Since returning to the White Home, US President Donald Trump has touted company and foreign US investment bulletins as proof he’s ushering in “the golden age of America”.
On January 21, Trump mentioned that earlier than he’d completed the “first full enterprise day” of his second time period, the USA had “already secured practically $3 trillion of recent investments”.
On April 2, he mentioned, “It appears to be like like we’re going to have about $6 trillion of investments”. Six days later, Trump informed Nationwide Republican Congressional Committee Dinner attendees that the funding complete was “now revised as much as about $7 (trillion)”.
Throughout an April 30 NewsNation city corridor, Trump speculated that “it may very well be greater than $8 trillion”.
On Might 4, Trump informed Kristen Welker, the host of the NBC Information programme Meet the Press, “I feel we most likely have near $9 trillion of investments coming into this nation.”
On Might 6, Trump informed reporters, “I feel the actual quantity may very well be $9 or $10 trillion.”
Lastly, on Might 8, Trump mentioned, “We have now now near $10 trillion — consider that, $10 trillion” in investments. “We’re speaking about primarily two months.”
That’s far past the figures the White Home has launched publicly.
We tallied the White Home’s public lists of investments; they quantity to $2.1 trillion in company investments, or at most $5.1 trillion when together with promised investments from different nations. Consultants cautioned that the promised company investments usually are not assured to materialise in full, or throughout Trump’s presidency, and a few of them would have occurred no matter who was president.
Trump isn’t the primary to overstate new investments on his watch. Outgoing US President Joe Biden mentioned in 2024 that his bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act had attracted $640bn in personal investments; economists informed PolitiFact that Biden’s numbers had been primarily based on what corporations had introduced, which isn’t the identical as {dollars} already spent.
Roman V Yampolskiy, a College of Louisville professor and a specialist in synthetic intelligence, which dominates the promised investments Trump cited, mentioned, “Traditionally, large-scale funding bulletins typically overpromise and underdeliver. There’s a performative factor to them, particularly in politically charged contexts. They perform as political theatre as a lot as financial dedication.”
White Home lists don’t match Trump’s phrases
Since Trump’s inauguration, the White Home has publicised funding bulletins from three nations and roughly 60 corporations on its web site, together with in a “non-comprehensive working record”. Most of the highest-dollar company bulletins had been in March and April.
Company bulletins within the White Home’s lists complete roughly $2.1 trillion value of US funding.
The White Home individually has cited commitments from the United Arab Emirates to speculate $1.4 trillion over the following 10 years; from Japan to “increase” its funding within the US to $1 trillion; and from Saudi Arabia to speculate $600bn within the US throughout Trump’s presidency. Mixed with the company bulletins, these convey the full to about $5.1 trillion, $4.9 trillion wanting Trump’s determine.
However the $5.1 trillion complete has caveats. For instance, the White Home mentioned “Japan introduced a $1 trillion funding within the US”, however the article it linked mentioned in 2023, Japan’s US funding was $783.3bn and Japan would “increase” that to $1 trillion. That’s a rise of $216.7bn quite than a brand new $1 trillion funding. That will put the full worth of newly pledged US funding at about $4.3 trillion.
Trump’s second-term White Home tally of US investments
The White Home figures can’t simply be used for apples-to-apples comparisons. Among the investments are deliberate over Trump’s four-year time period, others over 5 years or a decade. In a single case – ADQ and Power Capital Companions’ deliberate $25bn funding — it isn’t restricted to US-based tasks.
The White Home declined to element extra investments. A spokesperson pointed to federal Bureau of Financial Evaluation knowledge that exhibits a 22 p.c improve in enterprise funding within the first quarter of 2025, calling it a historic improve.
Nevertheless, specialists cautioned this improve was formed by businesses stocking up on stock earlier than Trump’s tariffs take impact and mentioned the rise is unlikely to be sustained.
Most of the bulletins are aspirational, specialists say
Consultants informed PolitiFact that every of the 5 greatest investments on Trump’s record warrants some warning, as a result of they may not attain Trump’s cited greenback quantities or weren’t solely prompted by Trump’s insurance policies.
“Many of those bulletins, significantly these within the AI and semiconductor sectors, seem like, at the least partly, aspirational in nature,” Yampolskiy mentioned. “They serve a signalling perform: to draw investor consideration, form coverage discourse, and safe beneficial regulatory or funding environments.”
The 5 largest firm investments collectively account for 82 p.c of the greenback worth on the White Home’s company record.
