President Donald Trump, speaking at the Detroit Economic Club on January 13, 2026, argued that cutting fraud in federal programs—and reclaiming money he said was being “extorted” from the country—could put the federal government on a path to balancing the budget in the near future.
“If we get rid of fraud and do our job properly on the trillions that are being extorted out of our country from corrupt and incompetent governors like Gavin Newsom, J.B. Pritzker and Tim Walz, we will very soon have a balanced budget,” Trump said.
The remarks came during a broader speech focused on the economy as part of a Michigan trip that also included a visit to a Ford plant in Dearborn. Trump’s address landed amid continued debate over federal spending, waste, and allegations of fraud within programs administered at the state level.
In his comments, Trump singled out California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, calling them “corrupt and incompetent” and tying their states to what he described as major losses of federal funds due to fraud. The comments echoed themes the administration has been emphasizing in recent weeks, including increased scrutiny of alleged misuse of federally funded programs in Democratic-led states, pauses involving certain funding allocations, and escalating public criticism of those governors tied to alleged taxpayer-dollar abuse.
Trump’s Detroit speech followed a string of early January 2026 developments in which the administration highlighted alleged fraud in states including Minnesota—raising claims tied to welfare programs—and expanded focus toward California and other states. Trump has repeatedly framed aggressive fraud enforcement as central to shrinking federal deficits and lowering costs for Americans.
