federal debt held by the public rose 50 percent under Trump, from $14.4 trillion to $21.6 trillion, and the fiscal 2020 deficit reached $3.1 trillion. Gross national debt went from roughly $19 trillion to about $27.75 trillion by January 2021.
“[paraphrase] My number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran and negotiate a better one.”
· Speech to AIPAC, Washington, D.C.
· ×20
The United States withdrew from the JCPOA on May 8, 2018 and reimposed sanctions, but no replacement agreement was reached. Iran began exceeding the deal's limits in 2019, enriching to 20 percent purity by January 2021 and expanding its uranium stockpile well beyond the 300-kilogram cap. PolitiFact rated the promise broken, at a standstill as the 2020 election approached.
“[paraphrase] Get Congress to allow the sale of health insurance across state lines.”
· Campaign health care plan and Republican primary debates
· ×12
Congress never passed legislation permitting interstate sale of health plans. States continued to regulate insurance under the McCarran-Ferguson Act, and PolitiFact rated the promise broken in July 2020, noting that states still oversee insurance rules.
“[paraphrase] Allow individuals to fully deduct health insurance premiums from their tax returns and create tax-free Health Savings Accounts.”
· Campaign health care position paper
· ×5
Neither element became law. The 2017 tax law did not create a premium deduction for individuals, and PolitiFact found Health Savings Accounts were substantially unchanged from when Trump took office. Both promises were rated broken in July 2020.
“[paraphrase] Administer Medicaid through block grants to the states.”
· Campaign health care position paper
· ×4
Congress never enacted block grants. A January 2020 CMS initiative called Healthy Adult Opportunity invited states to accept capped funding voluntarily; Oklahoma's application was the only one approved and the state withdrew it in 2020. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] Require price transparency from all health care providers so patients can shop for the best price.”
· Campaign health care position paper
· ×5
A June 2019 executive order led to a rule requiring hospitals to publish standard charges starting January 1, 2021, and a separate insurer rule phased in from 2022. Hospital compliance was low in the first year and the rules covered only part of the health system. PolitiFact rated the promise a compromise on January 15, 2021.
“[paraphrase] Allow consumers access to imported, safe and dependable drugs from overseas.”
· Campaign health care position paper
· ×6
A final rule allowing state-run Canadian importation programs was issued September 24, 2020 and took effect November 30, 2020, but no state program was approved and no drugs were imported during the term. PolitiFact rated the promise a compromise, with more progress for some drug categories than others.
“I don't settle lawsuits — very rare — because once you settle lawsuits, everybody sues you. ... I could have settled but won't out of principle!”
· Campaign rallies and Trump's Twitter account throughout the 2016 primaries
· ×8
Ten days after winning the election, on November 18, 2016, Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle two federal class actions in California and the New York attorney general's civil fraud case over Trump University, with no admission of wrongdoing. He said on Twitter he settled "for a small fraction of the potential award because as President I have to focus on our country." New York AG Eric Schneiderman called it "a stunning reversal." A judge finalized the settlement in April 2018.
“I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money.”
· Campaign rally, Fort Worth, Texas
· ×12
Libel law is set by state law and Supreme Court precedent, chiefly New York Times v. Sullivan, and no federal statute or ruling changed it during the term. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] We're going to cut the Department of Education way, way down.”
· Campaign interviews and rallies
· ×10
Congress rejected the administration's proposed cuts each year and appropriated more for the department than it requested. The department was neither eliminated nor significantly reduced in funding. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“I would bring back waterboarding, and I'd bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding.”
· Republican primary debate, Manchester, New Hampshire
· ×20
Waterboarding was not reinstated. Defense Secretary James Mattis and CIA Director Mike Pompeo opposed it, and a 2015 statute limiting interrogations to the Army Field Manual remained in force. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“When it comes time to negotiate the cost of drugs, we are going to negotiate like crazy.”
