Donald Trump earned 59 Four-Pinocchio ratings as a presidential candidate. Now that he’s president, he has continued his proclivity for making dubious, misleading or false statements. He also often repeats the same debunked claims even though they have been fact-checked. It’s hard to keep up with all of Trump’s rhetoric, so the Fact Checker is assembling in one place all of his suspect statements from his first 100 days as president. You can sort them by various categories and see how many times he has repeated the same false statement.
Where were the claims made?
The greatest number of false and misleading claims were made in remarks.
The most frequent topic of these claims was jobs, which came up 94 times. Other frequent topics were immigration (68 claims) and foreign policy (67 claims).
Most repeated claims
Trump repeatedly (25 times) took credit for projects involving Ford, GM, Fiat Chrysler and other companies that were announced or planned long before he took office. Most recent claim
Trump also misleadingly claimed 15 times that he lowered the cost of F-35 airplanes by $700 million... Most recent claim
...and repeated the debunked claim that Obamacare is failing or imploding 17 times. Most recent claim
Few days without a claim
There were a total of 10 days without any recorded false or misleading claims.
The list of Trump’s claims was updated every Friday through April, with new claims made in the previous week. See any claims made during that period that we’re missing? Fill out this form to send us a tip. Sign up for the Fact Checker newsletter here.
President Trump’s 492 false or misleading claims in his first 100 days:
Show claims about made
Fact Checker analysis:
No claims match your selection
“The change began with the termination of the Trans-Pacific Partnership — a 12-nation pact that would have shipped millions more jobs to other countries.”
Predicting job losses or gains from a trade agreement is fairly difficult and often inaccurate but no credible analyst projected the loss of "millions" of U.S. jobs from the TPP.
“After years of federal contracts going to foreign bidders, we are ensuring that government agencies enforce “Buy American” rules and give preference to American companies — and that American companies hire American workers.”
Repeated on Mar. 6 Mar. 15 Mar. 15 Mar. 18 Mar. 20 Mar. 28 Apr. 18 Apr. 18 Apr. 19 Apr. 29Trump now calls for Americans to “buy American, hire American.” But this is misleading. Trump has a long history of outsourcing a variety of his own products. The Fact Checker has counted a total of 12 countries where Trump products were manufactured (China, the Netherlands, Mexico, India, Turkey, Slovenia, Honduras, Germany, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea).
“We are going to pursue a complete renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement: We’ve lost nearly a third of our manufacturing jobs in the 23 years since that terrible deal was approved.”
Repeated on Feb. 24 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Apr. 18 Apr. 20 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump’s attack on NAFTA is over the top. It is often difficult to separate out the impact of trade agreements on jobs, compared to other, broader economic trends. But the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service in 2015 concluded the “net overall effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy appears to have been relatively modest, primarily because trade with Canada and Mexico accounts for a small percentage of U.S. GDP,” though it noted “there were worker and firm adjustment costs as the three countries adjusted to more open trade and investment among their economies.”
“Finally, NATO countries are starting to pay billions of dollars more since I have made clear that the United States expects all of its allies to pay their fair share.”
Long before Trump started complaining about NATO, members had committed to having defense spending account for two percent of each nation's gross domestic product by 2024.
“Thousands of new jobs are being re-shored back to America — including jobs at Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Sprint, Intel and so many more.”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump takes undue credit for business decisions made prior to his election. Ford’s decision to abandon its plans to open a factory in Mexico and instead expand its Michigan plant has more to do with the company’s long-term goal — particularly its plans to invest in electric vehicles — than with the administration. Fiat Chrysler's plan to invest $1 billion for a factory in Michigan had been in the works for more than a year and had nothing to do with Trump. Japanese company SoftBank announced its $100 billion technology investment fund three weeks before the U.S. elections, when Trump faced a narrow path to victory. Sprint said its hiring plan was a part of a commitment by SoftBank, which owns a controlling stake in Sprint. And Intel announced it would create at least 10,000 jobs at a “new” plant in Arizona. But Intel actually announced a $5 billion investment in this factory in 2011 with then-President Barack Obama.
“After decades of unending illegal immigration and mass uncontrolled entry, we’ve turned the tide as never before — illegal border-crossings are down 73 percent.”
Trump is wrong to refer to "unending illegal immigration and mass uncontrolled entry" as Illegal immigration has been declining in general for years. He refers to the decline in apprehensions from December through March, which was 72 percent. Trump's rhetoric certainly has contributed to a decline in traffic along the border, but it's unclear how long the trend will last.
“We really maxed out. We broke the all-time record for this arena.”
There were empty seats in the stands when Trump spoke at his 100th day rally in Harrisburg, Pa.
The "failing" New York Times “had to apologize because they covered us so badly”
The New York Times did not apologize to its subscribers for its coverage of Trump. The Times has seen spikes in audience and subscribers.
The Fact Checker's Trump Promise Tracker shows that of Trump's 100-day promises, he had kept six, broken five and taken no action on more than half of his promises.
“Compliance with the [Paris] agreement could shrink US GDP by $2.5 trillion over ten-year period.”
This is an extreme estimate produced by opponents of the agreement.
“I have been talking about currency manipulation [by China] for a long time but I have to tell you, during the election they stopped.”
Repeated on Apr. 21Trump falsely claims China stopped devaluing its currency since he took office. China had not devalued its currency for about two years prior to his election. In fact, as recently as 10 days before his announcement that China was not manipulating its currency, Trump falsely blamed China for being a “world champion” of devaluing the yuan.
“In just a few months we have created 99,000 new construction jobs, 49,000 new manufacturing jobs, 27,000 new mining jobs….We have over 600,000 new jobs.”
Repeated on Apr. 11Trump again is counting the January jobs report, even though that concerns data for the period of Dec. 12 to Jan. 12, before he became president. So all of these numbers are inflated. Moreover, even if you counting January jobs, that brings the total to 533,000. The correct figure is 317,000. The other corrected jobs numbers are: construction (65,000); manufacturing (37,000) and mining (21,000). Obviously, a new president has little influence over broad economic trends.
“We have already achieved an unprecedented 73% reduction in illegal crossings on our southern border.”
Trump refers to the decline in apprehensions from December through March, which was 72 percent. Trump's rhetoric certainly has contributed to a decline in traffic along the border, but it's unclear how long the trend will last.
“We have cleared the way for the construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. 48,000 new jobs.”
Repeated on Jan. 24 Feb. 16 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Mar. 28 Apr. 4 Apr. 29Trump appears to be combining two disputed figures — 28,000 jobs for Keystone XL and 12,000 for the Dakota Access Pipeline-- and then hyping it even more. We have looked closely at the Keystone numbers, and the same methodological issues appear to apply to the Dakota estimates. The actual number of Keystone construction jobs, for instance, is just 3,900 on an annualized basis — and other jobs have already been created (such as for building high-strength line pipe.) In the context of the U.S. economy, which just in January added 230,000 jobs, these are not many jobs.
“I have already saved $725 million on a simple order of F-35 airplanes.”
Repeated on Jan. 30 Feb. 6 Feb. 7 Feb. 18 Feb. 22 Feb. 23 Feb. 27 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Apr. 6 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump takes credit for the lowered cost, but the Pentagon had announced cost reductions of roughly $600 million on the F-35 before Trump began meeting with Lockheed Martin’s chief executive. Trump over time keeps increasing the money he allegedly saved.
NATO countries “have begun to increase their contribution by billions of dollars.”
Long before Trump started complaining about NATO, members had committed to having defense spending account for two percent of each nation's gross domestic product by 2024.
“Obamacare is dead, it is gone.”
Repeated on Jan. 25 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 18 Feb. 27 Mar. 11 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 25 Apr. 23 Apr. 24 Apr. 28 Apr. 29The Affordable Care Act is not imploding and is expected to remain stable for the foreseeable future, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“The great state of Tennessee where half the state already has no insurance carrier”
Repeated on Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Apr. 5 Apr. 28 Apr. 29This is false. All eight of the Tennessee's rating areas have at least one insurance carrier and three of them have two carriers.
“We have the all-time record for the biggest increase in the stock market.”
The increase in the Dow Jones Industrial Average in Trump's first 100 days is impressive -- a five percent gain. But George H.W. Bush had a 7.7 percent gain in his first 100 days, so Trump does not have the record. Moreover, what counts in the long run is the state of the economy at the end of a term, as Bush (who lost re-election) could tell Trump.
“I have issued a five-year ban on federal officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service. Good?”
Trump actually weakened Obama-era rules that were tougher and reduced transparency.
“The last, very weak administration allowed thousands and thousands of gang members to cross our borders and inter our communities where the have wreaked havoc on our citizens. The blood thirsty MS-13 has infiltrated our schools, threatening innocent children.”
Repeated on Apr. 18The MS-13 gang far predates Obama, and has been active since the 1980s. According to the Congressional Research Service in 2005 and 2008, the gang had spread across the country since the 1980s. Moreover, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump has been arresting an increasing number of noncriminals, indicating that it's not just the gang members that are being targeted by his administration.
“I didn’t realize this, when he went to Russia, it was 2015 and he was on the Obama clearance. When General Flynn came to us, as you now know, he already had the highest clearance you can have.”
Repeated on Apr. 28Flynn had received a security clearance under Obama, but Obama also fired Flynn from his post as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Trump named Flynn as his national security adviser, before firing him three weeks after he took office, and the White House has not explained why his lobbying activities had not received greater scrutiny before Trump elevated him to the such a top security position.
“But when I watch some of the news reports, which are so unfair, and they say we don’t cover pre-existing conditions, we cover it beautifully.”
The American Health Care Act, the House GOP plan, would have made significant changes in such coverage if a state sought possible waivers from rules for people who had more than a two-month lapse in insurance.

Repeated on Apr. 17 Apr. 18Jon Ossoff, the Democrat Trump is referring to, supports a comprehensive immigration bill that allows a "path to legal status" for undocumented people (excluding felons) living in the country. But he also said he supports strong border security. As PolitiFact found, this is not the same as "allowing illegal immigration." On taxes, factcheck.org found that Ossoff has proposed to simplify the tax code, and that “in order to lower tax rates, we can eliminate carve-outs and special treatment in the tax code that privilege large organizations at the expense of small businesses.”
“The Republicans have a tremendous disadvantage in the Electoral College, you know that. Tremendous disadvantage.”
Repeated on Apr. 21Trump certainly deserves credit for breaching the so-called “blue wall” – the Midwestern states that have backed Democrats in recent years. But Republicans have an advantage because they have an edge in small, rural states, which in the electoral college system requires fewer votes per elector. In Wyoming, for instance, there are 143,000 people for each electoral vote, compared to 500,000 in a state like California. Since Democrats tend to concentrated in large cities, the impact of those votes are dissipated. This is one reason why in two recent elections – 2000 and 2016 -- the Democrat won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College.
“But you need that wall to stop the human trafficking, to stop the drugs, to stop the wrong people. You need the wall.”
Repeated on Apr. 25There is little evidence that human trafficking takes place over the U.S.-Mexican border. While human trafficking is a problem in some parts of the world, experts say it is relatively limited in the United States, especially for sexual exploitation. But in general data is limited on the extent of human trafficking. As for drugs, that is also dubious. Experts say that drugs are actually shipped through the border on the underside of vehicles that have permits to cross the border in a special lane.
“Hundreds of individuals from other countries have been charged with terrorism-related offenses in the United States.”
Repeated on Mar. 15Of about 400 individuals charged with or credibly involved in jihad-inspired activity in the U.S. since 9/11, just under half (197) were U.S.-born citizens, according to research by the nonpartisan think tank New America Foundation. An additional 82 were naturalized citizens, and 44 were permanent residents.
“It's a false standard, 100 days, but I have to tell you, I don’t think anybody has done what we did over the 100 days.”
Repeated on Apr. 18 Apr. 28By just about any standard, Trump's start of the presidency falls short of Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous first "100 days," as well as other presidents. Political scientists note that Trump has not signed into law any major piece of legislation.
“ObamaCare is exploding. ObamaCare is dead -- essentially, ObamaCare is dead, it's not going to make it.”
Repeated on Jan. 25 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 18 Feb. 27 Mar. 11 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 25 Apr. 23 Apr. 24 Apr. 28 Apr. 29The Affordable Care Act is not imploding and is expected to remain stable for the foreseeable future, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“I don't think anybody has ever done this much in a hundred days.”
Repeated on Apr. 18 Apr. 28By just about any standard, Trump's start of the presidency falls short of Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous first "100 days," as well as other presidents. Political scientists note that Trump has not signed into law any major piece of legislation.
“I predict I will probably pay more [under my tax plan] than I’m paying right now.”
