The answer: a lot.
THE CLAIM: Donald Trump: “What the hell do you have to lose, it cannot get any worse than what it is now.” [Manchester, NH, 8/25/16]
THE FACTS
Donald Trump Would Bring Disrespect For African-Americans To the Oval Office
COOPER: “No. I’m asking now, do you say that President Obama was born in the United States?” TRUMP: “No. I don’t know. I really don’t know. I mean, I don’t know why he wouldn’t release his records. But you know, honestly, I don’t want to get in it. He came up with this thing, all of a sudden. Remember this one thing. I’m only going to get one thing because I’m about jobs, the economy, and I’m about the military and taking care of all that.”
Donald Trump: “I’ve said on occasion, even about myself, if I was starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I really believe they do have an actual advantage today.”
A well-educated black has a tremendous advantage over a well-educated white in terms of the job market. And I think sometimes a black may think that they don’t really have the advantage, or this or that, but in actuality, today, currently, it’s a great – I’ve said on occasion, even about myself, if I was starting off today, I would love to be a well-educated black, because I really believe they do have an actual advantage today.
Donald Trump: “I have a great relationship with the blacks. I have always had a great relationship with the blacks.”
I have a great relationship with the blacks. I have always had a great relationship with the blacks.
Donald Trump at a campaign rally: “Oh look at my African-American over here.”
‘We had a case where we had an African-American guy who is a fan of mine,’ Mr. Trump said of an event in Arizona in March. ‘In fact I want to find out what’s going on with him.’ As his voice trailed off, Mr. Trump noticed a man in the crowd. ‘Oh look at my African-American over here,’ Mr. Trump said. ‘Are you the greatest? Do you know what I’m talking about?’ Mr. Trump then returned to speaking about the Arizona episode. The man he had pointed to, Gregory Cheadle, a local real estate broker running for a Republican nomination for a congressional seat, said in an interview Friday night that it was ‘surreal’ to be called out by Mr. Trump.
Donald Trump said it was “probably true” that he’d once told an associate that he didn’t like “black guys counting my money.”
“For instance, a former Trump associate, John O’Donnell, wrote that Trump would often describe black people as being lazy and stupid; he would bemoan the ‘black guys counting my money.’ He would prefer the ‘short guys that wear yarmulkes.’ It wasn’t only African-Americans who had earned Trump’s derision. Years later, Trump told Playboy that these remarks were ‘probably true.’”
Donald Trump said black youth have “no spirit.”
At a June 23 Maryland Republican Party fundraiser, reporters asked GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump about his views on race relations. Trump said that black youths are at ‘a point where they’ve just about never done more poorly. There’s no spirit, there’s killings on an hourly basis, virtually, in places like Baltimore and Chicago and many other places,’ according to The Independent. The real estate magnate didn’t stop there, adding, ‘I thought that President Obama would be a great cheerleader for the country. And he’s really become very divisive.’
Donald Trump on Black Lives Matter: “I think they’re trouble. I think they’re looking for trouble.”
GOP presidential front-runner Donald Trump on Tuesday night said he supported all lives and suggested that supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement are promoting ‘hate.’ ‘I think they’re trouble. I think they’re looking for trouble,’ the tough-talking tycoon said during a Fox News interview with Bill O’Reilly. ‘I looked at a couple of people that were interviewed from the group. I saw them with hate coming down the street last week talking about cops and police and what should be done to them. That was not good,’ Trump said.
Donald Trump, after a Black Lives Matter protester was assaulted at one of his rallies: “Maybe he should have been roughed up.”
Mercutio Southall Jr. — a well-known local activist who has been repeatedly arrested while fighting what he says is unfair treatment of blacks — interrupted Trump’s rally and could be heard shouting, ‘Black lives matter!’ A fight broke out, prompting Trump to briefly halt his remarks and demand the removal of Southall. ‘Get him the hell out of here, will you, please?’ Trump said on Saturday morning. ‘Get him out of here. Throw him out!’ At one point, Southall fell to the ground and was surrounded by several white men who appeared to be kicking and punching him, according to video captured by CNN. A Washington Post reporter in the crowd watched as one of the men put his hands on Southall’s neck and heard a female onlooker repeatedly shout: ‘Don’t choke him!’ As security officers got Southall on his feet and led him out of the building, he was repeatedly pushed and shoved by people in the crowd. The crowd alternated between booing and cheering. There were chants of ‘All lives matter!’ ‘Maybe he should have been roughed up, because it was absolutely disgusting what he was doing,’ Trump said on the Fox News Channel on Sunday morning.
