Trump's chat with Musk on X fact-checked

In a recent two-hour conversation on Elon Musk's platform X, former President Donald Trump made several statements that have raised eyebrows and prompted fact-checking. During this discussion, Trump revisited familiar topics from his campaign, including illegal immigration and rising prices, while also addressing the issue of climate change. The BBC Verify team has taken the initiative to investigate some of Trump's claims to determine their accuracy. One of the notable claims made by Trump was regarding the threat of rising sea levels. He stated, 'The biggest threat is not global warming, where the ocean is going to rise one eighth of an inch over the next 400 years. ' This assertion has been met with skepticism, as climate scientists indicate that Trump is significantly underestimating the rate at which sea levels are rising. Between 2014 and 2023, global average sea levels increased by nearly 4. 8 millimeters per year, which translates to approximately 0. 19 inches annually. This rate of increase already surpasses the one eighth of an inch that Trump predicts will occur over the next four centuries. The future trajectory of sea level rise remains uncertain, as it is contingent upon the rate of ice sheet melting and the extent of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from human activities. The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has projected a potential rise in global sea levels ranging from 0. 28 to 1. 01 meters by the year 2100. Such a rise would lead to more frequent coastal flooding and could submerge low-lying nations like the Maldives. Another claim made by Trump during the conversation was about illegal immigration. He asserted, 'I think 20 million people have come across the border. I think millions are coming every month. ' However, this statement lacks substantiation. It is challenging to ascertain the exact number of illegal immigrants who have crossed into the United States since President Biden took office. Official data indicates that while encounters with illegal migrants have reached record levels, they do not align with the figures Trump has suggested. Since January 2021, there have been approximately 10. 1 million encounters with illegal migrants by enforcement officers, with over 8 million of those occurring at the southern border. It is important to note that these figures do not necessarily indicate that all individuals successfully entered the country; some may have been returned, and the same person could be counted multiple times. While the data reflects a significant increase compared to the four years of Trump's presidency, it does not support the notion of 'millions' crossing the border each month. In July, US Border Patrol apprehended around 57,000 migrants at the southern border, a notable decrease from the peak of approximately 250,000 migrants encountered in December 2023. Trump also made a claim regarding inflation and the price of bacon, stating, 'I think we have the worst inflation we've had in 100 years. bacon costing four or five times more than it did a few years ago. ' This assertion is misleading. Inflation peaked at 9. 1% during Biden's presidency, marking the highest rate in 41 years, not 100. The price of bacon has indeed risen, but only by 17% since Trump left office, not four or five times. Inflation surged significantly during the initial two years of the Biden administration, reaching levels comparable to those experienced by many other Western nations due to global supply chain disruptions stemming from the Covid pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine. Some economists attribute part of the inflationary pressure to Biden's $1. 9 trillion spending plan in 2021. However, since mid-2022, inflation has been on a downward trend. When Trump left office in January 2021, the average price for a pound of sliced bacon was $5. 83, and it has since increased to $6. 83. Lastly, Trump claimed, 'I built hundreds of miles of wall' to secure the southern border. The reality of this statement is nuanced. Depending on how one measures it, Trump constructed over 450 miles of border wall, including both new sections and parts that were replaced or reinforced. However, only 85 miles of entirely new wall were built during his presidency. The remaining sections involved either replacing or reinforcing existing barriers. Upon taking office, President Biden halted construction of the wall, but last year his administration approved the construction of 20 miles of barriers in southern Texas as part of efforts to address rising immigration levels. BBC Verify continues to fact-check these claims to provide clarity on the issues at hand.