5 corporations accounting for almost all of recent funding guarantees are:
Stargate
The Stargate Mission is a synthetic intelligence collaboration amongst OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank, introduced throughout a January 21 White Home occasion. The White Home values the funding at $500bn.
The corporate’s official announcement says $100bn might be invested “instantly” and that it “intends to speculate” a complete of $500bn over the following 4 years, a aim repeated by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son on the White Home occasion.
“Whether or not that a lot will finally get spent stays to be seen,” wrote John Higgins, chief economist at Capital Economics, a world consulting agency.
Enrique Dans, who research expertise and coverage at Madrid’s IE Enterprise College, mentioned the $500bn determine is “astronomical – roughly 2 p.c of US gross home product – and lacks clear documentation”.
On the White Home occasion, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman mentioned, “We wouldn’t be capable to do that with out you, Mr President.” However Altman had been discussing plans for a $100bn funding 10 months earlier than Trump gained his second time period, The Washington Submit reported, together with an Abilene, Texas, knowledge centre that started building in summer season 2024.
“AI investments have been on a world trajectory pushed by technological maturity and aggressive stress, particularly from China,” Dans mentioned. “Any US president would have seen a surge.”
Nvidia
Nvidia Corp, one other AI firm, mentioned it plans to speculate as much as $500bn in US infrastructure over the following 4 years. Beforehand, Nvidia manufactured most of its chips in Taiwan.
“It’s unlikely Nvidia would have moved any manufacturing to the US if it was not for stress from the Trump administration,” Gil Luria, an analyst with the monetary providers agency D.A. Davidson, informed Reuters. Nevertheless, Luria added, “The half a trillion quantity is probably going hyperbole.”
Dans mentioned that though tax cuts from Trump’s first time period have benefited the corporate’s give attention to US-based efforts, “the core development seemingly would have occurred anyway”, whatever the president.
Apple
On February 24, days after Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook dinner, met with Trump, the buyer electronics large announced it plans to spend “greater than $500bn within the US over the following 4 years.”
Analysts have expressed scepticism that this represents new funding. Dans referred to as the funding “merely extra of what [Apple] already does,” from “day-to-day actions with hundreds of suppliers in all 50 states to the operation of its home knowledge centres, in addition to its investments in Apple TV+ and different tasks already manufactured within the nation.”
In a word to buyers, David Vogt, an analyst with the Swiss-based financial institution UBS, wrote, “Name us a sceptic. … We consider [the figure] lacks substance.”
IBM
IBM introduced April 28 plans to speculate $150bn within the US, together with greater than $30bn in analysis and growth on US-based manufacturing of mainframe and quantum computer systems.
That is “not clearly Trump-related,” Dans mentioned. “IBM’s technique pivots have been below approach for the reason that 2010s.”
Luria mentioned, “Whereas we consider IBM will proceed to put money into the rising space of quantum expertise, the bombastic determine is extra seemingly a gesture in the direction of the US administration,” Reuters reported.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, which makes semiconductors for computing and electronics, has pledged to spend $100bn within the US. Analysts mentioned this quantity is essentially the most well-supported among the many investments that Trump cites. Though bringing semiconductor manufacturing again to the US started throughout Trump’s first time period, it was “drastically accelerated by” Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act, which prompted years of funding earlier than Trump’s second time period, Dans mentioned.
Over the previous 5 years, the corporate has spent at the least $65bn on fabrication services close to Phoenix, Arizona, funded partly by $6.6bn from the CHIPS and Science Act.
General, Dans mentioned, “Trump would possibly deserve some partial credit score for setting a extra aggressive tone on financial nationalism and provide chain reshoring, and for decreasing the company tax reform, which did have an effect on repatriation and a few funding choices. However most of those traits — the AI increase, the semiconductor reshoring, the cloud computing infrastructure — are long-term structural shifts that predate Trump and can proceed no matter who’s in workplace.”
Our ruling
Trump mentioned, “We have now now near $10 trillion, consider that, $10 trillion” in investments. “We’re speaking about primarily two months.”
The White Home has pointed to funding bulletins totalling $5.1 trillion, together with $2.1 trillion from corporations and the remaining from nations.
That’s at the least $4.9 trillion wanting Trump’s determine, and these bulletins symbolize future spending, a few of which is deliberate over 4 years, 5 years or a decade.
Consultants mentioned lots of the greenback quantities are aspirational and that the investments introduced would possibly by no means be absolutely reached. In addition they mentioned a few of this funding would have occurred no matter who was president.
We charge the assertion false.