Donald Trump said he wanted his supporters to watch the polls in “certain areas.”
Donald Trump’s call for volunteer election monitors is raising fears about voter intimidation at the polls this fall. ‘We’re going to watch Pennsylvania,’ Trump told a crowd in Altoona, Penn. Friday night. ‘Go down to certain areas and watch and study and make sure other people don’t come in and vote five times.’
NBC News HEADLINE: “Trump Poll-Watching Plan Stirs Voter Intimidation Fears”
Southern Poverty Law Center: Trump’s “poll watchers” were more likely, “given the violence we’ve seen at Trump rallies and the support he’s getting from avowed white supremacists, [to] intimidate people and suppress the vote.”
Trump’s campaign also has set up a web page asking for volunteers to monitor polling places in an effort to ‘stop crooked Hillary from rigging this election.’ Trump’s call to action is now being promoted by white supremacists on Stormfront, the world’s leading neo-Nazi website, something that’s not particularly surprising given how Trump has been embraced by the likes of David Duke. […] Trump’s poll watchers aren’t going to uncover any voter fraud. What they’re more likely to do, given the violence we’ve seen at Trump rallies and the support he’s getting from avowed white supremacists, is intimidate people and suppress the vote. And that, not surprisingly, is the same goal behind so many of the voter ID laws that have been enacted across the nation.
Donald Trump: “I just left a great place, North Carolina. And they just had a tremendous loss — voter ID, voter ID. They lost voter ID.”
I just left a great place, North Carolina. And they just had a tremendous loss — voter ID, voter ID. They lost voter ID. How do you lose voter ID? You mean, you don’t have to show identification? You don’t have to show that, hey? And then you say — you know, I’ve been talking about the rigged system for a long time. And I get hammered in the press for talking about it. Oh, I can’t believe he’d be talking about the rigged system. And then in the meantime, voter ID, you don’t have to do.
Earlier in the week, Trump also sounded the voter identification alarm in North Carolina, a state whose controversial voter ID law was recently struck down in a federal appeals court, which found the legislation intentionally discriminated against African-Americans when it was passed. The law had reduced the opportunity for early voting as well as same-day registration and excluded certain IDs as acceptable documents to be shown at polling places.
Today, a federal court struck down North Carolina’s voter-ID law, one of the strictest in the nation. In addition to requiring residents to show identification before they can cast a ballot, the law also eliminated same-day voter registration, eliminated seven days of early voting and put an end to out-of-precinct voting. The federal court ruling reinstates these provisions, for now. […] The federal court in Richmond found that the primary purpose of North Carolina’s wasn’t to stop voter fraud, but rather to disenfranchise minority voters. The judges found that the provisions ‘target African Americans with almost surgical precision.’
In particular, the court found that North Carolina lawmakers requested data on racial differences in voting behaviors in the state. ‘This data showed that African Americans disproportionately lacked the most common kind of photo ID, those issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV),’ the judges wrote. So the legislators made it so that the only acceptable forms of voter identification were the ones disproportionately used by white people. ‘With race data in hand, the legislature amended the bill to exclude many of the alternative photo IDs used by African Americans,’ the judges wrote. ‘The bill retained only the kinds of IDs that white North Carolinians were more likely to possess.’
Donald Trump opposed same-day voter registration.
CHUCK TODD: “–do you want to see the voting laws changed to make it easier to vote?” DONALD TRUMP: “I want to see voting laws so that people that are citizens can vote. Not so people that can walk off the street and can vote, or so that illegal immigrants can vote–” CHUCK TODD: “So you’re not for same-day voter registration?” DONALD TRUMP: “No, no. I want to make the voting laws so that people that– it doesn’t make any difference how they do it. But I don’t think people should sneak in through the cracks. You have to have — And whether that’s an ID or any way you want to do it.
Today was a dark day for American democracy. In a rally in North Carolina, Donald Trump seemingly—and shockingly—encouraged violent action against Hillary Clinton. These comments are not only terrifying and dangerous, they betray our democratic values and our country’s history of peaceful and fair elections. This is the type of rhetoric we expect to hear from a demagogue in a third world country, not an American presidential candidate. Yet for more than a year, Trump has repeatedly threatened his opponents with physical abuse and sought to incite violence at his rallies. This is a time of reckoning for our country, and every Republican official must come forward and denounce this reprehensible rhetoric.
Donald Trump: “Part of the problem […] is nobody wants to hurt each other anymore.” [St. Louis, Missouri, 3/11/16]
Donald Trump on scuffle between protesters and his supporters: “This is what we should have been doing to the other side for the last seven years!”
