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Trump says the US secured at least $18 trillion worth of investments this year. That’s wrong.

Poynter · Louis Jacobson · last updated

President Donald Trump has often said that since he took office in January, the U.S. has received trillions of dollars in promises of investments, and the dollar amount he cites changes.

On his second day in office, Jan. 21, Trump said the U.S. had “already secured nearly $3 trillion of new investments.”

By May 8, that figure rose to “close to $10 trillion.” It eventually peaked Oct. 29 during a meeting with South Korean Prime Minister Kim Min-seok: “I think by the end of my first term, we should have $21 or $22 trillion dollars invested in the United States from other people and countries,” Trump said.