Trump Makes Highly Exaggerated and Misleading Claims During Fox News Interview

Trump suggests that most of the casualties in Gaza were combatants | Misbar

During an interview with Fox News on Sunday, October 19, U.S. President Donald Trump made several inaccurate statements that misrepresented U.S. foreign policy achievements and ongoing conflicts, as well as exaggerated his administration’s domestic accomplishments.

The remarks, which aired on Fox News and were later circulated on social media, touched on the Israel-Gaza war, Trump’s claimed record on “ending wars,” and drug price reductions in the United States. Misbar examined the claims and found that his claims contradicted official data and independent reports.

Israel Did Not Kill 50,000 Hamas Members

In response to Fox News anchor Maria Bartiromo’s question about whether there was a timeline to disarm Hamas, Trump said he had a line in his mind — not a hard one, adding that the United States would “see how it all works out.” He went on to describe Hamas members as “very violent,” claiming that Israel had “killed 50,000 of them,” but that they “get replaced by other people, young people.”

By making this claim, Trump suggests that most of the casualties in Gaza were combatants — implying that the civilians account for only about 18,000 of the 68,216 total casualties.

However, the claim that Israel killed 50,000 Hamas members is highly exaggerated and false. The figure contradicts both independent studies and Israel’s own data.

According to recent data from the independent conflict tracker ACLED, since March 2025, Israel has killed around 1,100 operatives from Hamas and allied armed groups, including both fighters and political figures. While ACLED’s figures may not capture every combatant death, the tracker notes that they are drawn from reliable sources, including Israeli military statements, media reporting, and Hamas’ own acknowledgments.

ACLED estimates that 15 of every 16 Palestinians killed by Israel since March were civilians — one of the highest civilian death ratios in the conflict.

Furthermore, data from Israel’s own internal database, obtained in May 2025, indicate that at least 83% of Palestinians killed in Gaza were civilians. The database listed roughly 8,900 Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) operatives killed since October 7, 2023 — far fewer than the 50,000 claimed by Trump.

Screenshot of +972 Magazine’s expose on civilian death rates in Gaza

Trump Did Not End Eight Wars

Trump also repeated his frequent claim that he “ended eight wars,” which he made in his speech at the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, following the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.

“I’ve ended, you know, eight wars that we just mentioned — five of them have been ended because of tariffs,” he told Fox News’ anchor.

The claim has also been circulating on social media — the official X account of the U.S. Department of State amplified the claim as well, listing eight wars: Cambodia and Thailand, Kosovo and Serbia, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, India and Pakistan, Israel and Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia, Armenia and Azerbaijan, and most recently Israel and Gaza.

As for Cambodia and Thailand, the two countries agreed to a ceasefire after Trump made phone calls to both the Cambodian and Thai prime ministers in late June 2025. However, there have been repeated accusations by both sides of violations of the truce since the deal was brokered. Tensions remain fragile, and the situation on the border is still precarious, with military presence and occasional violations reported by both Cambodia and Thailand.

Tensions remain fragile, and the situation on the border is still precarious, with military presence and occasional violations reported by both Cambodia and Thailand.

The White House cites the Serbia-Kosovo dispute as one of the conflicts Trump resolved. However, there has been no imminent threat of war between the two neighbors during his second term, nor any notable effort by the Republican president this year to improve their relations.

As for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, the U.S. indeed played a role in a temporary peace agreement between the two countries, known as the Washington Accord, signed on June 27, 2025. However, the violence has persisted in the region, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians since the deal was signed.

However, the violence has persisted in the region, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians since the deal was signed.

In the case of Egypt and Ethiopia, there has not been a war between them, but a conflict over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The conflict is still ongoing despite Trump’s attempts to intervene.

Trump played a role in recent ceasefires that helped ease tensions between Israel and Iran, India and Pakistan, and Armenia and Azerbaijan. However, these were largely limited agreements with little prospect for lasting peace, and some leaders, such as India’s defence minister, have denied how much credit Trump actually deserves.

However, these were largely limited agreements with little prospect for lasting peace, and some leaders, such as India’s defence minister, have denied how much credit Trump actually deserves.

And most recently, Trump has advanced efforts by brokering a multi-stage agreement aimed at ending Israel’s war in Gaza, though it will take time to determine whether the peace will endure.

Trump failed to ensure Israel’s compliance with the ceasefire agreement. Since the agreement came into effect, Israel has killed 97 Palestinians in Gaza and injured 230. The Gaza Government Media Office accuses Israel of committing “80 documented violations since the declaration of the ceasefire.”

Trump Did Not Cut Drug Prices by 800%

Turning from foreign policy to domestic achievements, Trump boasted that he cut drug prices by 800%.

The claim is misleading and mathematically impossible. A price cannot be reduced by more than 100% — that would mean the product’s cost not only dropped to zero but went into the negative. In other words, Americans would be receiving money every time they purchased medicine, which is not the case in the U.S.

A recent U.S. Senate Minority Staff Report, authored under Senator Bernie Sanders, who is the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, accuses Trump’s administration of failing to lower prescription drug prices despite repeated public promises, executive orders, and threats directed at pharmaceutical companies.

According to the report, drug prices rose significantly since Trump took office in 2025. The report found that 688 drugs increased in price since Trump took office; the median rise was 5.5%, with some drugs doubling or tripling in cost. 15 of 17 major pharmaceutical companies said that Trump demanded price cuts from actually raised prices.

The report says that Trump’s tariffs on pharmaceuticals and his signature legislation, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA),” will make drug prices even higher.