Trump, meanwhile, gleefully narrated the madness from his podium like a tabloid talk show host presiding over an on-camera brawl between guests — egging on the confrontation, whipping the audience into a frenzy, and basking in his fans’ celebratory chants. ‘Trump! Trump! Trump! Trump!’ ‘This is what we should have been doing to the other side for the last seven years!’ Trump exclaimed during one of the scuffles with protesters. At several points, Trump berated the reporters in the room for taking pictures of the clashes. ‘They are terrible!’ Trump hissed of the press. ‘The worst!’ Hundreds of riled-up Trump fans turned to face the press corps, and booed loudly.
Donald Trump recounted to his rally audience how one of his “great” supporters “cold-cocked” a protester in the face.
And the place is booing and booing. This African American gets up and, man, he slugged these guys. He slugged them. And by that time, their hat was off because they got ripped off as they were running up the stairs. But this guy, a great guy — I think he was a military guy for a long time. He slugged this guy wearing the Ku Klux Klan outfit. But by the time he got up to the top, you couldn’t see it was a Ku Klux Klan outfit. So when the African American cold-cocked this guy, this guy never knew what happened. Everybody thought the African American was against me. And it was the opposite. He was like this great guy, military guy. We have tremendous African American support. The reason is I’m going to bring jobs back to our country. We’re going to bring jobs back.
Donald Trump: “If you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of ‘em, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell – I promise you, I will pay the legal fees.”
At a rally on the day of the Iowa caucuses this year, Donald Trump told the audience that he’d been warned about protesters with tomatoes in the audience. ‘So if you see somebody getting ready to throw a tomato, knock the crap out of ‘em, would you? Seriously. Okay? Just knock the hell — I promise you, I will pay for the legal fees. I promise. I promise.’
Donald Trump said he wanted to punch a protester in the face and lamented ‘we’re not allowed to punch back anymore,’ in the old days, “they’d be carried off a stretcher, folks.”
Oh, bye-bye. Good job, fellows. Bye-bye. But see, [that protester is] smiling. He’s having a good time. I love the old days, you know? You know what I hate, there’s a guy totally disruptive, throwing punches. We’re not allowed to punch back anymore. I love the old days. You know what they used to do guys like that when they were in a place like this? They would be carried out in a stretcher, folks. It’s true. … Honestly, I hate to see that. Here’s a guy throwing punches, nasty as hell, screaming at everything else when we’re talking and he’s walking out and we’re not allowed — the guards are very gentle with him. He’s walking out with big high-fives, smiling, laughing. I’d like to punch him in the face, I’ll tell you.
Donald Trump on whether he regrets comments about punching protestors and sending them out on stretchers: “No, I don’t regret it at all.”
LEMON: “Do you regret saying any of those things? Especially the things that you have said about punching protesters, sending them out on stretchers.” TRUMP: “No. I don’t regret it at all. Some of these protesters were violent, there were swinging, there were hitting people and they were really doing damage. And frankly the crowd turns on them or the police said turned on them in most cases it was the police.”
Donald Trump: “I’ll tell you what, it was really amazing to watch…we had four guys, they jumped on [a protester], they were swinging and swinging.”
Yeah, get him out. Try not to hurt him. If you do I’ll defend you in court. Don’t worry about it. You know, one of the things that happened – he wasn’t, he wasn’t bad – but some of these protesters are really violent people. Now, if we’re tough with them, we get criticized. We had one guy, in New Hampshire, actually, who was a rough guy. He was swinging and swinging and punching. He was really going down for the count. And we had a couple of people in the audience who were equally tough and they took him out. They took him out. No, they took him out. And I’ll tell you what, it was really amazing to watch. This was a seriously tough cookie. The guy looked like an NFL football player. We had four guys, they jumped on him, they were swinging and swinging. The next day, we got killed in the press, that we were too rough. Give me a break, right. We don’t want to be too politically correct anymore, right folks. So, no, it’s very unfair. They’re allowed to swing and punch the hell out of people, but if we get a little bit rough in taking them out, ‘Oh, we’re terrible people.’ You know, that’s the way it is. That’s one of the many reasons our country is going to hell.
Donald Trump: “The audience swung back. And I thought it was very, very appropriate. He was swinging. He was hitting people. And the audience hit back. And that’s what we need. A little bit more of. Now, I’m not talking about just a protesters.”
