News Reporter: Fact Checker: Lions and tigers and so many false claims, oh my!

Friday, 2 November 2018

Fact Checker: Lions and tigers and so many false claims, oh my!

Democracy Dies in Darkness

The truth behind the rhetoric

Lions and tigers and so many false claims, oh my!

Among fact-checkers, President Trump isn't known for his precision with the data or exacting policy descriptions. But lately his penchant for hyperbole has been impressive even by Trumpian standards. In the seven weeks leading up to the midterm elections, Trump made more false or misleading claims than in his first nine months in office.

The flood of presidential misinformation has picked up dramatically as the president has barnstormed across the country, holding rallies with his supporters. In October alone, he shattered his monthly record with 1,104 claims, not counting Oct. 31. That's almost double his previous record set in September, according to The Fact Checker's database that analyzes, categorizes and tracks every suspect statement uttered by the president.

He rehashed his greatest hits — the biggest tax cut (not even close), the best economy (nope), the Russia investigation is fake (still no evidence there) — and added new claims about the Democrats being the party of "radical socialism, Venezuela and open borders… The Party of Crime." He told a crowd in Minnesota that no one had challenged him on it, pausing to say, "Maybe they have. Who knows? I have to always say that, because then they'll say they did actually challenge it, and they'll put like — then they'll say he gets a Pinocchio." Rest assured, we've noticed.

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That's not how the government works, Mr. President

When it comes to immigration reform, President Trump likes to go big. In an interview, he said, "It was always told to me that you needed a Constitutional amendment [to end birthright citizenship]. Guess what? You don't. . . . You can definitely do it with an act of Congress. But now they're saying I can do it just with an executive order."

It's not as easy to strike away a more-than-a-century-old reading of the Constitution, as Trump implies. He certainly can't do it by himself with the stroke of a pen. Any order would end up in court and the president has just added two justices who tend to interpret the Constitution as it was written when it was drafted. So that plan may not work out. Plus, it's worth noting, according to the Justice Department's official position, birthright citizenship can't be erased either by Congress or by an executive order.

In a second interview, he railed against the caravan saying, "I'm sending up the military. This is the military. And they're standing there and one thing that we'll have. . . . When they are captured, we don't let them out," suggesting the troops would stop migrants in their tracks. But again, that's not how that goes. Troops deploying to the border can provide a wide range of support services, but U.S. law expressly forbids them from participating in "a search, seizure, arrest or other similar activity."

Trump's claims are eye-popping, but need a reality check. He earned Three Pinocchios.

Study guide!

Have you missed the mudslinging campaign ads this election season? Or do you want to rehash the head spinning claims on healthcare, the biographic fabrications, or the scare tactics worthy of a haunted house? Did you miss the misused Pinocchios? Don't fear. The Fact Checker will publish a special edition of this very newsletter on Monday with a look at the most dubious ads from the 2018 campaign for one last look before the country heads to the polls.

We're always looking for fact-check suggestions.

You can also reach us via email, Twitter (@GlennKesslerWP, @mmkelly22, @rizzoTK or use #FactCheckThis), or Facebook (Fact Checker). Read about our rating scale here, and sign up here for our weekly Fact Checker newsletter.

Scroll down for this week's Pinocchio roundup.

— Meg Kelly

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