CNN Fact check: Trump makes multiple false claims in UNGA speech

US President Donald Trump made a series of false or misleading claims about wars, climate change, investment, military stockpiles and crime in Washington, DC, during his address to the United Nations General Assembly yesterday (22 September).

A CNN fact check found that several of the claims made by Trump were inaccurate or significantly exaggerated.

Trump claimed, "Since I took office, it has been my great honour to settle eight wars." He listed conflicts involving Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, India and Pakistan, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Gaza.

However, the CNN analysis said two of the situations Trump cited were never wars during his presidency. The dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia centred on an Ethiopian dam project, while the Serbia-Kosovo situation also did not constitute a war.

The conflict between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo has also not ended despite a peace agreement brokered by the Trump administration. In Gaza, Israel continues to carry out attacks despite a US-brokered ceasefire, according to the fact-check.

Climate change claims

Trump also criticised warnings about climate change, saying they came from "the very same people who said we'll all be dead in 12 years because of global warming, a name since reborn to climate change because the planet was cooling, not warming, and nobody was dead."

The claim that the planet was cooling is contradicted by temperature records. The World Meteorological Organisation reported that the 11 years through 2025 were the warmest on record, with 2023, 2024 and 2025 the three hottest years.

The CNN fact check also noted that scientists did not predict that everyone would die within 12 years. A widely cited 2018 climate report instead warned that major reductions in carbon emissions were needed within 12 years to keep the possibility of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

$21 trillion investment claim

Trump said, "We've secured commitments for $21 trillion in new investments from all over the planet."

The figure could not be substantiated, according to the CNN analysis. The White House website had cited $11.2 trillion in major investment announcements at the time of Trump's speech, while the figure also included pledges from US-based companies and commitments that were not necessarily direct investment in the United States.

US munitions stockpiles

Defending the US military's capabilities, Trump said, "The cowards and traitors would love to say the United States is low on munitions, but that's not true. We have more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using, and we're building them at levels that we have never done before."

However, recent reports from the US Department of Defence's inspector general and the Congressional Budget Office have pointed to shortages in some categories of munitions and challenges in replenishing stocks.

The inspector general reported strategic inventory shortfalls and production bottlenecks, while the Congressional Budget Office said the US had a shortfall of missile-defence interceptors and could take years to rebuild its inventory.

The Defence Department has disputed claims that the US is facing munitions shortages.

Washington crime claim

Trump also claimed that crime in Washington, DC, had fallen 87% since he took office, saying, "when I arrived on 20 January of last year in Washington, DC, it was riddled with crime, and now crime is down 87%, and we're going for 100."

Crime in the US capital has declined, but the CNN fact check found that the overall reduction was nowhere near 87%. More than 15,000 crimes had been recorded by the local police department through Monday, representing a decline of about 23% from the same point in 2024.

The White House has previously cited sharp declines in specific categories, including arson and homicide, when defending Trump's broader claims about crime in the capital.