But when there’s a protesters up in the corner it’s great. The cameras all turn because it’s a negative as opposed to a positive so they turn. We’ve had a couple really violent. The particular one when high said, like to bang him. That was — a very vicious — you know, he was a guy who was swinging. Very loud and then started swinging at the audience. And you know what? The audience swung back. And I thought it was very, very appropriate. He was swinging. He was hitting people. And the audience hit back. And that’s what we need. A little bit more of. Now, I’m not talking about just a protestors. This was a guy who should not have been allowed to do what he did. Frankly, if you want to know the truth, the police were very, very restrained. The police have been amazing, but the police were very, very restrained. OK.
Donald Trump on protesters in his audience: “There used to be consequences, there are none anymore. […] Our country has to toughen up folks. We have to toughen up. These people are bringing us down.”
You know part of the problem and part of the reason it takes so long is nobody wants to hurt each other anymore, right? And they’re being politically correct the way they take them out. So it takes a little bit longer. And honestly protesters they realize it, they realize that there are no consequences to protesting anymore. There used to be consequences, there are none anymore. So that’s it. Alright, thank you very much. Are they gone? Yeah, they’re gone. Our country has to toughen up folks. We have to toughen up. These people are bringing us down. Remember that. They’re bringing us down. No reason for it.
Donald Trump on the protesters in his audience: “In the old days, they didn’t come back! I can tell you that, they were gone. They were taken out, they were gone.”
Get him out! What’s the same guy tried to come back? Right? See that? In the old days, they didn’t come back! I can tell you that, they were gone. They were taken out, they were gone.
Donald Trump refuses to say what would be “so nice” to do with the protesters.
Oh, I’d be so nice. It would be so nice. I won’t say what’s on my mind, folks. So nice. I won’t say it. I refuse to say it. I’m a nice person, I refuse to say it.
Donald Trump said he had instructed his people to look into paying the legal fees of a supporter who sucker punched a protester at his rally in North Carolina.
TODD: “I’m just curious, do you plan on paying for the legal fees of this older gentleman in North Carolina, who sucker punched the protester?’ TRUMP: ‘Well, I’m not aware. I will say this, I do want to see what that young man was doing because he was very taunting. He was very loud, very disruptive. And from what I understand, he was sticking a certain finger up in the air. And that is a terrible thing to do in front of somebody that, frankly, wants to see America made great again. And so we’ll see. I’m going to take a look at it’… TODD: ‘So it’s possible — it’s possible you could help him with legal fees if this man needs it?’ TRUMP: ‘I’ve actually instructed my people to look into it, yes.”
In a stirring night, some of our country’s most admired leaders — from Gabby Giffords to Michael Bloomberg — made clear that Hillary Clinton has the strength, leadership and qualifications to take on our country’s greatest challenges and keep America safe. As President Obama said during his moving tribute to Hillary and our democratic system: “There has never been a man or a woman, not me, not Bill, not nobody, more qualified than Hillary to serve as President of the United States.”
So c’mon America. We’re stronger together. It’s time to make history.
THE LIE: Reince Priebus said, “You can kiss your gun rights goodbye if she ever finds her way into the White House.”
THE TRUTH:
FactCheck.org said that Donald Trump “distorts the facts” with the claim that “Hillary Clinton wants to take your guns away” and “abolish the Second Amendment.”
Donald Trump distorts the facts when he says ‘Hillary Clinton wants to take your guns away’ and ‘abolish the Second Amendment.’ Clinton’s gun violence prevention proposal would impose restrictions, including a ban on semi-automatic ‘assault weapons,’ but it does not call for banning all guns. Trump made his remarks at a rally in Lynden, Washington, eliciting boos from his audience. As we have written before, Trump made a similar remark in a TV interview on Jan. 6, when he claimed Clinton ‘wants to take everyone’s gun away.’
CNN: “Clinton has never argued for abolishing the Second Amendment.”
Trump’s wild claim comes on the heels of an unrelenting barrage of attacks the newly minted presumptive Republican nominee has fired off against Clinton in recent days. Clinton has never argued for abolishing the Second Amendment but has called for universal background checks and stricter controls on firearms.
LIE: Pam Bondi: “Hillary will stack the Supreme Court with liberal justices who will allow government to continue its rampage against our individual rights with utter contempt for our Second Amendment.”
THE TRUTH
New York Times: “The notion that she would nominate judges who would somehow overrule the Second Amendment is a Republican talking point that is not based on statements or past actions by Mrs. Clinton.”
Mrs. Clinton has not said whom she would appoint, but the notion that she would nominate judges who would somehow overrule the Second Amendment is a Republican talking point that is not based on statements or past actions by Mrs. Clinton. She does favor new gun control rules, but she has said she would seek them through legislation or executive action.