This is almost certainly a false statement, though because Trump failed to disclose his tax returns that's difficult to verify. But just the elimination of the alternative minimum tax -- which cost Trump $31 million in 2005 -- would be a huge savings for Trump. The New York Times estimated the proposed tax plan would have saved Trump about $50 million in 2005.
“There's never been any kind of a relationship that we've had with China. Look at what China's doing. They're turning back the coal ships from North Korea, they're putting a lot of pressure on North Korea.”
In 2016, China barred a North Korean freighter and blacklisted 31 vessels covered by United Nations Security Council sanctions, according to Reuters.
“The trade deficit with Mexico is close to $70 billion. Even with Canada, it's $17 billion -- a trade deficit with Canada.”
Trump is citing figures for trades in goods, but not including services. The United States had a trade surplus of $12 billion with Canada and trade deficit of $55 billion when services are included.
“We never, ever seem to have a surplus with countries. Every country takes advantage of the United States, and it's not going to happen anymore.”
Not true. There’s barely a trade deficit in goods with the United Kingdom, according to the International Trade Commission, and the United States has a trade surplus with Hong Kong ($30 billion), Netherlands ($24 billion), United Arab Emirates ($21 billion), Belgium ($15 billion), Australia ($14 billion), Singapore ($10 billion) and Brazil ($4 billion), among others.
“You have states -- I went to Tennessee two weeks ago, half of the state doesn't have any insurance companies.”
Repeated on Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Apr. 5 Apr. 28 Apr. 29This is false. All eight of the Tennessee's rating areas have at least one insurance carrier and three of them have two carriers.
“They ended up giving Nebraska -- the Nebraska deal was where, frankly, that senator, who wasn't even that popular, made one of the best deals, what they did for the state of Nebraska.”
Actually, the so-called "cornhusker kickback" -- which would have provided additional Medicaid funding to Nebraska -- was removed from the Affordable Care Act before it was passed into law.
“Russia story was made up because they were embarrassed by their loss. They had this tremendous loss, a loss like nobody's ever seen before.”
Repeated on Feb. 26Trump is falsely labeling nonpartisan investigations as made up by Democrats. The CIA concluded in 2016 that Russia intervened in the U.S. presidential election to help elect Trump, an assessment backed up by FBI Director James B. Comey and then-Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. On Jan. 6, the intelligence community released a declassified report expressing "high confidence" in this judgement. Senate and House committees led by Republicans have begun their own investigations, and at least one Republican lawmaker has called for the appointment of a special prosecutor.
“Just remember, he [Michael Flynn] was approved by the Obama administration at the highest level. And when they say we didn't vet, well, Obama, I guess, didn't vet, because he was approved at the highest level of security by the Obama administration.”
Repeated on Apr. 29Flynn had received a security clearance under Obama, but Obama also fired Flynn from his post as head of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Trump named Flynn as his national security adviser, before firing him three weeks after he took office, and the White House has not explained why his lobbying activities had not received greater scrutiny before Trump elevated him to the such a top security position.
“We're the highest taxed nation in the world.”
Trump is simply wrong when he says the United States is the highest taxed nation in the world. The Pew Research Center, using 2014 data, found that the tax bill for Americans, under various scenarios, is below average for developed countries. In 2014, according to comparative tables of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), revenue as a percentage of the gross domestic product — the broadest measure of the economy — was 26 percent for the United States. Out of 34 countries, that put the United States in the bottom third — and well below the OECD average of 34.4 percent.
“We had a case where I got involved the last few days in Atlanta -- in fact, I'm going there today -- for Karen [Handel]. He [Democrat Jon Ossoff] looked like he was going to win. He had about 56 percent of the vote. If he gets 50, he wins, we have now a Democratic congressman. I did a robocall. I did some tweets. I did some interviews. He didn't get the number, and I believe she's going win, and she might win very easily.”
There was never any polling indicating that Democrat Jon Ossoff was going to get 56 percent of the vote in an open primary in Georgia's strongly Republican 6th Congressional District. There was a possibility he would get just over 50 percent, which would have eliminated a run-off election and been an embarrassing loss for the GOP. Trump took credit for the Ossoff getting 48 percent, even though Republicans in the race distanced themselves from Trump as the election got closer.
“Democrats jeopardizing the safety of our troops to bail out their donors from insurance companies.”
Trump suggests insurance companies are major backers of Democrats, but opensecrets.org says that 68 percent of insurance company contributions go to Republicans.
“This is a website that works. This is not the $5 billion Obamacare website. Do we remember that? Nobody remembers that. Does anybody remember the $5 billion website? No, I don't think so.”
The Obamacare website did not cost $5 billion. The Department of Health and Human Services offered an estimate that topped $800 million. A study by Bloomberg News, with a more expansive definition of federal spending, came up with an estimate of $2.1 billion. Moreover, while the website had trouble in its early months, those were quickly fixed and it now works.
“First the Ninth Circuit rules against the ban & now it hits again on sanctuary cities-both ridiculous rulings. See you in the Supreme Court!”
The ruling blocking Trump's executive order on santuary cities was issued by a U.S. district court judge in San Francisco. It had not yet been taken up by an appeals court.
“The U.S. recorded its slowest economic growth in five years (2016). GDP up only 1.6%. Trade deficits hurt the economy very badly.”
A trade deficit can reduce the gross domestic product, as the balance of trade is part of the GDP formula. But Trump greatly overstates the impact on economic growth. The United States has been running trade deficits for three decades, both when GDP growth was high and when it was low.
“Out of our very big country, with many choices, does everyone notice that both the 'ban' case and now the 'sanctuary' case is brought in the Ninth Circuit, which has a terrible record of being overturned (close to 80%). They used to call this 'judge shopping!' Messy system.”
Repeated on Apr. 26San Francisco and Santa Clara County, the governments that sued over Trump's sanctuary order, are in California. So that's where they would need to file a lawsuit. They also did not get to choose the judge that ruled against Trump. We have earlier explored the claim about the Ninth Circuit being overturned 80 percent. The Ninth Circuit is not the most overturned court by the annual reversal rate. It does have a high raw number of reversals or number of cases on the Supreme Court docket. But it also reviews more cases than other circuits, is larger than other circuits and terminates far more cases than other circuits.
“You see judge shopping, or what's gone on with these people, they immediately run to the Ninth Circuit. It's got close to an 80 percent reversal period, and what's going on in the Ninth Circuit is a shame.”
Repeated on Apr. 23San Francisco and Santa Clara County, the governments that sued over Trump's sanctuary order, are in California. So that's where they would need to file a lawsuit. They also did not get to choose the judge that ruled against Trump. We have earlier explored the claim about the Ninth Circuit being overturned 80 percent. The Ninth Circuit is not the most overturned court by the annual reversal rate. It does have a high raw number of reversals or number of cases on the Supreme Court docket. But it also reviews more cases than other circuits, is larger than other circuits and terminates far more cases than other circuits.
“Sanctuary cities have been very, very dangerous, very, very bad.”
Repeated on Feb. 5 Feb. 16There is limited research on the impact of sanctuary policies and crime. And the research that does exist challenges Trump’s claim. There’s no official definition of “sanctuary,” but it generally refers to rules restricting state and local governments from alerting federal authorities about people who may be in the country illegally. A handful of studies looked at whether there is a causation between sanctuary cities and crime. They either found no statistically significant impact of sanctuary policies on crime, or a reduction in crime due to immigrant-friendly policing strategies.
“Don't let the fake media tell you that I have changed my position on the WALL. It will get built and help stop drugs, human trafficking etc.”
Repeated on Apr. 25 Apr. 28There is little evidence that human trafficking takes place over the U.S.-Mexican border. While human trafficking is a problem in some parts of the world, experts say it is relatively limited in the United States, especially for sexual exploitation. But in general data is limited on the extent of human trafficking.
“The wall is going to get built, and the wall is going to stop drugs, and it’s going to stop a lot of people from coming in that shouldn’t be here, and it’s going to have a huge effect on human trafficking, which is a tremendous problem in this world -- a problem that nobody talks about -- but it’s a problem that’s probably worse than any time in the history of this world.”
Repeated on Apr. 28There is little evidence that human trafficking takes place over the U.S.-Mexican border. While human trafficking is a problem in some parts of the world, experts say it is relatively limited in the United States, especially for sexual exploitation. But in general data is limited on the extent of human trafficking.
“If our healthcare plan is approved, you will see real healthcare and premiums will start tumbling down. ObamaCare is in a death spiral!”
Repeated on Jan. 25 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 18 Feb. 27 Mar. 11 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 25 Apr. 23 Apr. 24 Apr. 28 Apr. 29The Affordable Care Act is not imploding and is expected to remain stable for the foreseeable future, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“The two fake news polls released yesterday, ABC & NBC, while containing some very positive info, were totally wrong in General E. Watch!”
Repeated on Apr. 23Trump is wrong about how he characterizes these polls. Both the final Post-ABC poll (47-43) and NBC/WSJ poll (44-40) had Clinton ahead by four points; both outlets emphasized the four-way result, but also tested preferences excluding third-party candidates that showed +3 for Post-ABC and +5 for NBC/WSJ. Clinton won the national popular vote by 2.1 points. This level of error is quite good for national pre-election polls in the United States.
“New polls out today are very good considering that much of the media is FAKE and almost always negative. Would still beat Hillary in ........popular vote. ABC News/Washington Post Poll (wrong big on election) said almost all stand by their vote on me & 53% said strong leader.”
Repeated on Apr. 23The final Post-ABC pre-election poll showed Clinton winning the popular vote by three percentage points in a head-to-head match-up. She won by 2.1 percentage points. Trump also falsely suggests he won the popular vote when in fact he lost it.
“ObamaCare is in serious trouble. The Dems need big money to keep it going - otherwise it dies far sooner than anyone would have thought.”
Repeated on Jan. 25 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 18 Feb. 27 Mar. 11 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 25 Apr. 23 Apr. 24 Apr. 28 Apr. 29The Affordable Care Act is not imploding and is expected to remain stable for the foreseeable future, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“The Democrats don't want money from budget going to border wall despite the fact that it will stop drugs and very bad MS 13 gang members.”
Repeated on Apr. 21 Apr. 23Trump’s claim that the wall would halt the flow of drugs is dubious. Experts say that drugs are actually shipped through the border on the underside of vehicles that have permits to cross the border in a special lane.
“The Wall is a very important tool in stopping drugs from pouring into our country and poisoning our youth (and many others)! If the wall is not built, which it will be, the drug situation will NEVER be fixed the way it should be!”
Repeated on Apr. 21 Apr. 23Trump’s claim that the wall would halt the flow of drugs is dubious. Experts say that drugs are actually shipped through the border on the underside of vehicles that have permits to cross the border in a special lane.
No claims
“I saved $725 million on the 90 planes. Just 90. Now there are 3,000 planes that are going to be ordered. On 90 planes I saved $725 million. It's actually a little bit more than that, but it's $725 million.”
Repeated on Jan. 30 Feb. 6 Feb. 7 Feb. 18 Feb. 22 Feb. 23 Feb. 27 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Apr. 6 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump keeps claiming he saved hundreds of millions of dollars on the cost of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter planes by intervening in negotiations with Lockheed Martin. But Lockheed already had planned cost reductions, and Trump overstates his role.
“Because the hundred days is just an artificial barrier. The press keeps talking about the hundred days.”
In a speech on Oct. 22, Trump issued an unusually detailed 100-day-plan of action, which he called the “Contract with the American Voter.” The Fact Checker has used the plan as a template for tracking in campaign promises.
“President Xi [of China], from the time I took office, they have not been currency manipulators.”
Repeated on Apr. 29Trump falsely claims China stopped devaluing its currency since he took office. China had not devalued its currency for about two years prior to his election.
On NATO: "It's not fair that we're paying close to 4 percent and other countries that are more directly affected are paying 1 percent when they're supposed to be paying 2 percent. And I'm very strong on it and I'm going to be very strong on it when I go there in a month.”
The United States spends about 3.6 percent of gross domestic product on defense spending , far more that NATO’s guideline of 2 percent. The median spending level for the 28 NATO countries is 1.53 percent of GDP, though NATO members are not expected to reach the 2 percent level until 2024. Meanwhile, the United States has defense responsibilities around the world, especially in Asia, which accounts for why U.S. spending is higher. In fact, U.S. bases in Europe are often used to redeploy forces in other theaters, such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa.
 But we create a lot of jobs, 500,000 jobs as of two months ago, and plenty created since. Five hundred thousand. ... As an example, Ford, General Motors. I've had cases where the gentleman from China, Ma, Jack Ma (chairman of Alibaba Group), he comes up, he says, “Only because of you am I making this massive investment.” Intel, only because of you. ... The press never writes that.
