A claim-by-claim fact-check of notable statements from Trump?s Sept. 23, 2025 UN address, with concise verdicts and sourcing.
- ?I got NATO to raise defense spending from 2% to 5%.?
Verdict: Mostly true but missing key context. NATO leaders agreed in June 2025 to a new 5%-of-GDP target by 2035, split into 3.5% ?core defense? and 1.5% ?defense-related? spending; Spain secured an exception. The move followed sustained U.S. pressure, but it is not immediate, not yet met by allies today, and not literally unanimous (Reuters; AP; CFR; Atlantic Council). (Reuters, 2025-06-25; AP, 2025-06-25; Council on Foreign Relations, 2025-06-25; Atlantic Council, 2025-06-25; Reuters, 2025-05-26; AP, 2025-06-25) -
?Operation Midnight Hammer destroyed Iran?s nuclear facilities.?
Verdict: Partly true; degree of damage is disputed. The U.S. conducted large B-2 strikes on June 22, 2025 against multiple Iranian nuclear sites. U.S. officials described ?severe? damage; independent assessments and Iran?s statements vary on the extent (CBS News; Wikipedia summary aggregating open reporting; NewsNation). (CBS News, 2025-06-22; Wikipedia, 2025-09-19; NewsNation, 2025) -
?Zero illegal entries for four consecutive months.?
Verdict: Misleading. CBP and administration releases have touted multiple months with ?zero Border Patrol releases,? which is different from ?zero illegal entries.? Encounters have continued in the tens of thousands monthly even as releases fell sharply (CBP; White House; DHS). (CBP, 2025-09; White House, 2025-06-17; DHS, 2025-08-01; PBS/PolitiFact, 2025-02-22) -
?Europe loses 175,000 people to heat deaths each year because energy is so expensive people can?t turn on AC.?
Verdict: Misleading. WHO Europe estimates ~175,000 heat-related deaths annually, but it does not attribute that figure to energy prices or air-conditioning access as the primary cause. Trump?s causal link is not supported by WHO; news fact-checks flagged this (WHO Europe; ABC News; EBU fact-check). (WHO/Europe, 2024-08-01; ABC News, 2025-09-23; EBU, 2025-08-26) -
?The UN budgeted $372 million to help 624,000 migrants journey to the U.S.?
Verdict: Unsubstantiated framing / lacks context. That dollar and beneficiary figure appears in Center for Immigration Studies writings citing UN ?R4V? planning documents for assistance to Venezuelan refugees/migrants across Latin America. Those UN plans are not earmarked to facilitate illegal entry into the U.S.; they fund regional humanitarian needs (CIS; R4V/UN sites; UNHCR/IOM materials). (CIS, 2024-01-22; CIS, 2024-01-24; RMRP site; UNHCR budget page; R4V update pages) -
?Germany went back to fossil fuels and to nuclear.?
Verdict: False on nuclear; mixed on coal. Germany shut its last three reactors in April 2023 and has not restarted nuclear power. Coal plants have run at times and phase-out timelines are evolving, but policy remains to exit coal (Clean Energy Wire; U.S. Trade Guide; World Nuclear News/Reuters). (Clean Energy Wire, 2024-04-16; U.S. Trade/Commerce, 2025-08-01; World Nuclear News, 2025-03-27; Reuters, 2025-03-05) -
?D.C. became totally safe – 12 days without a murder after the federal surge.?
Verdict: Overstated. D.C. did record a 12-day homicide-free stretch after the August federal takeover/National Guard deployment, but broader crime persisted and 2025 crime levels, while down from 2023, are not ?totally safe.? Independent analysts and official dashboards show declines alongside ongoing incidents (Newsweek; MPD dashboard; FactCheck.org; Washington Post). (Newsweek, 2025-08-26; MPD Crime Data, 2025; FactCheck.org, 2025-08-12; Washington Post, 2025-08-11; Washington Post, 2025-09-21) -
?NATO countries say they support Ukraine but still buy huge amounts of Russian energy.?
Verdict: Partly true. EU/NATO members sharply reduced Russian energy, but several still import Russian LNG and some pipeline gas; Russia?s share of EU gas imports fell from ~45% pre-war to roughly the mid-teens to ~19% by 2024?2025. A ban on Russian LNG is being prepared for 2027, but purchases continue in some states (Reuters; Eurostat; European Commission; CREA; Bruegel/IEEFA). (Reuters, 2025-09-19; Eurostat, 2025; European Commission energy reports, 2025-07-04; CREA, 2025-09-10; IEEFA tracker, 2025; Reuters, 2025-09-18) -
?We designated gangs/cartels like Tren de Aragua and MS-13 as Foreign Terrorist Organizations.?