Hillary Clinton: “I respect the 2nd Amendment.”
‘I respect the 2nd Amendment. I respect the rights of lawful gun owners to own guns, to use their guns,’ she said. ‘But I also believe that most lawful gun owners whom I have spoken with for many years across our country also want to be sure that we keep those guns out of the wrong hands. And as president, I will work to try to bridge this divide, which I think has been polarizing and, frankly, doesn’t reflect the common sense of the American people.’
CNN’s Reality Check rated the claim that Hillary Clinton would abolish the Second Amendment False.
So, is Cox correct in his claim that Clinton would abolish the Second Amendment? As CNN reported in May: “Clinton … has called for universal background checks and stricter controls on firearms, but has never called for the abolition of the Second Amendment. In fact, on her website, she calls gun ownership ‘part of the fabric of many law-abiding communities.’ Verdict: False.
CNN: “Clinton has never argued for abolishing the Second Amendment.”
Trump’s wild claim comes on the heels of an unrelenting barrage of attacks the newly minted presumptive Republican nominee has fired off against Clinton in recent days. Clinton has never argued for abolishing the Second Amendment but has called for universal background checks and stricter controls on firearms.
CNN: Hillary Clinton “has called for universal background checks and stricter controls on firearms.”
Trump’s wild claim comes on the heels of an unrelenting barrage of attacks the newly minted presumptive Republican nominee has fired off against Clinton in recent days. Clinton has never argued for abolishing the Second Amendment but has called for universal background checks and stricter controls on firearms.
LIE: Donald Trump Jr.: “She says she’ll issue executive orders to take away Americans’ guns.” “Hillary Clinton is a risk Americans can’t afford to take. She says she’ll issue executive orders to take away Americans’ guns, she wants to appoint judges who will abolish the Second Amendment.”
FactCheck.org: “Donald Trump distorts the facts when he says ‘Hillary Clinton wants to take your guns away.'” “Donald Trump distorts the facts when he says ‘Hillary Clinton wants to take your guns away’ and ‘abolish the Second Amendment.’ Clinton’s gun violence prevention proposal would impose restrictions, including a ban on semi-automatic ‘assault weapons,’ but it does not call for banning all guns.” [FactCheck.org, 5/10/16]
LIE: Donald Trump Jr. on Benghazi tragedy: “Secretary Clinton’s State Department had ignored their requests for help, both on the night in question and in the weeks and months leading up to the attack.”
PolitiFact: Several investigations have found “that no action by Clinton — or anybody in the administration — could have moved additional forces to Benghazi before the last American deaths.” “Several investigations have found, however, that no action by Clinton — or anybody in the administration — could have moved additional forces to Benghazi before the last American deaths. And if it were possible, Clinton was not responsible for sending help. That fell to military officials.” [PolitiFact, 7/14/16]
Even Trey Gowdy admitted that there was no question military assets could not have reached Benghazi in time to prevent the deaths of four Americans. “It’s a question congressional investigators have long been seeking to answer: Could the military have reached the besieged diplomatic outpost in Benghazi, Libya, in time to prevent the killings of four Americans, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, the night of Sept. 11, 2012? The chairman of the House Benghazi committee — echoing comments by his top lawyer — now says no. ‘Whether or not they could have gotten there in time, I don’t think there is any issue with respect to that. They couldn’t,’ Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., told Fox News this week.” [AP, 5/18/16]
Several physical upgrades and repairs were implemented at the Benghazi compound throughout the course of 2012. “It is incumbent upon the Board, however, to acknowledge that several upgrades and repairs took place over 2012. DS provided additional funding for the Local Guard Force (LGF),February 17, and residential security upgrades, including heightening the outer perimeter wall, safety grills on safe area egress windows that helped save the life of ARSO 1 on the night of September 11, concrete jersey barriers, manual drop-arm vehicle barriers, a steel gate for the Villa C safe area, some locally manufactured steel doors, sandbag fortifications, security cameras, some additional security lighting, guard booths, and an Internal Defense Notification System.” [Accountability Review Board report, 12/18/12]
PolitiFact gave Donald Trump’s claim that the Benghazi victims were “left helpless to die as Hillary Clinton soundly slept in her bed” a rating of “False.” “Trump said the Benghazi victims were ‘left helpless to die as Hillary Clinton soundly slept in her bed.’ Clinton was not literally sleeping when the Benghazi attacks unfolded, as it was mid afternoon on a Tuesday in Washington. She worked late into the night, as is evidenced by an 11 p.m. email. If we take Trump’s claim more broadly, that Clinton was inattentive throughout the hours in which the attacks occurred, none of the many congressional investigations into Benghazi have made that assertion. We rate Trump’s claim False.” [PolitiFact, 6/23/16]
LIE: Donald Trump Jr.: “[We are going to elect] A president who will repeal and replace Obamacare without leaving our most vulnerable citizens without health care and who will do it without destroying Medicare for seniors as Hillary Clinton has proposed.”