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump exaggerates the number of jobs created since he became president; the number of net new jobs since January 2017 is 317,000. Trump also continues to claim undue credit for corporate decisions that were made before he was elected president. Ford’s decision to expand in Michigan rather than in Mexico had more to do with the company’s long-term goals than with the administration. General Motors announced jobs plans in January and March 2017, but the company did not credit Trump or his election. Intel announced it would create at least 10,000 jobs at a “new” plant in Arizona but the investment was announced in 2011. Chinese e-company Alibaba's founder Jack Ma has been pitching his company as a U.S. job creator since as early as 2015.
“So we are moving criminals out of our country and we are getting them out in record numbers and those are the people we are after. We are not after the dreamers, we are after the criminals.”
Immigration advocates and lawyers say a “dreamer” (beneficiary of Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program) has been deported under Trump’s broadened enforcement guidelines. The government disputes that the dreamer was deported. In any case, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump is arresting an increasing number of people with no criminal records, indicating that it’s not just the criminals who are being targeted by his administration. According to The Washington Post’s analysis, the biggest spike in arrests of undocumented immigrants from Jan. 20 to March 13 was of immigrants with no criminal records.
“When Wikileaks came out ... never heard of Wikileaks, never heard of it. When Wikileaks came out, all I was just saying is, 'Well, look at all this information here, this is pretty good stuff.'”
Trump falsely claims he had not heard of WikiLeaks prior to the 2016 campaign. As CNN’s Andrew Kaczynski found, Trump denounced WikiLeaks as early as 2010.
“You know, back when they did NATO there was no such thing as terrorism.”
When NATO was founded in 1949, terrorism long existed in Europe, often by separatist groups (such as Irish Republicans) or anarchists. A bombing in 1867 in London by the Irish Republican Brotherhood killed 12 people and injured 120.
“The electoral college is so skewed in favor of a Democrat that it's very, very hard.”
Repeated on Apr. 28Trump certainly deserves credit for breaching the so-called “blue wall” – the Midwestern states that have backed Democrats in recent years. But Republicans have an advantage because they have an edge in small, rural states, which in the electoral college system requires fewer votes per elector. In Wyoming, for instance, there are 143,000 people for each electoral vote, compared to 500,000 in a state like California. Since Democrats tend to concentrated in large cities, the impact of those votes are dissipated. This is one reason why in two recent elections – 2000 and 2016 -- the Democrat won the popular vote but lost the Electoral College.
“No matter how much I accomplish during the ridiculous standard of the first 100 days, & it has been a lot (including S.C.), media will kill!”
Trump calls the 100-day mark a ridiculous standard but before the election he grandly announced a 100-day he titled the "Contract with the American Voter." Few of the promises made in that documents have been kept in Trump's first 100 days.
Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Maryland) “said you will be the greatest president. He said you will be, in front of five, six people, he said you will be the greatest president in the history of this country.”
Repeated on Apr. 5Cummings has disputed this account. Cummings told CNN that he said Trump he could become a good president “if . . .  I think NAFTA has been a catastrophic trade deal for the United States, trading agreement for the United States. It hurts us with Canada, and it hurts us with Mexico. Most people don't even think of NAFTA in terms of Canada. You saw what happened yesterday in my statements, because if you look at the dairy farmers in Wisconsin and upstate New York, they are getting killed by NAFTA.”
Repeated on Feb. 24 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Apr. 18 Apr. 20 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump’s attack on NAFTA is over the top. It is often difficult to separate out the impact of trade agreements on jobs, compared to other, broader economic trends. But the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service in 2015 concluded the “net overall effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy appears to have been relatively modest, primarily because trade with Canada and Mexico accounts for a small percentage of U.S. GDP,” though it noted “there were worker and firm adjustment costs as the three countries adjusted to more open trade and investment among their economies.” Meanwhile, Canadian dairy is exempted from NAFTA.
“Somebody, yeah, somebody put out the concept of a hundred-day plan. But yeah. Well, I’m mostly there on most items.”
Who was that “somebody” who put out the plan? It was somebody named Donald Trump. In a campaign speech on Oct. 22 delivered in Gettysburg, Pa., Trump outlined at substantive length each law he pledged to pass in his first 100 days.There were 60 promises embedded in the plan. According to our tally as of April 24, Trump has failed to meet most of his objectives.
“I have, seem to get very high ratings. I definitely. You know Chris Wallace had 9.2 million people, it's the highest in the history of the show. I have all the ratings for all those morning shows.”
Trump is way off. Chris Wallace's exclusive December 2016 interview with Trump nabbed the show's second-highest rated broadcast ever, at 2.3 million total viewers.
“These massive coal ships are coming where they get a lot of their income. They're coming into China and they're being turned away. That's never happened before.”
In 2016, China barred a North Korean freighter and blacklisted 31 vessels covered by United Nations Security Council sanctions, according to Reuters.
On Hillary Clinton: "So she had this massive advantage, she spent hundreds of millions of dollars more money than I spent. Hundreds of millions. ... Yeah. Or more, actually because we were $375 she was at $2.2 billion. But whatever.
Trump exaggerates Clinton's spending. As of Dec. 9, 2016, Clinton's campaign committee had $565 million in total expenses and Trump's campaign committee had $322 million in expenses.
On Neil Gorsuch: ”I mean, here's a judge who is No. 1 at Columbia, No. 1 at Harvard and an Oxford scholar. And he got three votes."
As Daniel Dale at the Toronto Star noted, Gorsuch graduated "cum laude" from Harvard Law School, receiving high honors but not as impressive as "summa cum laude" or "magna cum laude."
“If you looked at optimism indexes that are just coming out, manufacturing in particular, where it's up to the highest point it's ever been -- 93 percent -- it was a 27 percent increase over the past, over the last one.”
Repeated on Apr. 7 Apr. 11Trump is citing a survey by the National Association of Manufacturers but that is not necessarily representative of all manufacturers. NAM declined to say whether NAM members are randomly surveyed -- and NAM members make up just six percent of manufacturing firms. This is a very low level of coverage for a survey of any population attempting to represent all industries.
“Oh, I’m seeing numbers — $24 billion [for a border wall], I think I’ll do it for $10 billion or less. That’s not a lot of money relative to what we’re talking about. If we stop 1 percent of the drugs from coming in — and we’ll stop all of it.”
Repeated on Apr. 23 Apr. 23During the presidential campaign, Trump used to claim that he could build a 1,000-mile-long wall, made of precast concrete slabs 40 feet high, for $8 billion. The Fact Checker checked with construction experts and instead received estimates as high as $25 billion. A report issued by Senate Democrats in April came up with an even higher estimate: nearly $70 billion, before paying for land acquisition. The report said that maintenance costs would run about $150 million a year. Trump’s claim that the wall would halt the flow of drugs is dubious. Experts say that drugs are actually shipped through the border on the underside of vehicles that have permits to cross the border in a special lane.
“On any, on air, [CBS ‘Face the Nation’ host John] Dickerson had 5.2 million people. It’s the highest for ‘Face the Nation’ or as I call it, ‘Deface the Nation.’ It’s the highest for ‘Deface the Nation’ since the World Trade Center. Since the World Trade Center came down. It’s a tremendous advantage.”
Trump is slightly off on the numbers. Then-presidential candidate Trump’s Jan. 3, 2016, interview with host John Dickerson on CBS’s “Face the Nation” had an audience of 4.6 million. Of the total audience, about 1 million were adults aged 25 to 54, the coveted demographic among advertisers. The overall audience was the largest since Sept. 16, 2001, and the rating among adults 25 to 54 years old was the best since Nov. 17, 2013, according to CBS News.
“NAFTA, believe me, was a disaster and continues to be a disaster for our country.”
Repeated on Feb. 24 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Apr. 18 Apr. 20 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump’s attack on NAFTA is over the top. It is often difficult to separate out the impact of trade agreements on jobs, compared to other, broader economic trends. But the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service in 2015 concluded the “net overall effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy appears to have been relatively modest, primarily because trade with Canada and Mexico accounts for a small percentage of U.S. GDP,” though it noted “there were worker and firm adjustment costs as the three countries adjusted to more open trade and investment among their economies.”
“Despite major outside money, FAKE media support and eleven Republican candidates, BIG ”R" win with runoff in Georgia. Glad to be of help!"
Trump took credit for the upcoming runoff election in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, even though Republicans in the race distanced themselves from Trump as the election got closer.
“#BuyAmericanHireAmerican”
Repeated on Mar. 6 Mar. 15 Mar. 15 Mar. 18 Mar. 20 Mar. 28 Apr. 18 Apr. 18 Apr. 19 Apr. 29Trump now calls for Americans to “buy American, hire American.” But this is misleading. Trump has a long history of outsourcing a variety of his own products. The Fact Checker has counted a total of 12 countries where Trump products were manufactured (China, the Netherlands, Mexico, India, Turkey, Slovenia, Honduras, Germany, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea).
“The weak illegal immigration policies of the Obama Admin. allowed bad MS 13 gangs to form in cities across U.S. We are removing them fast!”
Repeated on Apr. 29The MS-13 gang far predates Obama, and has been active since the 1980s. According to the Congressional Research Service in 2005 and 2008, the gang had spread across the country since the 1980s. Moreover, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement under Trump has been arresting an increasing number of noncriminals, indicating that it's not just the gang members that are being targeted by his administration.
“Democrat Jon Ossoff would be a disaster in Congress. VERY weak on crime and illegal immigration, bad for jobs and wants higher taxes. Say NO”
Repeated on Apr. 17 Apr. 28Jon Ossoff, the Democrat Trump is referring to, supports a comprehensive immigration bill that allows a "path to legal status" for undocumented people (excluding felons) living in the country. But he also said he supports strong border security. As PolitiFact found, this is not the same as "allowing illegal immigration." On taxes, factcheck.org found that Ossoff has proposed to simplify the tax code, and that “in order to lower tax rates, we can eliminate carve-outs and special treatment in the tax code that privilege large organizations at the expense of small businesses.”
“Republicans must get out today and VOTE in Georgia 6. Force runoff and easy win! Dem Ossoff will raise your taxes-very bad on crime & 2nd A.”
Repeated on Apr. 17Jon Ossoff, the Democrat Trump is referring to, supports a comprehensive immigration bill that allows a "path to legal status" for undocumented people (excluding felons) living in the country. But he also said he supports strong border security. As PolitiFact found, this is not the same as "allowing illegal immigration." On taxes, factcheck.org found that Ossoff has proposed to simplify the tax code, and that “in order to lower tax rates, we can eliminate carve-outs and special treatment in the tax code that privilege large organizations at the expense of small businesses.”
“No administration has accomplished more in the first 90 days.”
Repeated on Apr. 28 Apr. 28By any standard, Trump's start of the presidency falls short of Franklin D. Roosevelt's famous first "100 days," as well as other presidents. Political scientists note that Trump has not signed into law any major piece of legislation.
“We are about to take bold new steps to follow through on my pledge to buy American and hire American.”
Repeated on Mar. 6 Mar. 15 Mar. 15 Mar. 18 Mar. 20 Mar. 28 Apr. 18 Apr. 18 Apr. 19 Apr. 29Trump has a long history of outsourcing a variety of his own products. The Fact Checker has counted a total of 12 countries where Trump products were manufactured (China, the Netherlands, Mexico, India, Turkey, Slovenia, Honduras, Germany, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea).
“Our tax reform and tax plan is coming along very well. It's going to be out very soon.”
This is a flip-flop of an earlier flip-flop. Less than a week before he made this claim, Trump said he would not release any guidelines on rewriting the tax code until a new health-care bill passes -- which was a flip-flop from when he said he would pursue a tax code overhaul rather than move forward with a health-care bill.
“We've lost 70,000 factories since China joined the World Trade Organization.”
Repeated on Mar. 15 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 20Trump hypes the possible connection between these trade deals and the loss of jobs and factories. (He also increased the number of factories to 70,000, from his usual 60,000.) The Congressional Research Service concluded in 2015 that NAFTA likely had little impact on jobs. Manufacturing jobs in the United States have been adversely affected by many factors, especially changing consumer tastes and technology. Similarly, drawing a connection between China’s entry in the WTO and factory losses is a stretch, especially because the Great Recession play a big role in factory closings.
“I don't know it you noticed recently, I signed a very big order. We're going to spend again on NASA space program.”
This was a reauthorization bill, designed to constrain the administration from making wholelsale changes in existing projects. It was considered by lawmakers to be a staus quo bill. Actual funding would come from other legislation.
“NAFTA has been a disaster for the United States -- a complete and total disaster.”