Verdict: True. The administration issued EO 14157 creating a process for designations, and State formally designated multiple cartels and gangs (including Tren de Aragua and MS-13) as FTOs in February 2025, with subsequent actions detailed by Treasury and DHS (Federal Register; State Dept.; OFAC/Treasury; DOJ notes). (Federal Register, 2025-02-20 & 2025-01-29; State FTO list; OFAC alert, 2025-03-18; DHS/ICE, 2025-08-07) -
?European prisons are packed with foreign nationals, showing migration?s link to crime.?
Verdict: Needs caution/context. Some European systems have high shares of foreign nationals in prison, but cross-country figures vary widely and are shaped by legal status, pre-trial detention patterns, and offense mix. Without specific country/year stats, the claim risks cherry-picking. (General note; suggest consulting Eurostat/Ministry of Justice series for country-level rates.) -
?Tariffs on Brazil for censorship/interference.?
Verdict: Not independently verified from primary legal notices at time of writing. No U.S. Federal Register tariff action specific to Brazilian ?censorship? found in the sources queried; news coverage of a Brazil-related tariff move tied to speech issues is scant. Treat as unverified pending an official proclamation or Federal Register notice.
References
ABC News. (2025, September 23). Fact-checking what Trump said about climate change during his UN address. https://abcnews.go.com (ABC News, 2025-09-23)
Atlantic Council. (2025, June 25). Experts react: NATO allies agreed to a 5 percent defense spending target. https://www.atlanticcouncil.org (Atlantic Council, 2025-06-25)
CBS News. (2025, June 22). Pentagon reveals how B-2 bombers struck Iran nuclear sites. https://www.cbsnews.com (CBS News, 2025-06-22)
Center for Immigration Studies. (2024, January 22 & 24). Don?t believe the lies?; UN budgets millions for U.S.-bound migrants. https://cis.org (CIS, 2024-01-22; CIS, 2024-01-24)
Clean Energy Wire. (2024, April 16). Q\&A ? Germany?s nuclear exit: One year after. https://www.cleanenergywire.org (Clean Energy Wire, 2024-04-16)
Council on Foreign Relations. (2025, June 25). NATO agrees to new defense spending target. https://www.cfr.org (CFR, 2025-06-25)
European Broadcasting Union. (2025, August 26). Climate in focus: A/C debate fact-check. https://spotlight.ebu.ch (EBU, 2025-08-26)
Eurostat. (2025). EU trade with Russia ? latest developments. https://ec.europa.eu (Eurostat, 2025)
FactCheck.org. (2025, August 12 & 2024, February). DC crime statistics claims; Breaking down immigration figures. https://www.factcheck.org (FactCheck.org, 2025-08-12; FactCheck.org, 2024-02)
IEEFA. (2025). EU Gas Flows Tracker. https://ieefa.org (IEEFA, 2025)
MPD. (2025). District Crime Data at a Glance. https://mpdc.dc.gov (MPD, 2025)
Newsweek. (2025, August 26). How rare is DC?s 12-day homicide-free run? https://www.newsweek.com (Newsweek, 2025-08-26)
OFAC, U.S. Department of the Treasury. (2025, March 18). Alert on FTO/SDGT designations. https://ofac.treasury.gov (OFAC, 2025-03-18)
PBS/PolitiFact. (2025, August 12; 2025, February 22). DC homicide claim; Immigration claims. https://www.pbs.org/newshour (PBS/PolitiFact, 2025-08-12; PBS/PolitiFact, 2025-02-22)
Reuters. (2025, June 25; September 19 & 18). NATO 5% decision; Russian LNG to Europe; EU LNG sanctions planning. https://www.reuters.com (Reuters, 2025-06-25; Reuters, 2025-09-19; Reuters, 2025-09-18)
State Department. (n.d.). Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) list; EO 13224 overview. https://state.gov (U.S. Department of State, n.d.)
U.S. CBP/DHS/White House. (2025). Border encounter/release updates; July/August summaries. https://cbp.gov; https://dhs.gov; https://whitehouse.gov (CBP, 2025-09; DHS, 2025-08-01; White House, 2025-06-17)
WHO/Europe. (2024, August 1). Heat claims more than 175,000 lives annually. https://www.who.int/europe (WHO Europe, 2024-08-01)
World Nuclear News; Reuters. (2025, March). German nuclear industry commentary and reporting on feasibility of restarts; reactors remain shut as of 2025. https://world-nuclear-news.org; https://www.reuters.com (World Nuclear News, 2025-03-27; Reuters, 2025-03-05)
Wikipedia. (2025, September 19). United States strikes on Iranian nuclear sites (Operation Midnight Hammer). https://en.wikipedia.org (Wikipedia, 2025-09-19)