Hillary Clinton is committed to preserving, protecting, and strengthening Medicare. “Throughout her career, Hillary has stood up for Medicare and Social Security. She is committed to preserving, protecting, and strengthening these lifelines for today’s seniors and for future generations. […] Fight back against Republican plans to privatize or ‘phase out’ Medicare as we know it. Republicans have called for privatizing or even ‘phasing out’ Medicare and shifting millions more seniors into private plans that would dramatically raise costs. Hillary will stand against these attempts to weaken the program.” [Hillary for America, Issues: Health care, (accessed, 7/19/16)]
Hillary Clinton wants to expand Medicare by allowing people below the Medicare age to opt into the program. “Hillary Clinton on Saturday announced her plan to expand investments in community health care centers, the second of two proposals in a week apparently aimed at courting supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders ahead of his possible endorsement. The presumptive Democratic nominee’s proposal would double funding for primary care services at Federally Qualified Health Centers, which serve populations with limited access to health care. Community health care centers have been a key priority for Sanders, I-Vt., who successfully fought for the inclusion of $11 billion in funding for such centers in the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Clinton also affirmed her commitment to giving Americans in every state the choice of a ‘public-option’ insurance plan — which she supported during her 2008 presidential campaign and Sanders pushed for during the ACA debate — and allowing people below Medicare age to opt into the program by offering it to those who are 55 and older.” [USA Today, 7/10/16]
]]>LIE: Chris Cox: “It’s that simple…a Hillary Clinton Supreme Court means your right to own a firearm is gone.” “All the Supreme Court said was you have the right to protect your life in your own home. Hillary says they got it wrong. It’s that simple…a Hillary Clinton Supreme Court means your right to own a firearm is gone. Make no mistake: this election isn’t about the next four years. It’s about the next forty years, so voting for Hillary Clinton, or not voting, is simply not an option.”
THE TRUTH: New York Times: “The notion that she would nominate judges who would somehow overrule the Second Amendment is a Republican talking point that is not based on statements or past actions by Mrs. Clinton.” “Mrs. Clinton has not said whom she would appoint, but the notion that she would nominate judges who would somehow overrule the Second Amendment is a Republican talking point that is not based on statements or past actions by Mrs. Clinton. She does favor new gun control rules, but she has said she would seek them through legislation or executive action.” [New York Times, 6/22/16]
CNN: “Clinton has never argued for abolishing the Second Amendment.” “Trump’s wild claim comes on the heels of an unrelenting barrage of attacks the newly minted presumptive Republican nominee has fired off against Clinton in recent days. Clinton has never argued for abolishing the Second Amendment but has called for universal background checks and stricter controls on firearms.” [CNN, 5/7/16]
FactCheck.org: The claim that “Hillary Clinton wants to take your guns away” and “abolish the Second Amendment” was an argument that “distorts the facts.” “Donald Trump distorts the facts when he says ‘Hillary Clinton wants to take your guns away’ and ‘abolish the Second Amendment.’ Clinton’s gun violence prevention proposal would impose restrictions, including a ban on semi-automatic ‘assault weapons,’ but it does not call for banning all guns. Trump made his remarks at a rally in Lynden, Washington, eliciting boos from his audience. As we have written before, Trump made a similar remark in a TV interview on Jan. 6, when he claimed Clinton ‘wants to take everyone’s gun away.’” [FactCheck.org, 5/10/16]
]]>SESSION’S LIE: “Crime is rising—and the President blames the police.” [Jeff Sessions, Republican National Convention, 7/19/16]
THE TRUTH: Sessions and Trump are wrong: crime rates are not rising. “If you look at overall violent and property crimes — the only categories that would seem inclusive enough to qualify as ‘crime,’ as Trump put it — he is flat wrong. In fact, crime rates have been falling almost without fail for roughly a quarter-century. We rate his claim Pants on Fire.” PolitiFact, 6/9/16]
Politifact gave a “Pants on Fire” rating to a claim that President Obama “failed to condemn violence against police.” “Johnson said Obama had failed to condemn violence against police. Obama has repeatedly condemned violence against police. Most recently, he expressed his support for police the night before the Dallas attack happened, amid protests over two police shootings of black men, and again after the sniper attack on police officers. Obama’s consistent objections to violence against police is similar to rhetoric by Johnson, Nixon and the vast majority of American politicians and presidents. Johnson’s statement is outrageously wrong. We rate this claim Pants on Fire.” [Politifact, 7/12/16]