Repeated on Feb. 24 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Apr. 18 Apr. 20 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump’s attack on NAFTA is over the top. It is often difficult to separate out the impact of trade agreements on jobs, compared to other, broader economic trends. But the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service in 2015 concluded the “net overall effect of NAFTA on the U.S. economy appears to have been relatively modest, primarily because trade with Canada and Mexico accounts for a small percentage of U.S. GDP,” though it noted “there were worker and firm adjustment costs as the three countries adjusted to more open trade and investment among their economies.”
“All pipelines that are coming into this country from now on has to be American steel.”
Trump appears to refering to an executive action he issued but he exaggerates its impact. The revived Keystone pipeline would not have to meet this requirement. The president's memo also offer a lot of legal wiggle room, with phrases such as "to the maximum extent permitted by law."
“I'm put in a position where he [North Korea's leader] actually has nuclear and we are going to have to do something about it.”
North Korea detonated its first nuclear test in 2006, during George W. Bush's presidency and conducted more tests during the Barack Obama administration. So North Korea long had nuclear weapons before Trump became president.
“There was no, like loss with healthcare, this is just a constant negotiation. and the plan is getting better, better all the time.”

#BuyAmericanHireAmerican Watch➡http://45.wh.gov/npcpYM”
Repeated on Mar. 6 Mar. 15 Mar. 15 Mar. 18 Mar. 20 Mar. 28 Apr. 18 Apr. 18 Apr. 19 Apr. 29Trump now calls for Americans to “buy American, hire American.” But this is misleading. Trump has a long history of outsourcing a variety of his own products. The Fact Checker has counted a total of 12 countries where Trump products were manufactured (China, the Netherlands, Mexico, India, Turkey, Slovenia, Honduras, Germany, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea).
“The super Liberal Democrat in the Georgia Congressioal race tomorrow wants to protect criminals, allow illegal immigration and raise taxes!”
Repeated on Apr. 18 Apr. 28Jon Ossoff, the Democrat Trump is referring to, supports a comprehensive immigration bill that allows a "path to legal status" for undocumented people (excluding felons) living in the country. But he also said he supports strong border security. As PolitiFact found, this is not the same as "allowing illegal immigration." On taxes, factcheck.org found that Ossoff has proposed to simplify the tax code, and that “in order to lower tax rates, we can eliminate carve-outs and special treatment in the tax code that privilege large organizations at the expense of small businesses.”
“Nobody has ever seen such a positive response on our behalf [versus North Korea] from China.”
Trump oversells his diplomacy with China, which has barely begun, as superior to all previous presidents. China has interests in North Korea that it has always sought to protect, such as the preservation of the communist regime, leading to eventual disappointment by U.S, officials.
“You know, they’ve been talking with this gentleman for a long time. You read Clinton’s book, he said, ‘Oh, we made such a great peace deal,’ and it was a joke. You look at different things over the years with President Obama. Everybody has been outplayed, they’ve all been outplayed by this gentleman. And we’ll see what happens. But I just don’t telegraph my moves.”
This is an odd statement. It's unclear whether Trump knows that there have been three North Korean leaders since Bill Clinton's presidency, all with the last name Kim. It's a misleading claim that the past three presidents have "all been outplayed by this gentleman." It's actually three men in the same Kim family: Kim Il-Sung, Kim Jong-Il and Kim Jong-Un.
“I did what was an almost an impossible thing to do for a Republican-easily won the Electoral College! Now Tax Returns are brought up again?”
This is not correct. Every Republican president since Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876 won a larger share of the electoral college votes than Trump, with the exception of George W. Bush and Richard Nixon.
“Why would I call China a currency manipulator when they are working with us on the North Korean problem? We will see what happens!”
Repeated on Apr. 12This is a flip flop. Throughout the campaign, Trump falsely blamed China for being a “world champion” of devaluing the yuan.
“You know when you talk about, when you talk about currency manipulation, when you talk about devaluations, they are world champions.
Repeated on Jan. 31In an interview with Financial Times that published on April 2, he repeated an out-of-date talking point. Not only is the United States not being hurt by China’s current currency manipulation, China is also not devaluing its currency anymore. In fact, China is selling foreign currency to prop up its own, in an effort to prevent the yuan from depreciating further and destabilizing the Chinese and global economy.
“We have an $800 billion trade deficit.”
Repeated on Mar. 15 Mar. 20Trump made this claim in an interview with Financial Times that published on April 2. The trade deficit was about $500 billion in 2016.
“We’re doing great. The jobs: Ford just announced they are doing three major plants, three major expansions, thousands of jobs; General Motors, Fiat, [a] couple of them off the record because ‘Why do I need this for?’ But a couple of them were going to build in Mexico, now they are building in Michigan. Now they are building in Ohio. We got it going.”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump repeated one of his favorite claims during an interview with Financial Times that published on April 2. Trump keeps giving himself credit for business decisions made before he became president. Ford’s decision has more to do with the company’s long-term goal — particularly its plans to invest in electric vehicles — than with the administration. Here’s what Ford chief executive Mark Fields said about the company’s decision to abandon plans to open a factory in Mexico: “The reason that we are not building the new plant, the primary reason, is just demand has gone down for small cars.”
No claims
No claims
“Great win in Kansas last night for Ron Estes, easily winning the Congressional race against the Dems, who spent heavily & predicted victory!”
Three things in this tweet are false. Estes, seeking a congressional seat long held by Republicans, did not have an easy win, Democrats did not spend heavily (Republicans did) and Democrats did not predict victory.
“It's been very much misreported that we failed with health care. We haven't failed.”
The House Republican legislation to replace the Affordable Care Act was pulled from a looming House vote on March 24 after congressional leaders realized that it would fail to pass by a large margin. There’s no way to spin this except as a failure, especially since passage in the House would only be the first step on a long legislative journey. Senate Republicans generally are cool to the House proposal and are likely to pursue their own path. Then the two versions must be reconciled and pass both chambers before success could be declared. But Trump failed to advance even to first base. It’s true he might get another chance at-bat, but the effort is indeed a failure so far.
“We will save perhaps $900 billion....I'm saving a tremendous amount — hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars we're saving on health care.”
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office report on the Republican bill said it would reduce the deficit by $337 billion over the next decade. Trump appears to be referring to a $900 billion reduction in revenue from the repeal of Obamacare taxes, but that’s actually money lost to the federal government. The proposed law would have reduced federal spending on health care by $1.2 trillion but the repeal in taxes means the impact on the budget is significantly smaller.
“They'll say, why isn't Trump doing this faster? You can't do it faster, because they're obstructing. They're obstructionists.”
Trump suggests that he isn’t filling administration posts because of Democratic obstruction. Democrats have slow-walked many of his cabinet nominees, but Trump has been much slower than his predecessors in filling sub-cabinet posts and other positions. Out of 553 key positions requiring Senate confirmation, 478 still have no nominee, according to the Partnership for Public Service. Another 29 have been announced but not formally nominated; only 22 positions have been confirmed. Republican senators have said they are growing impatient with the White House’s slow pace. So Trump really should be pointing the finger at his own staff.
“When he [FBI Director James Comey] was reading those charges, she was guilty on every charge. And then he said, she was essentially OK. But he — she wasn't OK, because she was guilty on every charge.”
Trump has it backward. On July 5, 2016, Comey issued a tough statement about Clinton’s actions concerning her private email server, saying she was “extremely careless” in the handling of classified information, but he said it is “our judgment is that no reasonable prosecutor would bring such a case.” Comey added that the FBI looked back at previous cases involving the handling of classified information. “We cannot find a case that would support bringing criminal charges on these facts,” he said. “All the cases prosecuted involved some combination of: clearly intentional and willful mishandling of classified information; or vast quantities of materials exposed in such a way as to support an inference of intentional misconduct; or indications of disloyalty to the United States; or efforts to obstruct justice. We do not see those things here.”
“When you look at Susan Rice and what's going on, and so many people are coming up to me and apologizing now. They're saying you know, you were right when you said that. Perhaps I didn't know how right I was, because nobody knew the extent of it.”
Trump continues to grasp on slim reeds to claim he was correct when he falsely tweeted that former president Barack Obama “tapped” his phones at Trump Tower. No evidence has emerged to support that claim and it was denied by Comey. But in recent days he has claimed former national security adviser Susan Rice may have violated laws because she requested the identities of U.S. citizens who were incidentally recorded or referenced in surveillance conducted by the National Security Agency. Numerous former national security officials said that Rice had every right to make those requests. CNN reported that a review of classified documents by both Republican and Democratic documents found no evidence that Rice and other Obama administration officials did anything unusual or illegal.
“'The New York Times' said the word wiretapped in the headline of the first edition. Then they took it out of there fast when they realized.”
Repeated on Mar. 22Trump is mixing up different headlines for the print and Internet editions. In print, the headline was: “Wiretapped data used in inquiry of Trump aides.” Online, the headline read: “Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates.” The headlines were not changed as part of any stealth editing. In any case, the text of the New York Times article under either headline was identical.
“What I did should have been done by the Obama administration a long time before I did it and you would have had a much better — I think Syria would be a lot better off right now than it has been.”
Repeated on Apr. 6 Apr. 12This is a flip-flop. In 2013 and 2014, Trump repeatedly tweeted against Obama launching air attacks against Syria for allegedly deploying chemical weapons. Trump repeated this in more than a dozen tweets, saying Obama should “stay the hell out of Syria,” and that it would be “stupid” and that “very bad things will happen.” He urged Obama to instead “fix U.S.A.” and “focus on making our country strong and great again.”
“They had a big attack right after he drew the red line in the sand. They had a very big attack and everybody waited, what's going on, and nothing happened.”
Repeated on Apr. 6 Apr. 12Again, this is a flip-flop. Trump now criticizes Obama for inaction after declaring a “red line,” or Obama’s threat to take U.S. military action if Syria used chemical weapons. In September 2013, Trump mocked Obama’s announcement and warned against attacking Syria.
“Look at what's going on in Michigan with the expansion of the plants by Ford, by General Motors, yesterday Toyota announced that they're going to spend $1.3 to $1.9 billion in Kentucky.”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump continues to falsely claim credit for a host of corporate decisions that had nothing to do with his election or his policies.
“Mosul was supposed to last for a week and now they've been fighting it for many months and so many more people died.”
Not true. The campaign to reclaim the Iraqi city of Mosul was expected to be a slog. Officials from the U.S.-led coalition had predicted from the beginning of the operation that it likely would take weeks, possibly months.
“The secretary general and I had a productive discussion about what more NATO can do in the fight against terrorism. I complained about that a long time ago and they made a change, and now they do fight terrorism. I said it was obsolete. It’s no longer obsolete.”
This is a flip flop. Throughout the campaign, and as recently as March 22, Trump declared the trans-Atlantic alliance “obsolete, because it doesn’t cover terrorism.” Of course, this was factually incorrect: NATO has been involved in counterterrorism since 1980, and especially since 9/11.
On China: ”They're not currency manipulators."
Repeated on Apr. 16This is a flip flop. Throughout the campaign, and as recently as 10 days before this announcement, Trump falsely blamed China for being a “world champion” of devaluing the yuan.
This is a flip flop. But as recently as November 2015, Trump repeatedly claimed he not only knew Vladimir Putin, but knew him “very well,” and that he had a relationship with the Russian president. Trump changed his stance in July 2016, while facing criticism about his relationship with Kremlin: He declared he didn’t know Putin, after all.
On Federal Reserve Chair Janet L. Yellen: “I like her, I respect her. ... I do like a low-interest-rate policy, I must be honest with you.”
This is a flip flop. In May 2016, Trump said he would “most likely” replace Federal Reserve Chair Janet L. Yellen. During a September 2016 general-election debate, Trump criticized Yellen and the Fed for low interest rates, implying it was politically motivated: “This Janet L. Yellen of the Fed. The Fed is doing political — by keeping the interest rates at this level.”
On Export-Import Bank: “It turns out that, first of all, lots of small companies are really helped, the vendor companies.”
This is a flip flop. On the campaign trail, Trump criticized the bank and said he found it unnecessary: “It’s a one-way street also. It’s sort of a featherbedding for politicians and others, and a few companies. And these are companies that can do very well without it. So I don’t like it. I think it’s a lot of excess baggage. I think it’s unnecessary. And when you think about free enterprise it’s really not free enterprise. I’d be against it.”
“We are sending an armada, very powerful. We have submarines, very powerful, far more powerful than the aircraft carrier.”
Contrary to Trump's claim, the carrier group was not headed toward the Sea of Japan to deter North Korea but instead was steaming in the opposite direction to engage in exercises in the Indian Ocean, some 3,000 miles away.
