Rubbish Check
CNBC Top News · 26 September 2026
source“Trump says he approved new fuel economy standards, rolling back Biden-era rules”
R2/ 10
Lightly altered
Rubbish Rating — 1 = base fact, 10 = pure rubbish
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In short
Rubbish Talk rates CNBC's headline that "Trump says he approved new fuel economy standards, rolling back Biden-era rules" a 2/10 because it correctly attributes the claim to Trump himself and doesn't repeat his "lower prices" spin as fact, though it omits that the actual new standards haven't been publicly detailed yet.
The Verdict
Lightly altered. The headline hedges properly with "Trump says," matches the substance of what Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has previously indicated, and doesn't launder Trump's promotional framing into the headline itself. Its only flaw is a headline-length omission: readers aren't told the specific numbers don't exist yet.
What actually happened
Trump announced on Truth Social that he had approved new CAFE fuel economy standards, reversing Biden-era rules. The article notes the final standards have not been publicly detailed, though Trump characterized the change as good for both automakers and car buyers.
Key facts
- Under Biden's standards, automakers would have had to increase fuel efficiency of passenger cars and light trucks to roughly 50 miles per gallon by 2031, designed to incentivize EV production and sales.
- It is unclear what the final fuel economy standards will be, although Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy previously said they would be sharply lower than the Biden-era policies.
- Trump's own framing, that the new standards mean lower prices and that manufacturers including GM, Ford and Stellantis want to build in the US, came via a Truth Social post, not an independently verified detail.
- Weaker standards let automakers build more pickup trucks and SUVs, which are more profitable but less fuel-efficient, while making EVs less attractive to produce.
What to watch for
Watch for the actual published rule text: if the finalized mpg targets land far below what Trump implied, or if the "lower prices" claim doesn't materialize once the regulation is scored by NHTSA, that's the real test of this story. Coverage should be revisited once Duffy's department releases concrete figures rather than a presidential social media post.
About this scoreThe R-Score is Rubbish Talk's editorial opinion on how far a headline's framing sits from what the underlying facts support. It is a judgement about presentation and emphasis, not an allegation that any outlet has acted dishonestly. Every figure we rely on is linked under Receipts so you can check it yourself.