Obama has made clear to police that he grieves with them. “‘Time and again, you make the split-second decisions that could mean life or death for you and many others in harm’s way,’ Mr. Obama said in an open letter to police. ‘I want you to know that the American people see it, too. We recognize it, we respect it, we appreciate it, and we depend on you.’….. ‘Just as your tight-knit law enforcement family feels the recent losses to your core, our nation grieves alongside you,’ Mr. Obama wrote. ‘Any attack on police is an unjustified attack on all of us.’” [Washington Times, 7/19/16]
]]>In fact, Christie has a career of falsehoods. In 1994, he said it was “no secret” that he was pro-choice after donating to Planned Parenthood, only to deny it when he was a presidential candidate. Some of his claims are bizarre, too. As Governor, he said he wouldn’t harm the pensions of New Jersey police and firefighters. Two years later, that was proven false when he signed a bill that made public employees pay more for their pensions.
Have your facts ready when Christie speaks tonight–you’ll certainly need them. Here are a few to get you started.
August 2015: Chris Christie on climate change: “By breathing we contribute to it.” “Republican presidential candidate and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie thinks that human exhalation is a cause of climate change. Or he thinks that statement is ‘ridiculous.’ Either might be true. ‘The climate’s been changing forever, and it will always continue to change,’ said Christie at an Aug. 4 event in Manchester, New Hampshire, which was captured on video. ‘Does human activity contribute to it? Of course it does. We all contribute to it in one way or the other. By breathing we contribute to it.’” [Huffington Post, 9/2/15]
September 2015: Chris Christie: “I never said that humans contribute to climate change by breathing.” “‘I know you really care about this subject, but you know what, the first thing you need to do is not be wrong, and not quote me incorrectly. I never said that humans contribute to climate change by breathing,’ Christie said. ‘I never said it,’ he continued when she reminded him of the date and event. ‘Were you there?’ She confirmed that she was there and that she heard him say it. ‘Then you need to clean out your ears, young lady,’ the candidate replied. ‘I never said that humans contribute to climate by breathing. Ridiculous statement. I never said that.’” [Huffington Post, 9/2/15]
1994: Chris Christie: “I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution and that should be the goal of any such agency, to find private donations.” “While running to be a Morris County freeholder in 1994, Christie admitted that he donated money to Planned Parenthood. He made the comments while speaking out against restoring county funding for the organization. ‘I support Planned Parenthood privately with my personal contribution and that should be the goal of any such agency, to find private donations,’ Christie said, adding: ‘It’s also no secret that I am pro-choice.’” [Daily Caller, 5/21/12]
2016: Chris Christie: “I never donated to Planned Parenthood.” DICKERSON: “The competition has gotten a little tougher between you and some of your rivals. You said Marco Rubio is trying to slime his way to the White House, when he — when a super PAC running an ad said that you supported Common Core, you once supported an assault weapons ban, and that you donated to Planned Parenthood. Why — which one of those is wrong?” CHRISTIE: “Well, I never donated to Planned Parenthood. So, that’s wrong.” […] DICKERSON: “So, just on the Planned Parenthood, never donated, never supported?” CHRISTIE: “No. No.” [CBS’ Face the Nation, 1/10/16]
Chris Christie: “No new [gun laws] have been made since I’ve been governor.” “The governor acknowledged gun rights could be a thorny issue for him among conservative voters if he decides to seek national office. But he told people here that his Democratic predecessors are to blame for any perception of his lack of support for gun rights. ‘I know there’s a lot of perception about my view on gun rights because I’m from New Jersey and because the laws are the way they are, but these laws were being made long before I was governor and no new ones have been made since I’ve been governor.’” [New Jersey Star-Ledger, 6/2/15]
New York Times: “Actually, he signed three major pieces of gun-control legislation.” “Sometimes, Mr. Christie wants to make himself a strong, reliable right-winger. He told an anti-gun-control crowd in South Carolina in June, for example, that all of New Jersey’s gun laws preceded his tenure and ‘no new ones have been made since I’ve been governor.’ Actually, he signed three major pieces of gun-control legislation.” [New York Times, 6/30/15]
