President Donald Trump has repeatedly told supporters he has delivered on everything he promised since returning to the White House. In a January Detroit speech he declared, “I’ve kept all my promises, and much more,” and cited items such as ending taxes on tips and Social Security, imposing tariffs on foreign cars, and rolling back environmental regulations. Independent tracking by PolitiFact’s MAGA-Meter, however, finds a more mixed record: of 75 second-term promises tracked, roughly 19% are rated Promise Kept, 45% In the Works, about 31% Stalled, with a handful categorized as Compromise or Broken. Those ratings reflect measurable outcomes — laws passed, court rulings, executive actions and demonstrable policy changes — and suggest many campaign pledges remain incomplete or altered.
Key Takeaways
- PolitiFact is tracking 75 of President Trump’s second-term promises on the MAGA-Meter, covering domestic and foreign-policy pledges.
- About 19% of those promises are rated Promise Kept, including a July 2025 law extending the 2017 tax cuts and a January development involving TikTok with U.S. investors.
- Approximately 45% are rated In the Works, reflecting executive actions, pending legislation or ongoing initiatives such as concealed-carry reciprocity proposals.
- Roughly 31% are Stalled due to congressional inaction, judicial roadblocks (including limits on tariff powers), or lack of White House follow-through.
- Three promises were labeled Compromise — notably partial tax changes for older Americans — while one frequent campaign pledge, to end the Ukraine-Russia war within 24 hours, is rated Broken.
- Some high-profile first-year actions — aggressive immigration enforcement and withdrawals from international bodies — advanced quickly, while structural changes to agencies (for example, Education Department reorganization) face legal and political hurdles.
- PolitiFact emphasizes outcomes over intentions: ratings are based on demonstrable results, not campaign rhetoric or stated goals.
Background
When elected officials return to office and promise swift, sweeping changes, analysts typically track progress across multiple policy areas to separate rhetoric from result. PolitiFact’s MAGA-Meter applies that approach to Trump’s second-term pledges, following similar trackers used for past presidents. The tracker spans 75 specific promises that range from broad objectives — reducing grocery bills and shrinking federal agencies — to narrow items like promoting flying-car research.
The American political environment since 2024 has been characterized by narrow congressional margins, an active federal judiciary and a polarized public sphere, all of which affect policy momentum. Bills favored by the White House can stall in committee or be narrowed through negotiation, while executive actions may be blocked or modified by courts. Those institutional dynamics explain why a mix of legislation, executive orders and litigation determines how many campaign promises become binding policy.
Main Event
Trump’s public claim in Detroit in January that he had “kept all my promises” prompted renewed attention to the MAGA-Meter tally. PolitiFact reviewed tangible outcomes across the 75 pledges: some were advanced through legislation, others via executive orders, and several have been subject to lawsuits that limited their implementation. For example, the administration secured an extension of the 2017 tax cuts in July 2025, a measure PolitiFact counts as a kept promise tied to tax relief.
Other items in Trump’s list show partial progress or compromise. The 2025 tax law created a meaningful tax break for people over 65 but did not eliminate Social Security taxation across the board; PolitiFact classifies that result as a Compromise. Similarly, a TikTok announcement in January indicated a new U.S.-involved venture that aligns with Trump’s stated aim to “save TikTok,” but the deal’s full legal and structural outcomes were still evolving when the tracker updated.
Certain ambitious pledges have faced clear setbacks. The U.S. Supreme Court constrained presidential authority on tariffs, limiting a key tool Trump cited for protecting American industry. Meanwhile, a promise to require proof of citizenship to register to vote has been advanced in House proposals but encountered significant Senate and legal obstacles, leaving it in the Stalled category.
Analysis & Implications
PolitiFact’s breakdown underscores an important distinction between executive capability and political feasibility. Executive orders can be issued quickly but are vulnerable to judicial review and reversal by future administrations; laws passed by Congress are more durable but require political coalitions that may not exist. That structural reality explains why some high-profile campaign aims — such as large-scale deportation operations or withdrawing from international organizations — can move rapidly under executive authority, while others depend on a cooperative legislature.
The distribution of ratings also illuminates political trade-offs. Compromises on tax policy show how achieving even broadly popular goals often requires narrowing initial promises to secure passage. The partial elimination of Social Security taxation for some seniors is illustrative: it delivers tangible relief but falls short of the blanket change promised on the stump.
Internationally, the inability to deliver certain foreign-policy pledges — most notably a 24-hour end to the Russia-Ukraine war — highlights limits of unilateral promises in complex, multilateral crises. Meetings between President Trump, President Putin and President Zelenskyy have occurred, and U.S.-brokered talks in Geneva produced diplomacy but not a binding settlement; as a result, that campaign pledge is rated Broken.
Comparison & Data
| Category | Count (approx.) | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Promise Kept | 14 | ~19% |
| In the Works | 34 | ~45% |
| Stalled | 23 | ~31% |
| Compromise | 3 | — |
| Broken | 1 | — |
The table above converts PolitiFact’s percentage-based ratings into approximate counts out of the 75 promises tracked. Those counts reconcile to the full set of tracked items: kept, underway, stalled, compromised and broken. While percentages convey relative progress, the raw counts show most pledges remain either incomplete or subject to future change.
Reactions & Quotes
Supporters at the Detroit event received Trump’s statement as a confirmation of electoral promises, while critics pointed to PolitiFact’s tallies as evidence of overstatement. Below are representative, contextualized remarks from key actors.
“I’ve kept all my promises, and much more.”
President Donald Trump, Detroit campaign speech (January)
The president’s concise claim is part of his broader campaign messaging; fact-checkers assess it by comparing specific, documented outcomes against the pledges listed on the MAGA-Meter.
“We base our ratings on measurable outcomes, not intentions or efforts.”
PolitiFact (fact-checking organization)
PolitiFact emphasizes observable results such as enacted laws, executive orders with sustained effect, and judicial rulings. The organization says it does not weigh desirability or partisan preference when assigning categories.
“Many promises require congressional action that has not materialized.”
Nonpartisan policy analyst (commenting on legislative hurdles)
Policy experts note that even a president intent on delivering an agenda needs either a willing Congress or a suite of durable executive tools; where those are absent, pledges often move into the Stalled or Compromise columns.
Unconfirmed
- The long-term effect of executive orders curtailing DEI programs on museums, federal sites and university funding remains uncertain and may depend on future litigation or administrative decisions.
- Details and final legal structure of the January TikTok-related venture with U.S. investors had not been fully disclosed at the time of the MAGA-Meter update, leaving the app’s long-term status in the U.S. partly unresolved.
- Predictions that specific actions will materially lower the overall cost of groceries and medical care nationwide remain unconfirmed; some categories have seen price declines while others remain higher than at inauguration.
Bottom Line
PolitiFact’s MAGA-Meter presents a sobriety check on broad presidential claims. While the administration has secured notable wins — including tax legislation and decisive executive actions — a majority of tracked promises remain incomplete, contested or altered. The mix of outcomes underscores the limits of unilateral presidential authority and the importance of Congress and the courts in converting campaign rhetoric into durable policy.
For voters and observers, the key takeaway is pragmatic: measuring progress requires looking at specific, verifiable outcomes rather than blanket assertions. As the administration pursues remaining items on its agenda, legal challenges, legislative dynamics and negotiated compromises will continue to shape which promises ultimately stand.
Sources
- PolitiFact MAGA-Meter (fact-checking tracker)
- PBS NewsHour (news report summarizing PolitiFact findings)
- The White House (official statements and policy releases)