By Evelyn Lucado
Opinion Editor
On Jan. 20, 2025, President Donald Trump took office, pledging in his inaugural address to bring forth a new “Golden Age” for the United States. However, alongside this promise, a long list of untrue and misleading claims emerged.
A recent CNN article found that President Trump made over 20 false and misleading claims during his 2025 inaugural address. By promoting these unfounded claims, President Trump’s address set a concerning and dangerous precedent for his second term in the Oval Office.
Some of these claims include untrue narratives surrounding the Panama Canal, immigration, and the 2020 election.
“American ships are being severely overcharged and not treated fairly in any way, shape or form, and that includes the United States Navy. And, above all, China is operating the Panama Canal,” President Trump said during the address.
This claim follows President Trump’s promise to “retake” the Panama Canal.
According to the Associated Press, Panamanian officials adamantly deny these claims, stating that fees are uniform for all who utilize the canal. Officials also state that while Chinese companies operate in the ports, U.S. and Taiwanese companies operate in other ports along the canal.
President Trump’s rhetoric, continued in his address, has significantly contributed to the push of American politics away from figuring out how to reach a common goal, and toward dehumanizing political opponents and scapegoats, further dividing the American people.
For example, both sides of the political spectrum agree that there must be immigration reform. However, President Trump’s promises of mass deportations and hateful rhetoric surrounding immigrants from South and Central America have fabricated a narrative that all undocumented immigrants are dangerous.
“[The U.S. government] fails to protect our magnificent, law-abiding American citizens but provides sanctuary and protection for dangerous criminals, many from prisons and mental institutions, that have illegally entered our country from all over the world,” President Trump said during his address.
The notion that most immigrants come from prisons and “mental institutions” is simply false.
According to the aforementioned AP article, there is no evidence to support or corroborate this claim, nor has President Trump provided any reasoning or evidence to support this claim.
The idea that undocumented immigrants are major contributors to crime is less black and white than President Trump would have the American people believe.
In a 2024 study from the National Institute of Justice examining data from the Texas Department of Public Safety, the evidence suggested that undocumented immigrants commit violent crimes at a significantly lower rate than documented immigrants and U.S.-born citizens.
The false claims made by President Trump represent a long history of perpetuating misinformation.
For example, according to the Associated Press, in a post-inaugural speech, President Trump continued to perpetuate the notion that the 2020 election was stolen, despite the overwhelming lack of evidence to support this claim.
This rhetoric, whether directly or indirectly, contributed to and fueled the events of Jan. 6, 2020, where according to FactCheck.org, at least 10 people lost their lives both during the riots and in the days following.
The false claims made during both President Trump’s presidential campaign and inaugural address serve, whether intentionally or not, to further heated and dangerous rhetoric that has proven to lead to political violence and unrest.
Those in positions of political power need to dissuade and denounce both misinformation and political violence for the sake and safety of the American people. However, the precedent set by President Trump’s inaugural address suggests that he has no such intentions.
Alongside these claims, several government web pages have vanished.
According to NBC, the list of websites no longer available includes the White House websites page for the Constitution, the Health and Human Services website, reproductiverights.gov, and several others.
While the official White House site is typically reformatted with each incoming president, the deletion and censorship of official government pages that provide information regarding the rights of the American people and available resources is concerning in the larger context of President Trump’s agenda.
In the age of rapid misinformation, government censorship and false claims make it that much harder to find accurate and reliable information.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Photo Caption: President Donald Trump takes office for the second time bringing along with him uncertainty.