Trump, apparently quoting the president of China, left out a significant amount of context that distorted the relationship between the two countries. Korea and China have long been intertwined, geopolitically and culturally. But Korea was not a spinoff of China,
“Already, we've created more than almost 600,000 jobs.”
Trump again is counting the January jobs report, even though that concerns data for the period of Dec. 12 to Jan. 12, before he became president. Moreover, even if you counting January jobs, that brings the total to 533,000. The correct figure is 317,000.
“Yesterday, Toyota just announced that it will invest more than $1.3 billion -- it's probably going to be $1.9 billion -- into its Georgetown, Kentucky plant, an investment that would not have been made if we didn’t win the election.”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump continues to take credit for corporate decisions made separate from his election. Asked whether Trump’s policies played a role in the company’s investment decision, Toyota’s spokesman said: “No, but we do share his goal of growing the economy and jobs in the U.S.”
“You saw the new survey that came out. It's at 93 -- which is the highest it's ever been -- 93 percent of manufacturers are optimistic about the future. It was a 27 percent increase over two months ago when it was also high because of the administration, and much higher than it's ever been -- 93 percent. Highest it's ever been.”
Repeated on Apr. 7 Apr. 25Trump is citing a survey by the National Association of Manufacturers but that is not necessarily representative of all manufacturers. NAM declined to say whether NAM members are randomly surveyed -- and NAM members make up just six percent of manufacturing firms. This is a very low level of coverage for a survey of any population attempting to represent all industries.
Before the presidential campaign, ”I didn't know Steve (Bannon)."
Not true. Trump appeared as a guest on Bannon's radio show nine times, and met with Bannon in 2011 to discuss a possible presidential campaign.
“We’ll be going right now for tax reform, which we could have done earlier, but this really would have worked out better if we could have had some Democrat support. Remember this: We had no Democrat support. So now we’re going to go for tax reform, which I’ve always liked.”
This is a flip flop. After failing to rally enough Republican votes in support of the GOP replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act, Trump announced he was moving on from health care to pursue a tax code overhaul. He said on March 24, the day House Speaker Paul D. Ryan pulled the doomed bill: “We’ll be going right now for tax reform, which we could have done earlier, but this really would have worked out better if we could have had some Democrat support. Remember this: We had no Democrat support. So now we’re going to go for tax reform, which I’ve always liked.”
No claims
No claims
Trump went golfing
No claims
Trump went golfing
“93% of our domestic manufacturers have expressed optimism in the future, a record.”
Repeated on Apr. 11 Apr. 25Trump is citing a survey by the National Association of Manufacturers but that is not necessarily representative of all manufacturers. NAM declined to say whether NAM members are randomly surveyed -- and NAM members make up just six percent of manufacturing firms. This is a very low level of coverage for a survey of any population attempting to represent all industries.
“Last month, we saw a 64% reduction in illegal immigration on our southern border.”
Repeated on Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Mar. 29 Apr. 4 Apr. 4 Apr. 7Trump compares figures from March 2016 to March 2017, to claim credit for the decline in number of people apprehended or "deemed inadmissible" at the Southwest border. But a more accurate comparison that reflects the impact of the Trump administration would be February-March 2016 to February-March 2017, which shows a 52.4 percent decline.
“In just the last few days our nation's ICE officers have arrested ... 84 criminal aliens in the Pacific Northwest”
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 60 of 84 foreign nationals arrested during a three-day operation in the Pacific Northwest had criminal histories.
“If you look at all that we’ve done and all of the jobs we’ve created, if you look at the kind of cost-cutting we’ve been able to achieve with the military and at the same time ordering vast amounts of equipment -- saved hundreds of millions of dollars on airplanes, and really billions, because if you take that out over a period of years it’s many billions of dollars -- I think we’ve had a tremendous success.”
Repeated on Jan. 30 Feb. 6 Feb. 7 Feb. 18 Feb. 22 Feb. 23 Feb. 27 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Apr. 6 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump once again takes credit for the lowered cost, but the Pentagon had announced cost reductions of roughly $600 million before Trump began meeting with Lockheed Martin’s chief executive. As the weeks have passed, he keeps increasing the value of the savings so now he's suggesting "many billions" over a period of years.
“Hopefully if there is a second one [Supreme Court nomination] for me during my administration -- and there could be as many as four -- in fact, under a certain scenario there could even be more than that.”
Few presidents get more than two shots at a Supreme Court nomination so Trump's math is curious. Anthony Kennedy, 80, was a Republican pick and so perhaps could be inspired to retire under Trump. Liberals Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 84,and Stephen Breyer, 78, presumably would need to die or become very ill before they leave the court under Trump. That adds up to four, but how does Trump "more than that"? Clarence Thomas is only 68 and Samuel Alito is 67, and the other justices are even younger.
“It is in this vital national security interest of the United States to prevent and deter the spread and use of deadly chemical weapons. ”
Repeated on Apr. 12 Apr. 12This is a flip flop. In more than a dozen tweets in 2013 and 2014, Trump consistently opposed U.S. military action and urged then-President Barack Obama against launching air attacks on Syria for allegedly deploying chemical weapons. Trump said the United States should focus on domestic issues instead.
“We had a very, very fine delegation come over from Egypt, and also from Iraq. And they said more has been done in the last six weeks than has been done in years with the previous administration, and believe me, we’re going to keep it that way.”
This is nonsensical. Little of significance has happened in the fight against the islamic State terror group in the first six weeks of Trump's term, compared to the steady progress made in recent years to roll back its territory. In the past year, Islamic State has lost eastern Mosul and the Iraq cities of Fallujah, Ramadi, and a number of towns along the Tigris River. Iraqi troops also took Makhmour and Qayyarah, establishing bases for the attack on Mosul.
“Well, I think the Obama administration had a great opportunity to solve this crisis a long time ago when he said 'the red line in the sand.' And when he didn't cross that line after making the threat, I think that set us back a long ways, not only in Syria but in many of the parts of the world because it was a blank threat. I think it was something that was not one of our better days as a country.”
Repeated on Apr. 4This is a flip-flop. At the time Obama was considering air strikes against Syria over alleged use of chemical weapons, Trump tweeted that it would be a huge mistake that would lead to "very bad things." He urged Obama "stay out of Syria."
“Elijah Cummings [a Democratic representative from Maryland] was in my office and he said, 'You will go down as one of the great presidents in the history of our country.'”
Repeated on Apr. 21Cummings said this is a misquote. He says he told Trump that "he could be a great president if … if … he takes steps to truly represent all Americans rather than continuing on the divisive and harmful path he is currently on.”
“The Russia story is a total hoax.”
The CIA concluded in 2016 that Russia intervened in the U.S. presidential election to help elect Trump, an assessment backed up by FBI Director James B. Comey and then-Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. On Jan. 6, the intelligence community released a declassified report expressing "high confidence" in this judgement. Senate and House committees led by Republicans have begun their own investigations, and at least one Republican lawmaker has called for the appointment of a special prosecutor.
“We’ve spent $6 trillion in the Middle East, as of two months ago.”
Repeated on Jan. 25 Feb. 9 Feb. 24 Feb. 27 Feb. 28 Mar. 22 Apr. 5Trump is lumping together the wars in Iraq (in the Middle East) and Afghanistan (in South Asia), which together cost about $1.6 trillion from 2001 to 2014. He is also adding in estimates of future spending, such as interest on the debt and veterans' care for the next three decades.
“You have many states coming up where they’re going to have no insurance company. O.K.? It’s already happened in Tennessee. It’s happening in Kentucky. Tennessee only has half coverage. Half the state is gone. They left. But I’d rather solve it in a much better way for the country.”
Repeated on Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Apr. 5 Apr. 28 Apr. 29This is false. All eight of the Tennessee’s rating areas have at least one insurance carrier and three of them have two carriers.
 You are now considered statistically employed.”
This is false. A person who has given up looking for a job is considered no longer in the labor force.
“We have 100 million people...  But a lot of those people, a good percentage of them, would like to have jobs, and they don’t.”
Repeated on Feb. 28This is an absurd Four-Pinocchio claim, based on a real number. The 100 million "forgotten" that Trump refers to are based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2015. It turns out that 93 percent do not want a job at all. The picture that emerges from a study of the data shows that the 95 million consists mostly of people who are retired, students, stay-at-home parents or disabled.
“President Obama said in 2012 that he would establish a 'red line' against the use of chemical weapons and then did nothing.”
Repeated on Apr. 5This is a flip-flop. At the time Obama was considering air strikes against Syria over alleged use of chemical weapons, Trump tweeted that it would be a huge mistake that would lead to "very bad things." He urged Obama "stay out of Syria."
“If you look at what's happened with Ford and with General Motors and with Fiat-Chrysler and so many other car companies, you see what they're doing back in Michigan and Ohio -- they were leaving. They were going to Mexico and many other places. They're now staying here.”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump keeps taking credit for projects that were long in the works before he became president. For example, he repeatedly claims credit for Ford’s decision to abandon its plans to open a factory in Mexico and instead expand its Michigan plant. But analysts say Ford’s decision has more to do with the company’s long-term goal — particularly, its plans to invest in electric vehicles — than the administration. It’s easier for companies to find highly skilled workers to build new products, such as electric cars, in the United States than in Mexico.
“Our trade deficit with others has gone down very considerably in the last short period of time. It’s having a big impact.”
This was a minor blip likely caused by seasonal fuctuations.
“There was very large infrastructure bill that was approved during the Obama administration -- a trillion dollars -- nobody ever saw anything being built.”
When the $800 billion stimulus bill was passed in 2009, Trump praised it for the emphasis on infratrucure spending. (It also included tax cuts and grants to states.)
“I've won awards on environmental protection.”
The evidence is quite slim for Trump’s claim that he has “won awards on the environmental protection.” We know of one award Trump received personally, the Green Space Award for donating 436 acres to the New York state park system after he scrapped his plans to build a golf course there. The Metropolitan Golf Association in 2007 gave an award to his golf course in Bedminster, N.J. The golf course was later cited for environmental violations.
“You see what's happened; 61 percent down now in terms of illegal people coming in. ”
Repeated on Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Mar. 29 Apr. 4 Apr. 4 Apr. 7Trump is citing the 61 percent decline in Southwest border apprehensions from January 2017 to March 2017. It's unclear yet if Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly made an impact, or if it was a result of Trump's rhetoric on immigration throughout the presidential campaign. There tends to be less activity during winter months, and the numbers bounce back in March and through the spring, so it's unclear whether this is a blip or a lasting trend. Moreover, the January data captures the whole month, not just since Inauguration Day.
“I took you out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.”
This was a largely symbolic move. The deal was basically dead in Congress.
“Next, I cleared the way for construction of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines. And it's looking like that's going to have about 42,000 jobs involved, those two jobs.”
Repeated on Jan. 24 Feb. 16 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Mar. 28 Apr. 4 Apr. 29Trump constantly changes the number of jobs that might be created by the pipeline. This is a high-end estimate which we have previously given Two Pinocchios.
“And then one day, Trump wins, and a few days later, they get a knock on the door, 'Sir, the Keystone Pipeline was just approved.' Can you imagine? I want to see the expression on his face. And he's a nice guy, he actually -- they came to the office because you know, I did say you have to use American steel, you have to fabricate it here. Now, they had already bought 60, 70 percent of it, so you can't be too wild, right? But I was signing the order and I said where'd they buy the steel? I didn't like the answer. I said who fabricated this deal? I didn't like the answer. I said, 'From now on, we're going to put a clause, got to be made in America. We want American steel made in America.' One hundred percent.”
Repeated on Mar. 21 Mar. 28Trump makes it sound like he is insisting the Keystone XL is being built with U.S. steel. But the pipeline segments were already built, with half manufactured in the United States (by an India-owned company) and the rest from overseas.
Illegal immigration is ”down 61 percent since inauguration. General Kelly is doing a fantastic job."
Repeated on Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Mar. 29 Apr. 4 Apr. 4 Apr. 7Trump is citing the 61 percent decline in Southwest border apprehensions from January 2017 to March 2017. It's unclear yet if Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly made an impact, or if it was a result of Trump's rhetoric on immigration throughout the presidential campaign. There tends to be less activity during winter months, and the numbers bounce back in March and through the spring, so it's unclear whether this is a blip or a lasting trend. Moreover, the January data captures the whole month, not just since Inauguration Day.
“Did Hillary Clinton ever apologize for receiving the answers to the debate? Just asking!”
Repeated on Feb. 16 Mar. 22Trump overstates the disclosure about Clinton reportedly getting a single debate question. During the Democratic primaries, a debate was held in Flint, Mich., to focus on the water crisis. Donna Brazile, then a CNN analyst, sent an email to the Clinton campaign saying that a woman with a rash from lead poisoning was going to ask what Clinton as president could do the help the people of Flint. There’s no indication Clinton was told this information, but in any case it’s a pretty obvious question for a debate being held in Flint.
