Fact Checker: That was then, this is now. Trump's big flip-flop on stock market highs

That was then, this is now. Trump’s big flip-flop on stock market highs For years, Donald Trump warned that the stock market was in a "bubble" and ready to crash — and then he became president. The Dow closed at an all-time high this week, and Trump is celebrating stock market highs to no end. He tweeted …   Democracy Dies in Darkness     The truth behind the rhetoric   That was then, this is now. Trump’s big flip-flop on stock market highs For years, Donald Trump warned that the stock market was in a "bubble" and ready to crash — and then he became president. The Dow closed at an all-time high this week, and Trump is celebrating stock market highs to no end. He tweeted it multiple times and mentioned it during nearly every public appearance in the past few weeks, as stocks kept rising. On Tuesday, when the market closed at 21,963.92, Trump tweeted: "Stock Market could hit all-time high (again) 22,000 today. Was 18,000 only 6 months ago on Election Day. Mainstream media seldom mentions!" Yet these were his pre-election descriptions of rising stock markets: “So bloated” (June 2015) “Inflated … that’s a bad sign” (April 2016) “Not pretty … a big bubble” (August 2016) “They’re keeping the rates artificially low … It’s a very false economy” (September 2016) “A big, fat, ugly bubble” (September 2016) … and so on. The president has never explained his shift in position on the stock market, especially now that the Fed has raised interest rates three times since he was elected. He earns yet another upside-down Pinocchio for his flip-flop. (giphy.com) Enjoy this newsletter? Forward it to someone else who'd like it! If this e-mail was forwarded to you, sign up here for the weekly newsletter. Hear something fact-checkable? Send it here, we’ll check it out. Trump’s dubious claims about immigration — both legal and illegal Trump aims to restrict both legal and illegal immigration. This week, we fact-checked claims about both types of immigration. First, legal immigration. Trump endorsed a Senate bill that would slash legal immigration by half over a decade. Trump claimed the bill would prevent new immigrants from getting public assistance “immediately.” But that’s misleading in several ways. There are some exceptions, but most new lawful permanent residents must live in the U.S. for at least five years before they can qualify for government assistance. Moreover, the bill itself would only apply to a small portion (about 14 percent) of new immigrants, and the exemptions would remain. We awarded Three Pinocchios. ADVERTISEMENT   On illegal immigration, Trump claimed apprehensions along the Southwest border are down by 78 to 80 percent. He declared success, claiming illegal immigration in fact went up, not down, under previous administrations. That was thoroughly incorrect. Border apprehensions are down, but nowhere near 80 percent. Depending on how you calculate it, the decline ranges from 8 to 53 percent. And illegal border crossings have steadily declined since their peak in 2000. We awarded Four Pinocchios. (giphy.com) Fact-checking Trump’s phone calls with Mexico and Australia This week, our colleague Greg Miller on The Washington Post’s national security team obtained official White House transcripts of Trump’s phone calls with Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto and Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Trump said many false or misleading in the phone calls, so we fact-checked them in The Post’s annotated transcripts. We’re always looking for fact-check suggestions. You can also reach us via email, Twitter (@myhlee, @GlennKesslerWP, @mmkelly22 or use #FactCheckThis), or Facebook (Fact Checker or myhlee). Read about our rating scale here, and sign up here for our weekly Fact Checker newsletter.  Scroll down for this week’s Pinocchio roundup. — Michelle Ye Hee Lee President Trump’s claim that illegal immigration went up under past administrations Trump skews border data to his favor, and falsely claims illegal immigration went up under prior administrations. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee  •  Read more »   President Trump’s claim about immigrants ‘immediately’ collecting ‘welfare’ Trump exaggerates the scope of a Senate bill restricting legal immigration and its impact on "welfare" use by immigrants. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee  •  Read more »   The White House claim that 1 in 4 Americans in prime working age aren’t employed This is a great example of where the numbers add up but do not mean much, especially in the immigration debate. By Glenn Kessler  •  Read more »   Video: Fact Checker’s guide to the debt ceiling With a deadline of Sept. 29 looming and the House on summer recess, the debt ceiling is primed to be a big issue when lawmakers return. Here's what you need to know. By Meg Kelly  •  Read more »   Fact-checking the Trump-Russia investigation The Fact Checker's running list of every fact check relating to the Trump-Russia investigation. By Michelle Ye Hee Lee  •  Read more »   President Trump keeps celebrating stock market highs. That’s a big flip-flop. After warning that the stock market was in a dangerous "bubble," President Trump barely lets a day go by without hailing stock market highs. By Glenn Kessler and Meg Kelly  •  Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT   Recommended for you   The Energy 202 Your daily guide to the energy and environment debate. Sign Up »         Share Fact Checker:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. 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