1994: Chris Christie: “The issue which has energized me to get into this race is the recent attempt by certain Republican legislators to repeal New Jersey’s ban on assault weapons.” “‘The issue which has energized me to get into this race is the recent attempt by certain Republican legislators to repeal New Jersey’s ban on assault weapons,’ Christie said in a statement released (on April 14, 1993). ‘In today’s society, no one needs a semi-automatic assault weapon.’” [New Jersey Star-Ledger, 4/15/93]
Chris Christie on whether gun control inspired him to get into politics: “No. That’s not true. No…It doesn’t sound like me.” “‘Is it true that the issue of gun control inspired you to get into politics?’ Bret Baier asked Christie. (The exchange starts just after 9 minutes in this video.) ‘No. That’s not true. No,’ Christie said. ‘Well, in 1993, you said you were motivated to run for office by supporting, preserving New Jersey’s assault weapons ban,’ Baier said, adding, ‘it’s in the Star-Ledger.’ ‘I don’t remember saying that,’ Christie said. ‘So, you know.’ Baier then read a statement from Christie – who ran for the state Senate in 1993 – that was quoted by the Star-Ledger: ‘‘The issue which has motivated me to get into this race is the recent attempt by certain Republican legislators to repeal New Jersey’s ban on assault weapons.’ That was 1993.’ ‘That’s 22 years ago,’ Christie said. ‘Bret, I don’t remember. I could have. It doesn’t sound like me.’” [Philadelphia Inquirer, 11/25/15]
2009: Chris Christie to New Jersey police and firefighters: “The claim that any harm would come to your pension when I’m elected Governor is absolutely untrue. It is a 100% lie.” “‘The claim that any harm would come to your pension when I’m elected Governor is absolutely untrue. It is a 100% lie,’ Chris Christie wrote to New Jersey law enforcement officers during his campaign against Jon Corzine. The 2009 letter, and a near-carbon copy sent to firefighters, has resurfaced amid Christie’s bid to overhaul public servants’ pension system. ‘Nothing will change for the pensions of current officers, future officers or retirees in a Christie Administration,’ says the ‘Open Letter to Members of Our Law Enforcement Community,’ simply signed ‘Chris.’ ‘I have repeated time and time again that the pension agreement we made with our member our law enforcement community must be respected,’ the 2009 letter adds. ‘It is a sacred trust.’” [Chris Christie letter via PBA Local 334, 2/28/11]
2011: Chris Christie signed into law legislation that forced New Jersey public employees to pay more for their pensions. “Gov. Chris Christie today signed into law controversial legislation that will force public employees to pay more for their pension and health insurance. Christie, who signed the bill flanked by a bipartisan cast of mayors, said passage of the bill is his biggest legislative victory since taking office. ‘It is important moment for the state of New Jersey, for its citizens, its taxpayers and New Jersey has once again become a model for America,’ Christie said at the bill signing. Starting on Friday, public employees across all levels of government will pay an additional percent of their pay into the pension system.” [New Jersey Star-Ledger, 6/28/11]
Donald Trump on Saturday accused likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton of wanting to abolish the right of Americans to legally own guns. ‘Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment,’ Trump said at a rally here. ‘Hillary Clinton wants to take your guns away and she wants to abolish the Second Amendment.’
Donald Trump on Saturday accused likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton of wanting to abolish the right of Americans to legally own guns. ‘Hillary Clinton wants to abolish the Second Amendment,’ Trump said at a rally here. ‘Hillary Clinton wants to take your guns away and she wants to abolish the Second Amendment.’
FactCheck.org: Hillary Clinton “hasn’t said that, and her gun proposals would not do that.”
Trump may choose not to believe what Clinton says, but the fact is there is no evidence that Clinton wants to ‘take your guns away’ or ‘abolish the Second Amendment.’ She hasn’t said that, and her gun proposals would not do that.
CNN: “Clinton has never argued for abolishing the Second Amendment.”
Trump may choose not to believe what Clinton says, but the fact is there is no evidence that Clinton wants to ‘take your guns away’ or ‘abolish the Second Amendment.’ She hasn’t said that, and her gun proposals would not do that.
CNN: Hillary Clinton “has called for universal background checks and stricter controls on firearms.”
Trump’s wild claim comes on the heels of an unrelenting barrage of attacks the newly minted presumptive Republican nominee has fired off against Clinton in recent days. Clinton has never argued for abolishing the Second Amendment but has called for universal background checks and stricter controls on firearms.
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