· Campaign rally, New Hampshire; repeated at January 11, 2017 press conference
· ×15
No law allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices was enacted during the term. The administration dropped a proposed rule on drug rebates in 2019 and did not back House-passed legislation (H.R. 3) in 2019 that would have created negotiating authority. Medicare negotiation was authorized later, in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
“[paraphrase] We raised $6 million for the veterans, including $1 million of my own money, and it's going out to veterans' charities right away.”
· Televised veterans' benefit at Drake University, Des Moines, held instead of a Fox News primary debate
· ×2
By March 2016 the Washington Post found much of the money unaccounted for and charities said they had not received it. Trump only wrote his own $1 million cheque on May 24, 2016 — nearly four months later, and only after Post reporter David Fahrenthold pressed him publicly. The related Trump Foundation reporting contributed to the foundation's court-ordered dissolution and a $2 million payment in 2019.
“[paraphrase] Trump repeatedly presented the Donald J. Trump Foundation as the vehicle through which he would deliver his publicly pledged charitable giving.”
· The January 2016 Iowa veterans fundraiser and repeated campaign-trail charity pledges
· ×4
New York's attorney general sued in June 2018. On November 7, 2019, a judge ordered Trump to pay $2 million in damages for misusing foundation money, finding his campaign had "orchestrated" the veterans fundraiser to further his political campaign; Trump admitted to things including a $10,000 charity payment for a six-foot portrait of himself. The foundation was dissolved, its remaining $1.7 million distributed to eight charities, and the Trump children were required to take compulsory training.
“[paraphrase] My first day, gun-free zones on military bases and in schools — they're gone.”
· Campaign rally, Burlington, Vermont
· ×8
Deadline Jan 9, 2016 · 10 years, 8 months overdue
No order or law eliminating gun-free school zones was issued. The Pentagon issued limited 2016 guidance allowing some service members to carry on base, which predated the term. PolitiFact found scant progress and rated the promise broken.
“If elected, Mr. Trump, I can state unequivocally, will be the healthiest individual ever elected to the presidency.”
· Letter released by the Trump campaign, signed by Dr. Harold Bornstein
Trump offered the four-paragraph letter in place of the detailed medical records other candidates release. In May 2018 Bornstein told CNN and NPR that Trump had dictated the letter himself: "He dictated that whole letter. I didn't write that letter." Bornstein said Trump read out the language over the phone and then sent a car to collect it. No comprehensive medical records were ever released in 2016.
“[paraphrase] A total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on.”
· Campaign statement, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina
· ×30
The first travel ban executive order of January 27, 2017 was enjoined, as was a March 2017 revision. A third version was upheld by the Supreme Court in Trump v. Hawaii on June 26, 2018, but it covered a limited list of countries including non-Muslim-majority Venezuela and North Korea. PolitiFact rated the original promise broken because the restrictions fell short of a religion-based ban.
“[paraphrase] We are going to get rid of the EPA in almost every form, leaving little tidbits.”
· Fox News Sunday interview
· ×8
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.
“[paraphrase] Build a safe zone in Syria, paid for by the Gulf states, so refugees can stay in the region.”
· Campaign interviews and rallies
· ×8
A January 2017 executive order directed a plan for safe zones, but none was established. A 2019 U.S.-Turkey agreement created a limited buffer arrangement in northeast Syria after the U.S. troop withdrawal, not a refugee safe zone. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] Common Core is a disaster and we will end it.”
· Campaign rallies and interviews
· ×20
Common Core standards are adopted by states, not the federal government, and the Every Student Succeeds Act of 2015 already barred federal mandates on standards. Most states retained standards based on Common Core throughout the term. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
Syrian refugees already admitted to the United States were not deported. Refugee admissions were sharply reduced, with the annual ceiling cut to 15,000 for fiscal 2021, but no removals of resettled Syrians took place. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] Give smaller doses over a longer period of time.”
· Republican primary debate, Simi Valley, California
· ×5
The CDC childhood immunization schedule was not changed during the term. A vaccine safety commission discussed with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. in January 2017 was never established. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] I will support the Republican nominee and I will not run as an independent.”
