Trump falsely claims wages are 'finally' rising in State of the Union

During his first State of the Union address, Trump claimed: 'After years and years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages.' The Associated Press fact-checked the claim and found wages were not rising any faster than before — average hourly pay rose 2.5 percent in 2017, slightly slower than the 2.9 percent increase recorded in 2016. The Washington Post's fact-check database documented that Trump had falsely suggested wages were rising because of his policies eight separate times during his first year in office. Economist Lawrence Summers independently corroborated the falsehood, pointing to government data showing wage growth had been rising steadily since 2014, well before Trump took office. This event is part of a documented pattern: Trump repeatedly took credit for economic trends that predated his administration.

“After years and years of wage stagnation, we are finally seeing rising wages.” — State of the Union address, February 1, 2018 — claiming credit for wage growth that began in 2014. Quote verified against source