Trump Falsely Claims Ending Fraud Could Balance Federal Budget in Detroit Speech

During a speech in Detroit on January 13, 2026, President Trump claimed, 'If we stop this fraud, this massive fraud, we're going to have a balanced budget.' PolitiFact rated this statement as False, noting that while federal program fraud is significant, even the highest nationwide fraud estimate of $521 billion in losses would cover less than a third of the 2025 federal deficit of approximately $1.8 trillion. Multiple fact-checking organizations including Media Bias/Fact Check confirmed that eliminating all fraud would fall far short of balancing the federal budget, making this a demonstrably false claim about fiscal policy and government waste.

"If we stop this fraud, this massive fraud, we're going to have a balanced budget." — Statement made during Detroit speech on federal spending and fraud