“Donald Trump’s healthcare plan is incoherent, half-baked and out-of-touch, and today’s event was an unmitigated disaster. Instead of offering a substantive healthcare plan, Donald Trump and Mike Pence simply repeated the exact same zingers, lies and recycled talking points Republicans have been spouting for years. Indeed, Trump is so clueless that he couldn’t even talk about his so-called plan for more than few minutes. Here’s the truth: a Trump presidency would repeal Obamacare and brutally take away millions of Americans’ access to healthcare. Hard stop.”
In Detroit this afternoon, Donald Trump repeated an already-debunked claim about Obamacare costing 2 million jobs. In fact, similar claims have been proven “mostly false” at least three times.
TRUMP’S LIE:
“In the coming days, we will be rolling out plans on all of these items. One of my first acts as President will be to repeal and replace disastrous Obamacare, saving another 2 million American jobs.”
THE TRUTH:
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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]
]]>CLAIM #1: Paul Ryan: Republicans offer a superior tax code. “We offer a better way for America, with ideas that actually work. A reformed tax code that rewards free enterprise, instead of just enterprising lobbyists.”
THE FACTS: Conservative former CBO director: Donald Trump’s tax plan “loses too much revenue to even be considered.” “Douglas Holtz-Eakin, president of the American Action Forum, a conservative think tank, and former director of the Congressional Budget Office, said that from a legislative perspective, ‘The plan loses too much revenue to even be considered and lacks the cohesion of a genuine tax reform.’” [Fiscal Times, 5/17/16]
CLAIM #2: Paul Ryan: Republicans offer a superior health care system. “We offer a better way for America, with ideas that actually work. […] A reformed health care system that operates by free choice, instead of by force, and doesn’t leave you answering to cold, clueless bureaucrats.”
THE FACTS: Brookings senior fellow Henry Aaron: Donald Trump’s health care plan is “either the fraudulent offer of a huckster who takes voters for fools, or clear evidence of stunning ignorance about how insurance works.” “In simple terms, Trump’s promise to bar insurers from using preexisting conditions to screen customers but simultaneously to scrap the companion provisions that make the bar feasible is either the fraudulent offer of a huckster who takes voters for fools, or clear evidence of stunning ignorance about how insurance works. Take your pick.” [U.S. News opinion, 3/7/16]
CLAIM #3: Paul Ryan: Republicans offer better care for veterans. “We offer a better way for America, with ideas that actually work. […] A renewed commitment to building a 21st-Century military – and to giving our veterans the care they were promised, the care that they have earned.”
THE FACTS: Disabled American Veterans executive director: Donald Trump’s encouraging veterans to seek health care in the private sector “would lead to worse health outcomes for many veterans.” “Critics are calling Trump’s proposal a voucher program, where vets would get reimbursed by the VA for all their care. They have two main objections. Garry J. Augustine [executive director] at Disabled American Veterans (DAV) defended the VA as better-quality care for vets. After Trump’s speech, Augustine said in a statement: ‘Encouraging all veterans to seek care in the private sector, which lacks the expertise to treat military and combat injuries and illnesses, and which does not typically provide integrated or coordinated care, would lead to worse health outcomes for many veterans.’” [NPR, 7/13/16]
Giuliani blamed President Obama for spreading “propaganda” that “everybody should hate the police” during protests in 2014. And he failed the ultimate lie detector test–Four Pinocchios from The Washington Post–for his claims that he would have a lower cancer survival rate under “socialized” healthcare in the United Kingdom (after falsely asserting that Hillary supported a “socialized” system).
When will he get it right?