“.@FoxNews from multiple sources: ”There was electronic surveillance of Trump, and people close to Trump. This is unprecedented." @FBI"
Trump cited a Fox News report to allege spying by the Obama administration. But it appears to refers to national-security survelliance of foreign offcials that picked up references to U.S. citizens. Generally, those identities are masked, but officials can request the names in order to better understand the significance of the intelligence report.
“Wow, @FoxNews just reporting big news. Source: 'Official behind unmasking is high up. Known Intel official is responsible. Some unmasked.... ..not associated with Russia. Trump team spied on before he was nominated.' If this is true, does not get much bigger. Would be sad for U.S.”
Trump cited a rather vague Fox News report to allege spying by the Obama administration. But it appears to refers to national-security survelliance of foreign offcials that picked up references to U.S. citizens. Generally, those identities are masked, but officials can request the names in order to better understand the significance of the intelligence report.
“When will Sleepy Eyes Chuck Todd and @NBCNews start talking about the Obama SURVEILLANCE SCANDAL and stop with the Fake Trump/Russia story?”
The CIA concluded in 2016 that Russia intervened in the U.S. presidential election to help elect Trump, an assessment backed up by FBI Director James B. Comey and then-Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. On Jan. 6, the intelligence community released a declassified report expressing "high confidence" in this judgement. Senate and House committees led by Republicans have begun their own investigations, and at least one Republican lawmaker has called for the appointment of a special prosecutor.
“The failing @nytimes finally gets it - ”In places where no insurance company offers plans, there will be no way for ObamaCare customers to.. ...use subsidies to buy health plans." In other words, Ocare is dead. Good things will happen, however, either with Republicans or Dems."
The article cited by Trump noted that the Trump administration has the power to take steps that would mitigate the situation that Trump appears to celebrate.
No claims
Trump went golfing
“I saw the shuttered factories and spent time with the laid-off factory workers. I heard their stories, and I promised action and I promised them a solution. And all over America, you're already seeing solutions start to take place. Take a look at what's going on Michigan, with Ford and General Motors and Fiat-Chrysler, and so many more.”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump keeps taking credit for projects that were long in the works before he became president. For example, he repeatedly claims credit for Ford’s decision to abandon its plans to open a factory in Mexico and instead expand its Michigan plant. But analysts say Ford’s decision has more to do with the company’s long-term goal — particularly, its plans to invest in electric vehicles — than the administration. It’s easier for companies to find highly skilled workers to build new products, such as electric cars, in the United States than in Mexico.
“The failing @nytimes has disgraced the media world. Gotten me wrong for two solid years. Change libel laws?”
The Times, like The Post, has seen spikes in audience and subscribers. Moreover, the day that Trump announced House Speaker Paul Ryan would be pulling the Obamacare replacement bill, Trump personally called two reporters before speaking publicly: Robert Costa from The Post, and Maggie Haberman from the Times.
“Remember when the failing @nytimes apologized to its subscribers, right after the election, because their coverage was so wrong. Now worse!”
Repeated on Feb. 4 Feb. 6 Feb. 22 Feb. 27The New York Times did not apologize to its subscribers for its coverage of Trump.
“I want to thank Ford -- you saw their big announcement yesterday. And so many others are announcing tremendous numbers of jobs. They’re not leaving our country anymore, folks. They’re not leaving; they’re staying and they’re building right here.”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29The investment projects announced the day before were in line with the contract Ford negotiated with the United Auto Workers in 2015.
“I want to just thank Secretary Kelly; he's done an amazing job. Down 61 percent at the border right now in terms of people and the drugs that are being stopped.”
Repeated on Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Mar. 29 Apr. 4 Apr. 4 Apr. 7Trump is citing the 61 percent decline in Southwest border apprehensions from January 2017 to March 2017. It's unclear yet if Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly made an impact, or if it was a result of Trump's rhetoric on immigration throughout the presidential campaign. There tends to be less activity during winter months, and the numbers bounce back in March and through the spring, so it's unclear whether this is a blip or a lasting trend. Moreover, the January data captures the whole month, not just since Inauguration Day.
“Big announcement by Ford today. Major investment to be made in three Michigan plants. Car companies coming back to U.S. JOBS! JOBS! JOBS!”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29The investment projects announced later that day were in line with the contract Ford negotiated with the United Auto Workers in 2015.
“We've already eliminated a devastating, anti-coal regulation but that was just the beginning.”
Repeated on Mar. 20 Mar. 21The impact of repealing the regulation is debatable, as industry estimates of 77,000 jobs being saved was based on dubious survey data. Trump promises he will bring coal miners back to work but has never explained how he would overcome markets forces, such as a preference for natural gas, that has taken a toll on the industry.
“We approved the permit to finally build the Keystone XL Pipeline and clear the way to completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline, thousands and thousands of jobs.”
Repeated on Jan. 24 Feb. 16 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Mar. 28 Apr. 4 Apr. 29Trump, in saying “thousands and thousands of jobs,” leaves himself some wiggle room here. (He’d previously incorrectly said 28,000 jobs.) Moreover, some of these jobs have already been created. Workers in Arkansas, for instance, have already built about half of the high-strength line pipe needed for the project, some 333,000 tons.
“We've already created a half a million new jobs in the first two jobs reports of my administration.”
The January jobs report, showing 230,000 jobs were created, reflects the last month of the Obama administration. The data was collected in early January, when Obama was still president.
“We believe in those really magnificent words, made in the USA.”
Repeated on Mar. 6 Mar. 15 Mar. 15 Mar. 18 Mar. 20Trump has a long history of outsourcing a variety of his own products. The Fact Checker has counted a total of 12 countries where Trump products were manufactured (China, the Netherlands, Mexico, India, Turkey, Slovenia, Honduras, Germany, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea).
“Today, Ford, great company, announced massive new spending on three big plans in the state of Michigan, the state which I love very much,”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29The investment projects announced later that day were in line with the contract Ford negotiated with the United Auto Workers in 2015.
“This came up a little bit coincidentally when I was signing the pipeline deals. I’m all signing, I’ve got them done. And I said, folks, when do we get this deal? And they said, I think it’s from foreign lands. I said no good. Who makes it, who makes those beautiful pipes for the pipeline? Sir, they’re made outside of this country, and I said no more, no more. So we added a little clause, didn’t take much, that you want to build pipelines in this country, you’re going to buy your steel and you’re going to have it fabricated here.”
Repeated on Mar. 21 Apr. 4Trump makes it sound like he is insisting the Keystone XL is being built with U.S. steel. But the pipeline segments were already built, with half manufactured in the United States (by an India-owned company) and the rest from overseas.
“Why doesn't Fake News talk about Podesta ties to Russia as covered by @FoxNews or money from Russia to Clinton - sale of Uranium?”
Repeated on Mar. 27Trump repeats a Four Pinocchio claim he used during the campaign. It wasn't a "Bill & Hillary deal"; the State Department was one of nine agencies on a committee that approved the sale of majority of shares of a uranium mining company to the Russians. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also separately approved the deal. There's no evidence Clinton got involved in the deal personally, and it's highly questionable this deal even rose to the level of the secretary of state.
“First, today’s energy independence action calls for an immediate re-evaluation of the so-called Clean Power Plan.”
The United States in many cases already has energy independence, being a net exporter in coal, in refined petroleum products and by 2018, in natural gas.
“Perhaps no single regulation threatens our miners, energy workers and companies more than this crushing attack on American industry.”
Trump is referring to the Clean Power Plan, but the 2015 rule was halted by the Supreme Court in early 2016. Since then, more than 9,000 coal mining jobs have disappeared, continuing a trend from the 1980s fostered more by a preference for natural gas than anti-coal regulations.
“Why isn't the House Intelligence Committee looking into the Bill & Hillary deal that allowed big Uranium to go to Russia, Russian speech....”
Repeated on Mar. 28Trump repeats a Four Pinocchio claim he used during the campaign. It wasn't a "Bill & Hillary deal"; the State Department was one of nine agencies on a committee that approved the sale of majority of shares of a uranium mining company to the Russians. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission also separately approved the deal. There's no evidence Clinton got involved in the deal personally, and it's highly questionable this deal even rose to the level of the secretary of state.
“We’ve only been here for a tiny speck of time, and what I’ve done with regulations, moving jobs back into the country, what I’ve done with airplane pricing and buying is amazing. We’ve done a lot. I think we’ve done more than anybody for this short period of time.”
In an interview with the New York Times magazine published March 26, Trump manages to throw together a number of bogus claims -- about moving jobs back to the United States and cutting the price of Lockheed aircraft -- with the absurd suggestion that he's already accomplished more than any previous president in so many days. As the Times noted, "Abraham Lincoln, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson would take exception to this claim."
“ObamaCare will explode and we will all get together and piece together a great healthcare plan for THE PEOPLE. Do not worry!”
Repeated on Jan. 25 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 18 Feb. 27 Mar. 11 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 25 Apr. 23 Apr. 24 Apr. 28 Apr. 29The Affordable Care Act is not exploding and is expected to remain stable for the foreseeable future, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“I never said I was going to repeal and replace in the first 61 days.”
Repeated on Mar. 24He repeatedly pledged he'd start the repeal process on "day one" and that the repeal would be immediate. In a January 2017 interview, he said an Obamacare repeal vote would happen before his inauguration and replacement wold come “very quickly or simultaneously, very shortly thereafter.”
“Today, I was thrilled to announce a commitment of $25 BILLION & 20K AMERICAN JOBS over the next 4 years. THANK YOU Charter Communications!”
Trump trumpeted the company’s announcement that it would invest $25 billion in the United States and hire 20,000 workers over four years, but the company’s jobs plan was in the works as early as June 2015.
“You've all heard my speeches. I never said repeal it and replace it within 64 days. I have a long time.”
Repeated on Mar. 24He repeatedly pledged he'd start the repeal process on "day one" and that the repeal would be immediate. In a January 2017 interview, he said an Obamacare repeal vote would happen before his inauguration and replacement wold come “very quickly or simultaneously, very shortly thereafter.”
“Charter's announcement follows a number of American businesses from Exxon to Intel to Lockheed to Boeing to many others that have recently announced billions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs coming into the United Sates, following my election victory.”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump trumpeted the company’s announcement that it would invest $25 billion in the United States and hire 20,000 workers over four years, but the company’s jobs plan was in the works as early as June 2015.
“We just gave a check for a hundred million dollars to Flint. Think of that whole, horrible deal. That's great political leadership. What a disaster. In order to save a fee, they went to bad water and spent a fortune on pipes and infrastructure. Anyway, we're helping out Flint.”
The $100 million came from the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act signed by President Barack Obama in December 2016. The Environmental Protection Agency sent the check in March, but this was an Obama initiative.
“You know what, we’re doing even better now because we’ve brought back -- Ford is moving back in and General Motors, they’re going to be doing a lot of new plants and thousands and thousands of people coming back into Michigan.”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump keeps giving himself credit for business decisions made before he became president. Ford’s decision has more to do with the company’s long-term goal — particularly its plans to invest in electric vehicles — than with the administration. Here’s what Ford chief executive Mark Fields said about the company’s decision to abandon plans to open a factory in Mexico: “The reason that we are not building the new plant, the primary reason, is just demand has gone down for small cars.” General Motors announced plans to rehire about 700 laid-off workers in Michigan and create 200 new jobs, but the company did not credit Trump or his election.
“Sweden. I make the statement, everyone goes crazy. The next day they have a massive riot, and death, and problems. … A day later they had a horrible, horrible riot in Sweden, and you saw what happened.”
Repeated on Feb. 18 Feb. 19 Feb. 20 Feb. 24This is false. Trump at a rally on Feb. 11 made a reference to “what’s happening last night in Sweden,” confusing people in that country since nothing had happened. Trump then clarified in a tweet that his statement “was in reference to a story that was broadcast on @FoxNews concerning immigrants& Sweden.” Then two days later, riots broke out in a predominantly immigrant neighborhood in the northern suburbs of the country’s capital, Stockholm. But no one died.
“Huma and Anthony, you know, what I tweeted about that whole deal, and then it turned out he had it, all of Hillary’s email on his thing.”
No. Weiner did not have all of Clinton’s emails on his laptop. The FBI ultimately concluded none of the emails added new information to the investigation into Clinton’s private server.
“NATO, obsolete, because it doesn’t cover terrorism. They fixed that, and I said that the allies must pay. Nobody knew that they weren’t paying. I did. I figured it. … What I said about NATO was true, people aren’t paying their bills.”
