WASHINGTON D.C. February 25, 2026 – President Donald Trump used his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night to highlight what he called a dramatic turnaround in the U.S. economy, declaring victory over the high inflation left behind by the Biden administration.
In a key moment of the speech, Trump stated: “The Biden administration and its allies in Congress gave us the worst inflation in the history of our country. But in 12 months, my administration has driven core inflation down to the lowest level in more than 5 years—and in the last 3 months of 2025, it was down to 1.7%.”
The remarks were quickly amplified by the official White House Rapid Response account (@RapidResponse47) on X, complete with a video clip of the President delivering the line to a packed House chamber. Republicans rose to their feet in applause, while Democrats largely remained seated and silent.
Recent official data backs the core of the claim. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that annual core CPI (excluding volatile food and energy prices) eased to 2.5% in January 2026 — the lowest reading since March 2021, more than five years earlier. Headline inflation fell to 2.4% in January, down from 2.7% in December 2025. The White House has pointed to cooling housing costs, falling used-car prices, and lower energy prices as key drivers.
Trump framed the numbers as proof of a broader economic renaissance under his leadership, saying the nation is now experiencing “the golden age of America” with rising real wages and falling prices for American families.
The address, delivered just over a year after Trump’s return to the White House in January 2025, focused heavily on economic wins, energy independence, border security, and criticism of the previous administration’s policies.
Economists note that while inflation has cooled significantly from its 2022 peak of 9.1%, prices are still rising — albeit at a slower pace — and many households continue to feel the lingering effects of higher costs accumulated over the past four years. Fact-checkers have pushed back on the phrase “worst inflation in the history of our country,” pointing out that inflation reached higher levels in the early 1980s, though Trump’s team maintains the Biden-era surge was uniquely damaging because it followed the pandemic recovery.
The speech comes ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, with both parties already positioning themselves on the economy as the top issue for voters.
The full video clip shared by the White House Rapid Response team has already garnered hundreds of thousands of views on X within hours of the address.
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