Fact-checking Trump: Economy, wages, immigration and more

President Donald Trump's rapid-fire series of claims about the economic, military and societal impact of the first year of his second administration

President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening offered a rapid-fire series of claims about the economic, military and societal impact of the first year of his second administration — some accurate or close to reality, while others appeared to be either misleading or wrong.

Trump covered a wide variety of topics in the 18-minute speech, touching on everything from wages and employment to the strength of the military and his efforts to address illegal immigration.

NBC News has picked out eight key claims to provide context and data for.

Wages are outpacing inflation, but “much” is up for some debate as the pace of wage growth has slowed significantly this year. In January, average wages were increasing at a pace of 4.1%. As of Tuesday, when the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the October and November jobs report, the pace had fallen to 3.5%. Inflation is currently at 3.0% and has risen every month since April.

It is also worth noting that while the Biden administration endured far higher rates of inflation, wages broadly kept pace with rising prices even for lower-paid workers.