Rudy Giuliani: “I brought down crime more than anyone in this country — maybe in the history of this country — while I was mayor of New York City.” [Republican debate, Orlando, Florida, 10/21/07]
Politifact: “Giuiliani’s push for better policing tactics and policies were likely part of it, but not to the extent he claims, experts say.” “Giuliani’s push for better policing tactics and policies were likely part of it, but not to the extent he claims, experts say. His numbers do look good, and the decline in crime rates sure picked up speed when he was in charge: After falling about 12 percent from 1990 to 1993, violent crime dropped 56 percent over the next eight years. But most big cities, and the nation as a whole, followed a similar pattern: A slow fall beginning around 1990 or 1991, followed by a sharp drop over the next decade.” [Politifact, 10/22/07]
Rudy Giuliani: “We had no domestic attacks under Bush. We’ve had one under Obama.” [ABC, 1/8/10]
Politifact: “Giuliani is just plain wrong to suggest no terrorist attacks happened under Bush’s watch.” “Giuliani ran a presidential campaign based on the leadership he showed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. We would expect him to at least acknowledge that those attacks occurred while George W. Bush was president. But even considering that he was talking post-9/11, Giuliani is just plain wrong to suggest no terrorist attacks happened under Bush’s watch. The clarifications added by a Giuliani spokesman are threaded so thin, it sounds like damage control more than anything. We say Pants on Fire!” [Politifact, 1/8/10]
Rudy Giuliani: “I did initiate that lawsuit back in 2000. Since then, I think that lawsuit has taken several turns and several twists that I don’t agree with.” “I did initiate that lawsuit back in 2000. Since then, I think that lawsuit has taken several turns and several twists that I don’t agree with. I also think that there have been subsequent intervening events, September 11th, which cast somewhat of a different light on the Second Amendment and Second Amendment rights. Doesn’t change the fundamental rights, but maybe it highlights the necessity for them more. And I’ve also had a chance to read and analyze the Parker decision, which obviously hadn’t taken place then.” [Rudy Giuliani, NRA’s “Celebration of American Values,” Conference, 9/21/07]
Washington Post Fact Checker: “Giuliani’s own explanation for the twists and turns in his position on gun control is unconvincing. It seems much more likely that Giuliani distanced himself from his own lawsuit for essentially political reasons.” “As mayor of New York, Giuliani was one of the strongest advocates in the country for tighter gun control measures. In a 1995 interview with Charlie Rose, he compared the NRA to ‘extremists’ and described the organization’s ‘defense of assault weapons’ as ‘a terrible, terrible mistake.’ See video here. Two years later, after a Palestinian opened fire on tourists at the top of the Empire State Building, Giuliani called for tighter gun control laws. He said it was ‘insane’ that the gunman, Ali Abu Kamal, had been able to walk into a gun shop in Florida and buy a Beretta. He continued to speak out in favor of gun control legislation years after 9/11. […] In the absence of comment from the Giuliani campaign, this case seems fairly clear-cut. As we have previously noted, we do not monitor candidates for flip-flops, but we do check them for honesty. Giuliani’s own explanation for the twists and turns in his position on gun control is unconvincing. It seems much more likely that Giuliani distanced himself from his own lawsuit for essentially political reasons, to win support from Republican primary voters and neutralize opposition to his candidacy from the NRA.” [Washington Post, 10/5/07]
Rudy Giuliani: Obama “propaganda” says “everybody should hate the police.” “We’ve had four months of propaganda, starting with the president, that everybody should hate the police. I don’t care how you want to describe it that’s what those protesters are all about. The protests are being embraced, the protests are being encouraged. The protests, even the ones that don’t lead to violence, a lot of them lead to violence, all of them lead to a conclusion: The police are bad, the police are racist. That is completely wrong.” [Fox News, 12/21/14]
Politifact: “Obama has continuously encouraged working with police to find solutions and make change. […]Giuliani’s claim is an outlandish distortion of what Obama actually said.” “Giuliani said Obama has said ‘that everybody should hate the police.’ Throughout all of his comments since August, when the latest unrest over racial disparities in the criminal justice system began, Obama has continuously encouraged working with police to find solutions and make change. He has also repeatedly emphasized the importance of law enforcement in communities of color and the fact that police officers have a dangerous job. Giuliani’s claim is an outlandish distortion of what Obama actually said. We rate this Pants on Fire.” [Politifact, 12/23/14]