· Trump Tower, after meeting RNC chairman Reince Priebus; signed pledge displayed to cameras
· ×2
Trump signed the RNC's written loyalty pledge on September 3, 2015 and waved it at reporters, using it to defuse the threat of a third-party run. On March 29-30, 2016, at a CNN town hall, he said he no longer felt bound by it: "No, I don't anymore." The pledge was dead 209 days after he signed it. He again refused to sign the RNC's 2024 primary pledge.
“President Obama has renamed Mt. McKinley to Denali after more than 100 years. Great insult to Ohio. I will change back!”
· Twitter
· ×2
The name was not changed during the first term; Alaska's congressional delegation opposed a reversal. PolitiFact rated the promise broken in July 2020. The mountain was renamed Mount McKinley by executive order in January 2025, during the second term.
“[paraphrase] Hedge fund managers are getting away with murder; the carried interest loophole will be eliminated.”
· CBS "Face the Nation" interview and subsequent campaign tax plan
· ×10
The 2017 tax law kept the carried interest provision, only lengthening the required holding period from one year to three years for the preferential rate. PolitiFact rated the promise broken on December 20, 2017.
“[paraphrase] They have to go. We're going to have a deportation force and everyone who is here illegally will leave.”
· NBC "Meet the Press" interview
· ×60
No mass deportation force was created and the undocumented population remained roughly 10.5 to 11 million. ICE removals over the term ran below the peak years of the Obama administration. PolitiFact rated the promise broken in July 2020.
“[paraphrase] Birthright citizenship is the biggest magnet for illegal immigration and it will end.”
· Immigration position paper and NBC "Meet the Press"
· ×10
Trump said in an Axios interview on October 30, 2018 that he would sign an executive order ending birthright citizenship. No such order was issued during the first term and the Fourteenth Amendment guarantee remained in force. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“[paraphrase] We will replace the J-1 visa jobs program for foreign youth with a resume bank for inner-city youth.”
· Campaign immigration position paper
· ×2
The J-1 exchange visitor program was not replaced. A June 2020 proclamation temporarily suspended some J-1 categories during the pandemic, but no inner-city resume bank was created. PolitiFact rated the promise broken.
“I'm self-funding my own campaign. It's my money. ... I don't need anybody's money.”
· Campaign launch and repeatedly at rallies and debates through the 2016 primaries
· ×12
Trump passively accepted small-dollar contributions from the day he announced; by May 2016 supporters had given his campaign roughly $14 million. After clinching the nomination he began fundraising in earnest with the RNC and from major donors. In the end he personally funded about 20 percent of the 2016 effort — the other 80 percent was other people's money — and by 2020 and 2024 he was running conventional donor-funded campaigns.
“I will build a great, great wall on our southern border, and I will have Mexico pay for that wall.”
· Campaign launch speech, Trump Tower, New York
· ×200
Mexico never contributed money for the barrier. Construction was funded by U.S. appropriations plus roughly $10 billion diverted from Defense Department accounts after Trump declared a national emergency in February 2019. By January 2021 about 452 miles of barrier had been built, of which roughly 40 miles was in locations where no barrier previously existed.
“[paraphrase] I'm going to surround myself only with the best and most serious people.”
· Campaign launch and repeated throughout the campaign
· ×20
The administration had record senior-staff turnover, with Brookings measuring roughly 92 percent turnover among A-team positions over four years. Six Trump associates, including campaign chairman Paul Manafort, national security adviser Michael Flynn, adviser Roger Stone and attorney Michael Cohen, were convicted or pleaded guilty to federal crimes.
“I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid.”
· Twitter
· ×30
Every Trump budget proposed reductions. The fiscal 2021 budget released February 10, 2020 proposed roughly $850 billion less in Medicare spending, about $900 billion less in Medicaid, and about $30 billion less in Social Security disability spending over ten years. The administration also approved state Medicaid work-requirement waivers, which PolitiFact cited in rating the Medicaid pledge broken.