Donald Trump is officially the presidential candidate for the Republican Party!
Throughout his acceptance speech last night, Trump made many wild accusations. But how many of these claims were actually true?
Claim #1
“My opponent has called for a radical 550 percent increase in Syrian…think of this, this is not believable but this is what’s happening. A 550 percent increase in Syrian refugees on top of existing massive refugee flows coming into our country already under the leadership President Obama. She proposes this despite the fact that there’s no way to screen these refugees in order to find out who they are or where they come from.”
The Truth: While the first half of the statement is true, Trump lies when he suggests there is no way to screen refugees seeking entry into the United States. In order to get into the US, refugees must apply and undergo a lengthy application process.
Claim #2
“Where was sanctuary for all the other…Americans who have been so brutally murdered [by undocumented immigrants], and who have suffered so, so horribly?”
The Truth: This is a lie. Native-born Americans commit more crimes than first generation immigrants.
Claim #3
“When a secretary of state illegally stores her emails on a private server, deletes 33,000 of them so the authorities can’t see her crime, puts our country at risk, lies about it in every different form and faces no consequence…I know that corruption has reached a level like never before.”
The Truth: Clinton was legally allowed to have a private email server under federal law. Trump claims Clinton suffered no consequences for deleting her email. Under the law, Clinton will not face prosecution. But what is true is that the raucous Republicans have created has had a negative impact on her campaign.
Claim #4
“After four years of Hillary Clinton, what do we have? ISIS has spread across the region, and the entire world. Libya is in ruins, and our ambassador and his staff were left helpless to die at the hands of savage killers. Egypt was turned over to the radical Muslim Brotherhood, forcing the military to retake control. Iraq is in chaos. Iran is on the path to nuclear weapons. Syria is engulfed in a civil war and a refugee crisis now threatens the West. This is the legacy of Hillary Clinton: death, destruction, terrorism and weakness.”
The Truth: Hillary Clinton is not the reason the Middle East is unstable. Clinton did not start the Iraq nor Libyan war.
Claim #5
“America is one of the highest-taxed nations in the world.”
The Truth: America is not one of the highest-taxed nations. The US is “the fourth lowest among the 34 developed and large emerging-market economies that make up the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.”
Claim #6
“43 million Americans are on food stamps.”
The Truth: While Trump’s words are true, the statement was made to criticize president Obama. The truth is the number of Americans receiving food stamps is low in comparison to past statistics.
Claim #7
“My opponent wants to essentially abolish the 2nd amendment.”
The Truth: Hillary Clinton does not want to abolish the 2nd amendment. Clinton supports commonsense gun control and background checks. The District of Columbia v. Heller (2008) decision affirmed that the government’s right to regulate firearm possession when necessary.
Claim #8
“The number of police officers killed in the line of duty has risen by almost 50 percent compared to this point last year.”
The Truth: There is not a “war on cops.” Police deaths have been in the decline over the past 10 years.
Claim #9
“Homicides last year increased by 17 percent in America’s 50 largest cities. That’s the largest increase in 25 years.”
The Truth: Violent crimes rates have decreased under President Obama’s presidency.
Claim #10
“Nearly four in 10 African-American children are living in poverty, while 58 percent of African-American youth are now not employed.”
The Truth: While it is true that 38 percent of black children live in poverty, 58 percent of African Americans are not unemployed. 28.4 percent of black people aged 16-19 are unemployed.
Claim #11
“We all remember the images of our sailors being forced to their knees by their Iranian captors at gunpoint. This was just prior to the signing of the Iran deal.”
The Truth: The Iran Deal was signed in July 2015. 10 American navy members were captured in January of 2016, six months after the deal was closed.
So, Donald…where is the truth?
