Five false claims Trump made in one meeting with Erdogan (by Daniel Dale of Facts First-CNN)
$19.2 trillion in foreign investments
Investment in the US:
Trump also repeated his frequent false claim that “we have $19 trillion, $19.2 trillion to be exact, being invested in the United States.” This time, he added that this supposed total was from only the first 12 months of this presidential term, “so that number is now substantially higher” after nearly 18 months back in office.
But even the $19.2 trillion figure is fiction:
At the time Trump made the claim on Tuesday, the White House’s own website claimed there had been “$10.6 trillion” in “major investment announcements” this term, and even that was a major exaggeration of actual investment. A detailed CNN review in October found the White House was counting trillions of dollars in vague investment pledges, pledges that were about “bilateral trade” or “economic exchange” rather than investment in the US, and vague statements that didn’t even rise to the level of pledges.
The White House figure includes pledges from US-based companies as well as foreign entities. Federal data published last month shows that new foreign direct investment in the US was about $232 billion in 2025.
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