Repeated on Mar. 17False on several levels. NATO has been involved in counterterrorism since 1980, and especially since the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001. As for NATO’s financing, Trump apparently still does not understand how it works. NATO’s guideline, established in 2006, is that defense expenditures should amount to 2 percent of each country’s gross domestic product by 2024. In 2016, only four countries besides the United States met that standard, but NATO documents also show that defense spending has increased about 3 percent from 2015 to 2016. In any case, the money would not be going to the United States or even necessarily to NATO; this is money that countries would spend to bolster their own military.
“Brexit, I was totally right about that. You were over there I think, when I predicted that, right, the day before.”
Trump’s timeline is off. He said in March 2016, three months before the June 23 vote on whether Britain should remain part of the European Union, that he thinks “Britain will separate from the EU. I think that maybe it’s time, especially in light of what’s happened with the craziness that is going on with immigration, with people pouring in all over the place I think that Britain will end up separating from the EU.” He was less sure about it on June 22, the day before the vote: “I don’t think anybody should listen to me because I haven’t really focused on it very much."
“Now remember this. When I said wiretapping, it was in quotes. Because a wiretapping is, you know today it is different than wire tapping. It is just a good description. But wiretapping was in quotes. What I’m talking about is surveillance.”
Trump has invented a convenient excuse to cover up the fact that he accused the Obama administration of spying on him. In some tweets, he used quotes. But this is the key tweet: “How low has President Obama gone to tapp phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!”
“Here, headline, for the front page of the New York Times, ‘Wiretapped data used in inquiry of Trump aides.’ That’s a headline. Now they then dropped that headline, I never saw this until this morning. They then dropped that headline, and they used another headline without the word wiretap, but they did mean wiretap. Wiretapped data used in inquiry. Then changed after that, they probably didn’t like it. And they changed the title. They took the wiretap word out. … Front page, January 20th. Now in their second editions, they took it all down under the internet. They took that out. Ok? But that’s the way it is.”
Repeated on Apr. 12Trump is mixing up different headlines for the print and Internet editions. In print, the headline was: “Wiretapped data used in inquiry of Trump aides.” Online, the headline read: “Intercepted Russian Communications Part of Inquiry Into Trump Associates.” The headlines were not changed as part of any stealth editing. In any case, the text of the New York Times article under either headline was identical.
Q: ”The claim that Muslims celebrated 9/11 in New Jersey …" Trump: "Well, if you look at the reporter, he wrote the story in The Washington Post."
This is yet another Four-Pinocchio claim that we have checked over and over. Trump claimed he saw on television thousands of Muslims cheer the collapse of the World Trade Center during the Sept. 11 attacks. There is no TV footage, no newspaper coverage, just scattered, unconfirmed reports of five or six people — not necessarily Muslim, probably teenagers — celebrating. There was a small reference buried deep in an article in The Post. When the reporter said it did not support Trump’s claim, Trump mocked his disability.
“Well, now if you take a look at the votes, when I say that, I mean mostly they register wrong, in other words, for the votes, they register incorrectly, and/or illegally. And they then vote. You have tremendous numbers of people. In fact I’m forming a committee on it.”
We’ve repeatedly debunked this. There are instances of people illegally voting, but they are rare. The National Association of Secretaries of State said it did not know of “any evidence” backing up Trump’s claims.
“This just came out. This is a Politico story: Members of the Donald Trump Transition team possibly including Trump himself were under surveillance during the Obama administration following November’s election. House intelligence chairman Devin Nunes told reporters, wow. Nunes said, so that means I’m right, Nunes said the surveillance appears to have been … incidental collection, that does not appear to have been related to concerns over Russia.”
Nunes cited one anonymous source and didn’t provide any details. Still, the same Politico story Trump quotes says Nunes disputed that the information Nunes obtained vindicated Trump: “The White House and Trump’s allies immediately seized on the statement as vindication of the president’s much-maligned claim that former president Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower phones — even though Nunes himself said that’s not what his new information shows.”
“What I said, look I said, Donna Brazile had information, and she had information on Hillary’s debate questions. I said, why didn’t Hillary apologize. Donna Brazile just admitted that that was right.”
Repeated on Feb. 16 Apr. 3Trump overstates the disclosure about Clinton getting a debate question. During the Democratic primaries, a debate was held in Flint, Mich., to focus on the water crisis. Donna Brazile, then an analyst with CNN, sent an email to the Clinton campaign saying that a woman with a rash from lead poisoning was going to ask what Clinton as president could do the help the people of Flint. There’s no indication Clinton was told this information, but in any case it’s a pretty obvious question for a debate being held in Flint. The woman in question also was not happy with Clinton’s answer.
“Well that was in a newspaper. No, no, I like Ted Cruz, he’s a friend of mine. But that was in the newspaper. I wasn’t, I didn’t say that. I was referring to a newspaper. A Ted Cruz article referred to a newspaper story with, had a picture of Ted Cruz, his father, and Lee Harvey Oswald, having breakfast.”
By “newspaper,” Trump is referring to the National Enquirer, a supermarket tabloid owned by a prominent supporter. The thinly sourced article alleged that Ted Cruz’s father, Rafael, worked with Lee Harvey Oswald, the assassin of President John F. Kennedy. Trump has repeatedly ignored the fact that the article was denied and deemed false even before he ever mentioned it on the campaign trail.
“Why do you say that I have to apologize?  Now he can now deny it, or whatever he is doing, you know. But I watched Bret Baier, and he used that term. I have a lot of respect for Judge Napolitano, and he said that three sources have told him things that would make me right. I don’t know where he has gone with it since then. But I’m quoting highly respected people from highly respected television networks.”
Fox News said it has no evidence to back up claims by Andrew Napolitano, a judicial analyst and commentator on Fox News. Bret Baier said on his show: “We love the judge, we love him here at Fox, but the Fox News division was never able to back up those claims and was never reported on this show.” As for Baier, Trump is apparently referring to a March 3 interview with House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.). Baier referred to an unconfirmed report that there was a “wiretap at Trump Tower with some computer and Russian banks.” Ryan responded: “I am saying I have seen nothing of that. I have seen nothing come of that.”
“And then TIME magazine, which treats me horribly, but obviously I sell, I assume this is going to be a cover too, have I set the record? I guess, right? Covers, nobody’s had more covers.”
Trump is well behind any sort of record for Time covers. Trump has been on the cover of Time magazine about a dozen times. Richard Nixon holds the record: 55.
“I inherited a mess with jobs, despite the statistics, you know, my statistics are even better, but they are not the real statistics because you have millions of people that can’t get a job, okay.”
The economy was not a mess when Trump became president. The stock market was booming and the unemployment rate was below 5 percent. Trump has falsely claimed that 94 million Americans cannot get a job but most of them do not want a job, as they are retired, in school, taking care of young children or are disabled.
 If you bequeath all three to your people, their love for you will never die.'”
In his statement to Iranians on the Nowruz holiday, Trump cited a supposed quote from Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Achaemenid Empire, which stretched from the Balkans to South Asia at its height. But Mic reported that experts and historians who study the Achaemenids say this is a bogus Cyrus quote. It apparently came from a 2006 book on leadership advice that places high in Google results.
“I heard just recently in the Middle East we’ve spent as of about two months ago $6 trillion -- $6 trillion, and you know where we are over there -- while neglecting the fate of American children in cities like Baltimore and Chicago and Detroit.”
Repeated on Jan. 25 Feb. 9 Feb. 24 Feb. 27 Feb. 28 Mar. 22 Apr. 5Trump is lumping together the wars in Iraq (in the Middle East) and Afghanistan (in South Asia), which together cost about $1.6 trillion from 2001 to 2014. He is also adding in estimates of future spending, such as interest on the debt and veterans' care for the next three decades.
“I was in Tennessee four nights ago. They've lost half the state. The insurance companies are gone, and they are going to lose the next one pretty soon from what they say.”
Repeated on Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Apr. 5 Apr. 28 Apr. 29This is false. All eight of the state’s rating areas have at least one insurance carrier and three of them have two carriers.
“It really is a crucial vote for the Republican Party and for the people of our country, to finally repeal and replace the disaster known as Obamacare. That's what it is, a disaster.”
Repeated on Jan. 25 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 18 Feb. 27 Mar. 11 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 25 Apr. 23 Apr. 24 Apr. 28 Apr. 29The Affordable Care Act is not imploding and is expected to remain stable for the foreseeable future, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“The border is in the best shape it's been in in decades. Down 61 percent since the inauguration.”
Repeated on Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Mar. 29 Apr. 4 Apr. 4 Apr. 7Trump is citing the 61 percent decline in Southwest border apprehensions from January 2017 to March 2017. It's unclear yet if Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly made an impact, or if it was a result of Trump's rhetoric on immigration throughout the presidential campaign. There tends to be less activity during winter months, and the numbers bounce back in March and through the spring, so it's unclear whether this is a blip or a lasting trend. Moreover, the January data captures the whole month, not just since Inauguration Day.
“I've taken historic action to eliminate unnecessary job killing regulations, and we've just started on that one. But we've gotten rid of a lot of them. That includes eliminating regulations crushing our coal industry. We're going to put our great coal miners back to work. Clean coal, clean coal.”
Repeated on Mar. 20 Mar. 28The impact of repealing the regulation is debatable, as industry estimates of 77,000 jobs being saved was based on dubious survey data. Trump promises he will bring coal miners back to work but has never explained how he would overcome markets forces, such as a preference for natural gas, that has taken a toll on the industry.
“I've cleared the way for the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines and added a requirement that American pipelines be constructed with American steel. That was the last minute. I said, where we getting this steel? I won't tell you where, but you can guess. I said, from now on we've got to build them here. You want to put pipelines under our lands, you're going to make the pipe in this country.”
Repeated on Mar. 28 Apr. 4Trump makes it sound like he is insisting the Keystone XL is being built with U.S. steel. But the pipeline segments were already built, with half manufactured in the United States (by an India-owned company) and the rest from overseas.
“Walmart, Ford, Fiat, Chrysler, General Motors have all announced that they are keeping or adding tens of thousands of jobs right here in America. Big difference. You used to hear that they were all leaving. Now they are all coming back.”
Repeated on Feb. 9 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 17 Feb. 18 Feb. 24 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 6 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 23 Mar. 24 Mar. 24 Mar. 28 Mar. 28 Mar. 29 Mar. 31 Apr. 2 Apr. 4 Apr. 11 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump takes undue credit for business decisions made prior to his election. Ford’s decision to abandon its plans to open a factory in Mexico and instead expand its Michigan plant has more to do with the company’s long-term goal — particularly its plans to invest in electric vehicles — than with the administration. Fiat Chrysler's plan to invest $1 billion for a factory in Michigan had been in the works for more than a year and had nothing to do with Trump. Japanese company SoftBank announced its $100 billion technology investment fund three weeks before the U.S. elections, when Trump faced a narrow path to victory. Sprint said its hiring plan was a part of a commitment by SoftBank, which owns a controlling stake in Sprint.
“To save taxpayer dollars I've already begun negotiating better contracts for the federal government, saving over $700 million I just one set of airplanes, of which there are many sets.”
Repeated on Jan. 30 Feb. 6 Feb. 7 Feb. 18 Feb. 22 Feb. 23 Feb. 27 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Apr. 6 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump once again takes credit for the lowered cost, but the Pentagon had announced cost reductions of roughly $600 million before Trump began meeting with Lockheed Martin’s chief executive. Sometimes Trump says he saved $600 million, other times $700 million.
“You know, our Navy is at World War I levels. Can you believe that? World War I levels.”
Repeated on Mar. 2 Mar. 3This is a misleading comparison. A lot has changed in the past century, including the capacity of ships. The U.S. Naval fleet now includes nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, compared to gunboats and small warships of 100 years ago. The Navy, which currently has 275 ships, is on track to grow to just over 300 ships, approximately the size that a bipartisan congressional panel recommended for the current Navy.
“If it's off by 100th of a percent, it's like I end up getting Pinocchios.”
We would beg to differ. Trump has so many Four-Pinocchio ratings because many of his claims lack evidence or a factual basis. Under our standards, being off by 100th of a percentage point would likely result in a Geppetto Checkmark.
“I said, wait a minute. I’m approving the [Keystone XL] pipeline and they’re suing us for $14 billion, and I’ve already approved it, right? I said, I just heard it. Go back to them and tell them if they don’t drop the suit immediately we are going to terminate the deal. You have great — you know, being President gives you great power, right?  He said, sir, they dropped the suit.”
This is false. Keystone did not drop the suit. The company had filed a $15 billion claim for arbitration under the North American Free Trade Agreement after President Barack Obama rejected the pipeline. When Trump said he would reinstate the deal, the company suspended the arbitration claim. But it says it will pursue it if Trump does not follow through with a permit.