Rudy Giuliani: “[White people] go to jail at approximately the same percentage as blacks go to jail. The conviction rate is almost exactly the same.” “First of all, only about 3 percent of whites kill blacks. They go to jail at approximately the same percentage as blacks go to jail. The conviction rate is almost exactly the same. The difference is, it’s a very rare exception when a white kills a black.” [Fox News, 11/24/14]
Politifact: “Even if supported by statistical evidence — would amount to cherry-picking data to shed the most benign light on racial disparities of the American justice system.” “Giuliani said, ‘the conviction rate is almost exactly the same’ for whites and blacks who commit murder. We couldn’t find any statistical evidence to support Giuliani’s claim, and experts said they weren’t aware of any, either. We found some related data, but that data only serves to highlight some of the racial disproportion in the justice system. And when you take a step back, Giuliani’s comment — even if supported by statistical evidence — would amount to cherry-picking data to shed the most benign light on racial disparities of the American justice system. Jurisprudence in general does not reflect this pattern. Without statistical data to back up his claim, we rate it False.” [Politifact, 11/26/14]
Rudy Giuliani: “[Hillary Clinton] once said that the unfettered free market is the most destructive force in modern America.” “The free market is one of our greatest assets. And the leading Democratic candidate [Hillary Clinton] once said that the unfettered free market is the most destructive force in modern America. I mean, just get an idea of where the philosophy comes from.’” [Politifact, 10/9/07]
Politifact: “Giuliani is blatantly — and repeatedly — misquoting a line from her 1996 book, It Takes a Village.” “Except Clinton never called the free market ‘destructive.’ Giuliani is blatantly — and repeatedly — misquoting a line from her 1996 book, It Takes a Village. In the text, Clinton quotes author Alan Ehrenhalt, who wrote in his book The Lost City: ‘‘The unfettered free market has been the most radically disruptive force in American life in the last generation.’’ During a March 1996 interview on the C-SPAN program Book Notes, Clinton said she agreed with the statement. But the word ‘disruptive’ is not the same as ‘destructive’ in the context of the free market, said Ehrenhalt, executive editor of Governing magazine. The magazine is published by CQ and is an affiliate of the St. Petersburg Times. ‘There’s no particular reason for a controversy,’ he said. ‘But Giuliani is looking for anything to say against Hillary Clinton … and he keeps distorting it.’ Most economists would agree, Ehrenhalt said, with his assertion that the free market causes interruptions, whether positive or negative, in its normal course — which is the dictionary definition of disruptive.[…] Because of Giuliani’s misquote, we give this a ruling of False.” [Politifact, 11/13/07]
Rudy Giuliani: “What [Hillary Clinton] will do is socialized medicine. Socialized medicine is deteriorated medicine.” [Rudy Giuliani, Tampa, Florida, 9/17/07]
Politifact: “It’s inaccurate to call Clinton’s proposal ‘socialized medicine.’ It doesn’t meet that definition because the government would not control the system.” “According to Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, socialized medicine is ‘a system of medical care regulated and controlled by the government, in which the government assumes responsibility for providing for the health needs and hospital care of the entire population, at no direct cost or at a nominal fee to the individual, by means of subsidies obtained by taxation.’ It’s inaccurate to call Clinton’s proposal ‘socialized medicine.’ It doesn’t meet that definition because the government would not control the system and because of the heavy involvement of private insurance companies — which could turn a profit from the plan.” [Politifact, 9/18/07]
Rudy Giuliani: “In the United States, 82 percent. My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England, only 44 percent under socialized medicine.” “I had prostate cancer, five, six years ago. My chances of surviving prostate cancer and thank God I was cured of it, in the United States, 82 percent. My chances of surviving prostate cancer in England, only 44 percent under socialized medicine.” [Rudy Giuliani, New Hampshire radio advertisement, 10/29/07]
Washington Post Fact Checker: “Rudy Giuliani is simply wrong when he claims that his chances of surviving prostate cancer are almost twice as high in the United States as in England, under a ‘socialized’ medical system.” “Rudy Giuliani is simply wrong when he claims that his chances of surviving prostate cancer are almost twice as high in the United States as in England, under a ‘socialized’ medical system. The mayor seems to be making a habit of making sweeping statements with little or no factual support. See our recent posts on his claims about Mikhail Gorbachev and the end of the Soviet Union, the cost of health care premiums, and his own record as mayor of New York. We award Giuliani four Pinocchios.” [Washington Post, 10/30/07]
]]>Representative Duffy fits right in with the current Trump model: try to scare the American people in every way possible, even if it’s not true.
