News Reporter: Fact Checker: Vance’s whopper on alleged Social Security fraud

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The truth behind the rhetoric.

By Glenn Kessler

In the lexicon of the second Trump administration, "fraud" often translates to "programs we dislike." The administration dismantled the U.S. Agency for International Development based on specious examples of alleged fraud.

Now, we would be the first to admit that foreign aid is an easy target for disdain, as many people dramatically overestimate how much money the United States distributes to other countries. But Social Security is one of the most beloved government programs in the United States.

Yet Vice President JD Vance appeared on Fox News and declared: "You see our Social Security system — 40 percent of the people who are calling are actually committing fraud. That means the 60 percent who need their Social Security checks are waiting in line."

Why is the Trump administration attacking Social Security as being fraudulent? As Willie Sutton supposedly said when asked why he robbed banks: "Because that's where the money is." Social Security is 22 percent of the federal budget — and that's more than 20 times the funds spent on foreign aid.

But administration officials are going to have to come up with better lines than this. To read the full fact check and learn the Pinocchio rating, click the link below.

Read the full fact check

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Navarro's absurd claim of $6 trillion in revenue from Trump's tariffs

Peter Navarro, senior counselor to President Donald Trump, told Fox News on March 30 that tariffs Trump was planning to impose "are going to raise about $600 billion a year, about $6 trillion over a 10-year period."

As soon as he made this bold statement, we contacted the White House for an explanation of his math. We were told to wait until after the president made his announcement of the tariff plan on April 2. During the speech, after Trump claimed the tariffs would raise "trillions and trillions of dollars to reduce our taxes and pay down our national debt," we again asked for the numbers — and were told to wait until the speech was over.

We asked again two more times. We're still waiting for an answer. But that hasn't stopped other experts from running the numbers — and finding Navarro's claim implausible.

To read the full fact check and learn the Pinocchio rating, click the link below.

Read the full fact check

One more fact check: Without evidence, Trump claims sanctuary cities are 'death traps'

We're always looking for fact-check suggestions.

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About the cats: It's a Friday and sometimes our fact checks deal with heavy subjects. So we hope to bring a smile to your face.

Scroll down to read other recent fact checks on the Trump administration.