“Last year, our country lost almost $800 billion in trade.”
Repeated on Mar. 15 Apr. 2The trade deficit was about $500 billion in 2016.
“With just one negotiation on one set of airplanes, I saved the taxpayers of our country over $700 million.”
Repeated on Jan. 30 Feb. 6 Feb. 7 Feb. 18 Feb. 22 Feb. 23 Feb. 27 Feb. 28 Feb. 28 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Apr. 6 Apr. 21 Apr. 29Trump takes credit for the lowered cost, but the Pentagon had announced cost reductions of roughly $600 million before Trump began meeting with Lockheed Martin’s chief executive.
“Since my Inauguration, we've already added nearly a half-a-million new jobs.”
Repeated on Mar. 10 Mar. 13 Mar. 14 Mar. 15 Mar. 18This is a clear flip-flop from the stance he held for many years prior to the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report in February, after his first full month in office. He repeatedly questioned the accuracy of BLS employment statistics, and called figures calculated by career economists as "phony." White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked about this contradiction at a news briefing after the report’s release. His response: “I talked to the president prior to this and he said to quote him very clearly. They may have been phony in the past, but it’s very real now.” Moreover, Trump is counting a job report that reflects jobs created when Obama was president.
“As we speak tonight, we are finding the drug dealers, robbers, thieves, gang members, predators, killers and criminals of all types preying on our citizens. You've been saying it, you've been reading about it and you've been seeing it. One by one they are being tracked down and thrown the hell out of our country and we will not let them back in.”
Repeated on Feb. 12 Feb. 13 Feb. 23 Feb. 24 Feb. 27 Feb. 28 Feb. 28Trump takes credit for fulfilling his campaign promise of cracking down on illegal immigration, but these arrests are routine. ICE has always targeted dangerous criminals in enforcement priorities. The immigration arrests under Trump so far, however, did include people who would not have fallen under narrowed enforcement priorities under Obama.
“Our economy will be unleashed and millions will be lifted from welfare to work. Got to work on work. They're going to love it. They're going to love it. From welfare to work.”
Repeated on Jan. 20 Jan. 26 Feb. 24 Feb. 28“Welfare” is a broad term and can apply to people who are working but receiving government assistance. If someone is receiving means-tested assistance, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are not working.
“Many of our best and brightest are leaving the medical profession entirely because of Obamacare.”
There are anecdotes of some doctors, especially older ones, who are frustrated about adopting electronic health records under Obamacare. But physicians leave the industry for many reasons, mainly aging and burning out. As the baby boomer patient population gets older and has more complex conditions, there is greater demand on physicians and their services. Recent data from the Association of American Medical Colleges shows physicians are actually retiring two years later, and the group ahs not seen a significant number of physicians leaving the industry because of the Affordable Care Act.
“People have been kicked off their plans and their premiums have increased by double and triple digits. Arizona up 116 percent.”
Repeated on Feb. 18 Feb. 27 Mar. 10 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17Premiums increased overall in 2017 — but Trump cherry-picks the 116 percent increase in Arizona, the state hit hardest by premium increases. The average increase for the second-lowest-cost silver plan (which is used as the benchmark to calculate government subsidies) is 25 percent. A few states, such as Indiana, will actually see a decrease.
“A lot of them are coming in from the Southern border. Since the day of my election, we've already cut illegal immigration at the Southern border by 61 percent. Think of that.”
Repeated on Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 21 Mar. 29 Apr. 4 Apr. 4 Apr. 7Trump is citing the 61 percent decline in Southwest border apprehensions from January 2017 to March 2017. It's unclear yet if Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly made an impact, or if it was a result of Trump's rhetoric on immigration throughout the presidential campaign. There tends to be less activity during winter months, and the numbers bounce back in March and through the spring, so it's unclear whether this is a blip or a lasting trend. Moreover, the January data captures the whole month, not just since Inauguration Day.
“Since NAFTA was approved in 1994, the worst trade deal ever made by any country, I think, in the world, America has lost nearly one-third of its manufacturing jobs.”
Repeated on Mar. 15 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Apr. 18Trump hypes the possible connection between these trade deals and the loss of jobs and factories. The Congressional Research Service concluded in 2015 that NAFTA likely had little impact on jobs. Manufacturing jobs in the United States have been adversely affected by many factors, especially changing consumer tastes and technology. Similarly, drawing a connection between China’s entry in the WTO and factory loses is a stretch, especially because the Great Recession play a big role in factory closings.
“You know, Harley-Davidson makes great motorcycles. They were in my office. They were in my office. And they came in. I said, how are you doing? Great. How's business? Great. How do you do overseas? Well, it's tough. We have some countries that charge us a $100 import tax. I said a hundred -- a 100 percent. Think of it. They want a hundred dollars on that -- 100 percent.  Not so well, it's tough. They have other countries that charge a lot.”
Repeated on Feb. 28India imposes a 100 percent import tariff on motorcycles. But the company largely has been able to get around the tariff by assembling its bikes in India, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.
Since China joined, that's another beauty, the World Trade Organization in 2001, the United States has lost many more than 60,000 factories.
Repeated on Mar. 15 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Apr. 18Trump hypes the possible connection between these trade deals and the loss of jobs and factories. The Congressional Research Service concluded in 2015 that NAFTA likely had little impact on jobs. Manufacturing jobs in the United States have been adversely affected by many factors, especially changing consumer tastes and technology. Similarly, drawing a connection between China’s entry in the WTO and factory loses is a stretch, especially because the Great Recession play a big role in factory closings.
“We believe in two simple rules: buy American and hire American.”
Repeated on Mar. 6 Mar. 15 Mar. 15 Mar. 18 Mar. 28Trump has a long history of outsourcing a variety of his own products. The Fact Checker has counted a total of 12 countries where Trump products were manufactured (China, the Netherlands, Mexico, India, Turkey, Slovenia, Honduras, Germany, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea).
“During the campaign as I've traveled all across this great country, I met with many American families whose loved ones, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, were viciously killed by illegal immigrants. Incredible. Incredible.
Repeated on Feb. 28 Mar. 20Trump likes to use anecdotes as evidence for associating violent crimes with illegal immigration, telling stories of victims of homicide by undocumented immigrants. Clearly, stories like this exist. But the vast majority of unauthorized immigrants do not fit Trump’s description of aggravated felons, whose crimes include murder.
“These American victims (of crimes by undocumented immigrants) and their families were ignored by the media. The media doesn't want to talk about it.”
Repeated on Feb. 28 Mar. 20Trump likes to use anecdotes as evidence for associating violent crimes with illegal immigration, telling stories of victims of homicide by undocumented immigrants. Clearly, stories like this exist. But the vast majority of unauthorized immigrants do not fit Trump’s description of aggravated felons, whose crimes include murder.
“We are going to put our coal miners back to work. They have not been treated well, but they’re going to be treated well now. ... I have already eliminated a devastating anti-coal regulation.”
Repeated on Mar. 21The impact of repealing the regulation is debatable, as industry estimates of 77,000 jobs being saved was based on dubious survey data. Trump promises he will bring coal miners back to work but has never explained how he would overcome markets forces, such as a preference for natural gas, that has taken a toll on the industry.
“We should never ever have left [Iraq], and the vacuum was created, and we discussed what happened.”
This is a flip-flop for Trump. Long before U.S. troops left Iraq in 2011, Trump had been urging they be removed immediately.
“James Clapper and others stated that there is no evidence Potus colluded with Russia. This story is FAKE NEWS and everyone knows it!”
Repeated on Mar. 20Intelligence officials have not focused on Trump's possible involvement in Russian efforts to sway the election but on associates of Trump and people involved in the campaign.
“The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign. Big advantage in Electoral College & lost!”
Repeated on Mar. 20The information on Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election was developed by the intelligence community and published in a declassified report, in which the agencies said they had "high confidence" it was correct.
“The NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence electoral process.”
This was a strange claim, especially because if you watch the video, National Security Agency director Rogers makes clear that, when asked about whether Russian cyber-actors changed vote tallies in Michigan and other states, he replied: “I would highlight we are a foreign intelligence organization, not a domestic intelligence organization. So it would be fair to say, we are probably not the best organization to provide a more complete answer.” Indeed, when later asked about the presidential tweet, FBI director James Comey said it did not reflect what he and Rogers had said: “It certainly wasn’t our intention to say that today.”
“FBI Director Comey: fmr. DNI Clapper 'right' to say no evidence of collusion between Russia and Trump Campaign.”
This was false. Comey was specifically talking about the Jan. 6 document issued by the intelligence agencies — a document that the Trump White House has largely ignored, except to suggest it was fake. Former director of national intelligence James Clapper later issued a statement saying it was “in the best interest of all Americans” to investigate possible Trump-Russia ties.
“FBI Director Comey refuses to deny he briefed President Obama on calls made by Michael Flynn to Russia.”
Comey was very careful not to discuss individuals, such as fired national security adviser Michael Flynn. He noted that the listeners were not to draw any unwarranted conclusions from his refusal to comment. But apparently his warning fell on deaf ears at the White House.
“What about all of the contact with the Clinton campaign and the Russians? Also, is it true that the DNC would not let the FBI in to look?”
Repeated on Mar. 5The FBI and the Democratic National Committee disagree on whether the FBI requested access to the DNC's servers. FBI Director James Comey testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee that the bureau made "multiple requests at different levels" to access DNC's servers, but the DNC said the FBI never requested access. The DNC ultimately allowed a private company to review its database and share findings with the FBI.
“James Clapper and others stated that there is no evidence Potus colluded with Russia. This story is FAKE NEWS and everyone knows it!”
Repeated on Mar. 20Intelligence officials have not focused on Trump's possible involvement in Russian efforts to sway the election but on associates of Trump and people involved in the campaign.
“The Democrats made up and pushed the Russian story as an excuse for running a terrible campaign. Big advantage in Electoral College & lost!”
Repeated on Mar. 20The information on Russian efforts to sway the 2016 election was developed by the intelligence community and published in a declassified report, in which the agencies said they had "high confidence" it was correct.
No claims
Trump went golfing
“Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!”
Germany provides in-kind services for the U.S. bases, and the cost of running them is a pittance of the U.S. militraty bases. Germany owes no money to NATO, but has not yet acheived a goal, set for 2026, to spend at least two percent of its gross domestic product on defense.
“The first two job reports of my administration show that we’ve already added nearly half a million new jobs.”
Repeated on Mar. 10 Mar. 13 Mar. 14 Mar. 15 Mar. 20This is a clear flip-flop from the stance he held for many years prior to the release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics employment report in February, after his first full month in office. He repeatedly questioned the accuracy of BLS employment statistics, and called figures calculated by career economists as "phony." White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked about this contradiction at a news briefing after the report’s release. His response: “I talked to the president prior to this and he said to quote him very clearly. They may have been phony in the past, but it’s very real now.” Moreover, Trump is counting a job report that reflects jobs created when Obama was president.
“We need a new economic model – let’s call it the American Model. Under this model, we will lower the burden on American Business but, in exchange, they must hire and grow America and American jobs. This will be a win-win for our companies and for our workers. Let’s buy American and hire American.”
Repeated on Mar. 6 Mar. 15 Mar. 15 Mar. 20 Mar. 28Trump has a long history of outsourcing a variety of his own products. The Fact Checker has counted a total of 12 countries where Trump products were manufactured (China, the Netherlands, Mexico, India, Turkey, Slovenia, Honduras, Germany, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Vietnam and South Korea).
“They also want people to know that Obamacare is dead; it's a dead healthcare plan. It's not even a healthcare plan, frankly.”
Repeated on Jan. 25 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 18 Feb. 27 Mar. 11 Mar. 13 Mar. 15 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Mar. 25 Apr. 23 Apr. 24 Apr. 28 Apr. 29The Affordable Care Act is not imploding and is expected to remain stable for the foreseeable future, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
“I watched Bill Clinton saying, this is the craziest thing I've ever seen.”
Trump takes this comment out context. Bill Clinton’s remark on Oct. 3 about “the craziest thing I’ve ever seen” did not refer to the Affordable Care Act. Instead, he was talking about the fact that people who did not qualify for insurance subsidies did not have a way to buy into Medicare or Medicaid. He noted that his wife, Haillary Clinton, had a plan to fix that defect.
“I was in Tennessee -- I was just telling the folks -- and half of the state has no insurance company, and the other half is going to lose the insurance company.”
Repeated on Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 17 Mar. 21 Apr. 5 Apr. 28 Apr. 29This is false. All eight of the state’s rating areas have at least one insurance carrier and three of them have two carriers.
“With Obamacare it got worse and worse. Premiums went up 116 percent. They went up 58 percent.”