Donald Trump Calls Munitions Doubters 'Traitors' Despite Rationing Reports

President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly that anyone who says the U.S. is running short of weapons is not telling the truth, and he had a label for them. "The cowards and traitors would love to say the United States is low on munitions, but that's not true," Trump said in the Sept. 22 address, according to a PolitiFact fact-check published by PBS NewsHour.

Published analyses and reporting on the Iran war point the other way, PolitiFact and France 24 found. PolitiFact and France 24 both also flagged Trump's claims on oil and artificial intelligence; PolitiFact separately fact-checked his claim on drug boats, and France 24 separately fact-checked his claim on Gaza.

Why it matters

The size of U.S. stockpiles bears on how long the country can sustain a war PolitiFact described as nearly seven months old. Trump spoke as polls show Americans tiring of the conflict and its effect on fuel prices, PolitiFact reported.

Munitions and the Iran war stockpile

Trump said the U.S. has "more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using" and is building them at record levels. PolitiFact rated the statement misleading.

A May analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies projected that Tomahawk missiles and Patriot and THAAD interceptors, all heavily used in the Iran war, would take about three to four years to replenish, PolitiFact reported. In July, NBC News reported the military was rationing munitions, according to PolitiFact, while France 24 reported that U.S. forces were allowing some Iranian attacks through their defenses to preserve dwindling interceptor stocks, citing NBC News.

Venezuela oil, drug boats and the Gaza ceasefire

Trump said the U.S. and Venezuela combined hold "more than 60%" of the world's oil. France 24 put the two countries' share of proven reserves at roughly 21.9% and their share of current production at about 23.2%, adding that Venezuela's damaged infrastructure means raising output would take time.

Trump also said dozens of strikes on cartel boats had destroyed 97% of the drugs "coming into the ocean and sea." PolitiFact rated that false. Air and marine drug seizures have declined since the strikes began in September 2025, PolitiFact reported, but the administration has not shown the decline is linked to the strikes. Seizures made on water, which the Coast Guard handles in most cases, rose 200% in fiscal year 2025 compared with other annual averages, PolitiFact reported. PolitiFact added that drug experts consider the total volume of drugs shipped unknowable.

On Gaza, Trump said he had "ended the war in Gaza, saving untold thousands of lives." France 24 reported that Israeli strikes have continued since the ceasefire announced last October and that Hamas-run health authorities claim more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed since then.

Artificial intelligence and China

Trump also argued that those warning about AI are the same people who warned about climate change. PolitiFact and France 24 both noted the loudest recent warnings come from inside the industry. PolitiFact cited a Sept. 12 essay by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urging a slower pace of development; France 24 reported that Amodei recently made the same call. Both fact-checks noted OpenAI CEO Sam Altman backed the call.

Trump also said the U.S. is "leading now over China by a lot," which PolitiFact said overstates a gap industry leaders put at a few months.