During Thursday night’s presidential debate Donald Trump stated that he wanted to be fact-checked, so we thought we would oblige.
It was hard to imagine that Trump could tell more falsehoods than he did in the first chaotic presidential debate, but he really outdid himself Thursday night.
Let’s look at his biggest lies from last night.
1- China– Trump stated China did not take any real measures to stop the coronavirus, but in fact, they took several strict measures to stop the domestic spread.
2- Injecting disinfectants– Trump said he was joking when he questioned whether or not it was possible to treat the virus by using disinfectants as “injections” inside the body. He now says he was being sarcastic, but this is after he has been scrutinized for suggesting it. You can see his remarks here:
An elderly couple in their 60s ingested chloroquine phosphate, which Trump falsely claimed was approved to treat the coronavirus. The wife survived, but her husband did not. She later publicly blamed Trump for her husband’s death.
3- Shutting the country down– Trump claimed that all Biden talks about is shutting the country down, which is false. Biden stated that he’d shut down if scientists told him it was necessary. It should also be noted that a president cannot shut down the country on his or her own.
4- Democratic states closed– Trump stated that Democratic states are closed. Many states still have restrictions in place, but there are no closed states.
Trump repeatedly brought up Gov. Cuomo of New York. New York has restrictions in place many schools and nonessential businesses remain closed in areas that are hot spots but it is not “closed” or completely shutdown.
5- Dr. Anthony Fauci– Trump claimed that he referred to Dr. Fauci as an idiot because he stated that the virus “would go away soon.” Fauci has repeatedly warned that it is likely the virus will still be a threat throughout much of 2021.
Trump also claimed that he and Fauci “get along great,” but Fauci has maintained that their relationship is a “tense” one and that they rarely communicate directly anymore.
6- Money from Moscow– Trump claimed that Joe Biden received $3.5 million from the wife of a former Moscow Mayor. The allegation is that Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, received the $3.5 million. Hunter denies the allegations. Joe Biden received no money from Russia.
7- NATO– Trump claimed he raised $130 billion a year extra from NATO members. But the facts are an estimated total of $130 billion was raised between 2016 to 2020 for a $400 billion increase by 2024.
8.- “Biden has houses all over the place”- Trump stated that Biden owned several expensive homes. He actually owns two houses in Delaware.
Biden purchased one home in 1996 for $350,000 and the second he purchased in 2007 for $2.7 million after he signed a lucrative book deal.
9- Mueller Investigation– According to Trump the Mueller investigation cost $48 million the final total was actually $32 million.
10- Hunter Biden– Trump stated that before taking the job on the board of the Burisma gas company that Hunter Biden had not held a job.
Biden was a lawyer. He also worked as a professor at Georgetown University and served as CEO of Rosemont Seneca Advisors an investment firm.
11- North Korea– Trump repeated a claim he has made many times that former President Barack Obama sought to meet with Kim Jung Un. Former senior aides to Obama have made it clear this is a lie. Independent experts also say it is entirely baseless. Ben Rhodes, Obama’s former deputy national security adviser has stated that “It’s not even an exaggeration, it’s just not true.”
There is also no evidence that Obama ever told Trump that North Korea was America’s biggest threat.
12- Healthcare– Trump stated that Biden would get rid of private health insurance. Biden has made it clear he has no plans of going with Medicare for All, which would eliminate private plans.
13- Taxes– Trump continues to claim that he cannot release his taxes because he is under an audit. That simply is not true. No law exists that prevents him from releasing his tax returns.
14.- Wallstreet– “You’re the one that takes the money from Wall Street, not me,” Trump stated during the debate. Trump’s campaign has accepted money from Wall Street donors, however, the contributions from Wallstreet do favor, Biden.
