President-elect Donald Trump made numerous false claims during a wide-ranging news conference in Florida, with many related to foreign affairs and international trade.
Trump repeated his claim that none of the rioters at the Capitol on January 6 were armed with guns, despite evidence showing that some were armed with guns, including Mark Mazza, Guy Reffitt, Christopher Alberts, and others. The total number of rioters who were armed with guns is unknown because many were able to leave the Capitol without being detained and searched.
Trump also made false claims about trade with the European Union, stating that the EU doesn’t take US cars, farm products, or anything, and that the US has a $350 billion trade deficit. However, the US exports $368 billion in goods to the EU, and the nominal deficit was around $209 billion in 2023, with a projection of being around $300 billion in 2024.
Additionally, Trump claimed that the US provides more aid to Ukraine than Europe, which is also false. According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, Europe has committed and provided more aid to Ukraine than the US. The US had committed around $123 billion, while Europe had committed around $250 billion.
Trump also made false claims about NATO, stating that most members “weren’t paying their bills” and that Germany was at “less than 1%,” referring to the alliance’s target of having members spend 2% of their gross domestic product on defense. However, all NATO members were spending on defense before Trump took office, and Germany was spending 1.2% of its GDP on defense.
Other falsehoods from Trump included claims that he was not involved in any wars, that the US has no deficit with Canada, that foreign countries were releasing prisoners and mentally ill patients into the US, and that the border wall was built at a length of 571 miles when the actual amount built was 458 miles.