Fact Check: Here’s what Trump got – mostly – right in Kansas rally for Sen. Marshall

As thousands gathered Monday evening to hear President Donald Trump support Republicans candidates ahead of the midterm elections, the sitting president made several claims about the economy, his handling of the war with Iran and other issues.

Trump spoke for over 90 minutes at the rally in Park City, Kansas, largely to back Republican U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall, who faces a tough reelection campaign against Democratic candidate Adam Hamilton.

Trump came to Kansas after rallies in other reliably Republican states as he hopes to stave off Democrats flipping control of the U.S. House and Senate. Republicans are facing tough races, even in places like Kansas where Republicans have traditionally cruised to victory.

The Star fact-checked Trump’s speech live, highlighting instances Trump was incorrect or misleading. But during his speech, Trump made several claims about political achievements that were true – though sometimes overstating his policy’s impact.

Here’s what Trump got right:

Most workers, highest incomes and lowest poverty

Trump touted labor and poverty levels arguing that the workforce in the U.S. is reaching all-time highs during his tenure, including the highest incomes, the lowest poverty rate and the most Americans in the workforce.

“Under Republican leadership, incomes for hardworking Americans have soared to the highest level ever recorded,” Trump told the crowd. “Number two point: More Americans are working today than at any time in the history of our country. More Americans are working today. And number three, the poverty rate has just reached its lowest level. That means the best poverty rate ever in American history.”

Verdict: All true, but needs context.

Most workers

The number of workers in the U.S. has risen to more than 163 million people, the highest ever recorded, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the metric is considered to be driven by population growth rather than economic improvements.

Poverty rate

The poverty rate in the U.S. fell to 10.2% in 2025, the . That’s the lowest reported rate since the Bureau began recording it in 1959.

The Associated Press reports that Trump’s claim is technically true, but lacks context about the state of poverty in the U.S.

The supplemental poverty measure is a more complex way the government tracks poverty, including additional information like family expenses, amount of government assistance and refundable tax credits, and adjustments for the cost of housing.

While the standard poverty rate is used to determine eligibility for federal benefits like food assistance, the supplemental poverty measure is considered “an additional indicator of economic well-being and will provide a deeper understanding of economic conditions and policy effects,” according to the Census Bureau.

The supplemental poverty rate remained flat at 13.1% in 2025. That rate reached an all-time low at 7.7% in 2021 during Biden’s presidency, according to the Associated Press report.

Income

The Associated Press also reports a major reason the poverty rate has fallen stems from incomes rising.

The median household income increased 2.6% in 2025 to $87,460, which is an all-time high. It surpassed the previous high of $85,360 in 2019, . But incomes have risen only 2.5% since 2019, while they increased 19% between 2013 and 2019.

The numbers on employment, income and poverty haven’t translated to optimism among voters, though, and Democratic messaging ahead of the midterms have been focused on affordability.

About 44% of U.S. adults rate the current economic conditions as “poor,” compared to 19% that rated conditions as “good” or “excellent,” according to Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index in July.

Drug prices at the lowest point in history

Trump took credit for falling prescription drug prices, saying that he “took drug prices from the highest price in history to the lowest.”

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Verdict: Needs context.

Drug prices are not at the lowest point in history, but have experienced their steepest annual decline since March 1963, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. Still, long-term data shows prices are still high compared to the past.

The Trump administration attributes the decline to the launch of TrumpRx, a prescription drug website launched by the government, and the “Most-Favored-Nation” drug pricing program, which directs federal negotiators to not pay significantly more than other peer nations.

Health care economists and policy analysts have also given credit to Medicare drug price negotiations passed in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and more generic drug competition.

Iran’s military dismantled

Trump said Iran’s military is near-destroyed after eight months of war with the United States.

“Their navy’s at the bottom of the sea, and their 229 beautiful fighter jets are now scattered all over the runways, the beautiful runways of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and their radar’s gone. Their anti-aircraft is gone. Everything’s gone. Their leaders are gone,” Trump said.

Verdict: Partially true.

Iran’s military has been devastated by American attacks, but the Iranian forces have continued to launch missiles, drones and naval operations to inflict damage in the region.

Iran’s naval fleet was quickly decimated from joint U.S.-Israeli strikes after the start of the war in February. U.S. Central Command reported that no traditional Iranian warship is active in the Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz or Gulf of Oman.

Iran’s Air Force started the year with about 300 combat aircraft, and nearly all were outdated and some of which weren’t operational. The United States has destroyed or heavily damaged 30-40 of Iran’s operational aircraft according to a BBC analysis of satellite images.

Iran’s radar systems have been heavily damaged, especially on its coasts. Iran retains some anti-aircraft and air defense systems. The Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in February, and U.S. forces have killed dozens of political and military leaders during the war.

Crime is down

Trump pointed to national crime statistics to say his administration’s tough on crime policies are working.

“Since I took office, we achieved the largest drop in violent crime ever recorded, and the murder rate is at the lowest level. Despite all of these illegal criminals coming in, some of whom are murderers, we have the lowest murder rate in 125 years, the year 1900.”

Verdict: Partially true.

Trump is correct that the United States has seen historic plunges in homicide, violent crime, robbery and property crime. In 2025 the FBI Crime Reporting Program noted the largest single-year drop in crime since the department began tracking it in 1936. The murder rate is the lowest it’s been since 1956.

Whether the murder rate is as low as it was in 1900 is harder to track, and predates how the U.S. has comprehensively tracked the murder rate. Public health and law enforcement estimates from 1900 do show a similar homicide rate.

Some more minor crimes like shoplifting remain above pre-pandemic levels. Trump conflated the crime with illegal immigrants, who are half as likely to be arrested for violent crimes as native-born citizens.

The Trump administration credits the decline to tough-on-crime policies and more aggressive law enforcement operations. But other analysts say that crime is following a long-time downward trend that was interrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This story was originally published October 20, 2026 at 10:37 AM with the headline “Fact Check: Here’s what Trump got – mostly – right in Kansas rally for Sen. Marshall.”

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