Trump made numerous false or misleading claims at a rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, as his second rally is full of lies since he was hospitalized with a coronavirus.
We’re still going through the transcript, but here’s a quick roundup.
As he did at Monday’s rally in Sanford, Florida, Trump made a baseless claim that Biden supports a policy position that the former vice president does not have.
Trump lied, for example, that Biden’s plan would “destroy defenses for pre-existing conditions.” Trump is one that is trying to remove Obamacare, including laws made for people with pre-existing conditions. Biden, on the other hand, is committed to maintaining and strengthening Obamacare, including those defenses for pre-existing conditions.
Trump also warned that Biden would make private health insurance plans “illegal.” But Biden has vehemently rejected proposals to eliminate private insurance, instead proposing a “public option” that would allow people to voluntarily choose a government insurance plan.
Biden’s childhood
Biden was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. But Trump said: “They say he was born in Scranton, but he’s gone, he’s gone. He left you.”
Trump’s allegations are misleading on the issue of absurdity. Biden did not make his own decision to leave Pennsylvania. His family moved from Pennsylvania to Delaware, where his father got a job when he was 10 years old.
Epidemic
Trump offered another dishonest pink assessment of the state of the coronavirus epidemic.
He claims that we are “turning the tide”, not explaining what it means. And he said, “My plan: we’re going to crush the virus very quickly. It’s already happening. It’s happening.”
It’s not happening. The number of new cases and hospital admissions in the U.S. is increasing; There were 52,406 new cases reported Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. At the time Trump spoke, this week saw an increase in cases in 33 states compared to last week.
Manufacturing jobs
Trump falsely claimed that “we added about 600,000 manufacturing jobs.”
Even if you turned off the clock in February, this would be an exaggeration. (At the time, before the epidemic-related tragedy in March, 483,000 manufacturing jobs were added during Trump’s presidency.) But now this claim is true and false. As of September, 164,000 manufacturing jobs had been lost since Trump took office.
Trump also falsely claimed that President Barack Obama had declared that “you will never produce manufacturing jobs.” That’s what Obama said. Obama said this at the 2016 townhall event Some Manufacturing jobs ran well from the U.S. – but U.S. He boasted about how many new creations are being made in.
NATO
Trump made a series of false claims about NATO.
He claimed responsibility for “additional 1 trillion” in military aid from other countries. Indeed, NATO says the increase is total 1 billion from 2016 to the end of 2020, not ૧ 1 billion per year. (NATO gives credit to Trump for this increase, but it is worth noting that costs have been rising since 2015 before Trump took office.)
Trump said NATO members before him were “not paying their bills” and were “criminals.” That’s not how NATO works. While each member in the alliance has a goal of spending 2% of GDP behind defense, but failing to hit that target does not create bills or debts.
And Trump claimed that “Obama was sending him Oshika.” Obama was seen as Trump’s general reference to providing military assistance to Ukraine, not about his contribution to NATO – but he was wrong regardless. Obama refused to send lethal aid to Ukraine, but did send armed hoodies, counter-mortar radar, night vision equipment, drones and other military supplies.
Border wall
For the second night in a row, Trump claimed that Mexico would pay the price for its border wall.
“And Mexico is paying for the wall, that way. You know. I’m saying that. They hate to hear that. But they’re paying,” he said.
This is simply wrong. U.S. The government has paid for the wall – billions of dollars Trump has controversially seized from other programs. The White House declined to comment Tuesday when we asked for an explanation of how payments are supposed to be made in Mexico.
Trump vaguely said in Tuesday’s rally that on Monday he said Mexico would effectively cover the cost of the wall by “charging” it, as it would impose on vehicles crossing the border. (He called it a “border tax” on Monday.) But he did not disclose any details of the proposal, and again, the White House declined to comment on Tuesday.
Minnesota and the National Guard
Trump celebrated that the National Guard had silenced violent protests in Minnesota after the assassination of George Floyd. He lamented, however, that it took “10 days” for the state to summon its administration.
The Democratic governor of Minnesota, Tim Wallace, himself activated the National Guard – and he did so not 10 days but two days after the first protest violence. You can read the full timeline here.
Presidential debate and the phrase “law and order”
Trump told a story about how Biden refused to utter the words “law and order” in his first presidential debate. (Part of the story: “Remember I said, ‘So tell me, say the words law and order, say it, just say it.’ He couldn’t do it, he wouldn’t do it, he wouldn’t do it.”) Trump then admitted that Biden had spoken the words “law and order,” but suggested that this would not count because Biden added additional words at the end.
This is ridiculous. “Everyone is in favor of law and order,” Biden said in the discussion. He then added, “Law and order with justice, where righteousness treats people.”
Trump is free to argue that Biden makes the words “law and order” meaningless by adding “with justice.” But it is simply wrong to suggest that Byden refused to utter the words “law and order.”
CNN and its cameras
Returning to one of his favorite rallies, Trump called CNN “fake,” then said he had seen the light on CNN’s camera – saying CNN had stopped recording because of his jab.
Trump’s claim, as always, was pure literature. When CNN is insulted, CNN does not turn off its camera. And even CNN photo journalists at their rallies do not use light that would show Trump whether they are recording live or broadcasting live.
Veterans Choice
“We passed the VA Choice,” Trump said, repeating the lie of his second favorite rally. In 2014, Obama signed into law the Choice Bill; It was the initiative of two senators, repeatedly criticized by Trump, Bernie Sanders and the late John McCain. What Trump signed was the VA MISSION Act of 2018, which expanded and amended the Choice Program.
Trump has made this claim more than 160 times.
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