Rep. Sean Duffy: Planned Parenthood was “able to take taxpayer funds to then, in essence, use for abortion.” “But the contention that comes around Planned Parenthood is that they are the largest abortion provider in the country, and so they are able to take taxpayer funds to then, in essence, use for abortion.” [Congressional Debate, Wausau, WI; 10/22/12]
The Washington Post: “Federal dollars are not used to provide the service at the center of the political debate around Planned Parenthood: abortions.” “But, it’s important to note that federal dollars are not used to provide the service at the center of the political debate around Planned Parenthood: abortions. That’s been banned by law in almost all cases since 1976. (The details of the ban have shifted over time.) Instead, the organization uses money from other sources — private donors and foundations as well as fees — to fund its abortion services.” [The Washington Post, 8/4/15]
FactCheck.org: “Planned Parenthood cannot use the money it receives from the federal government for abortions.” “But Planned Parenthood cannot use the money it receives from the federal government for abortions anyway. According to the Department of Health and Human Service’s website, ‘by law, Title X funds may not be used in programs where abortion is a method of family planning.’ Medicaid funding is restricted by the Hyde Amendment to only abortion cases involving rape, incest or endangerment to the life of the mother. Some states use their own funds under Medicaid to go beyond that.” [FactCheck.org, 4/18/11]
Rep. Sean Duffy said Pres. Obama’s homeland security budget put “$16 million to fight climate change” and “didn’t have a line item to fight violent extremism.” SEAN DUFFY: “When the president sent over his budget to the House of Representatives, he had a homeland security budget. He put $16 million to fight climate change in Homeland Security, and didn’t have a line item to fight violent extremism. The president doesn’t take this seriously.” [Fox Business Network’s Varney & Co., 12/9/15]
Politifact Wisconsin rated Rep. Sean Duffy’s statement that there was no line item to fight violent extremism in the homeland security budget Mostly False. “Duffy said Obama’s homeland security budget had ‘$16 million to fight climate change’ but ‘didn’t have a line item to fight violent extremism.’ There is no line item in the Department of Homeland Security budget for fighting violent extremism. But that ignores the fact that millions of dollars are allocated, inside and outside the Department of Homeland Security, to counter violent extremists. Duffy’s statement contains an element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression — our definition of Mostly False.” [Politifact Wisconsin, 12/18/15]
Rep. Sean Duffy said government health care reform “slashed $500 billion from Medicare.” “Regarding the law’s effect on Medicare, Duffy said: ‘Kreitlow’s full-throated support for the government’s unwarranted takeover of healthcare slashed $500 billion from Medicare, too.’” [Politifact Wisconsin, 12/18/15]
Politifact Wisconsin rated Rep. Sean Duffy’s claim that $500 billion was cut from Medicare Mostly False. “Duffy said the federal health care reform law ‘slashed $500 billion from Medicare.’ There is an element of truth in his statement because Medicare spending will grow by about $500 billion less than it would have without the law. But the law has not already reduced Medicare spending by $500 billion, as Duffy suggests. We rate Duffy’s statement Mostly False.” [Politifact Wisconsin, 7/11/12]
“The false charms of Bernie Sanders’s single-payer plan.” [Washington Post editorial, 2/7/16]
“These claims undermine the credibility of the progressive economic agenda…” [Politico, 2/17/16]
“[Economist] Kenneth Thorpe of Emory University…has estimated that Bernie’s universal-health-care plan would cost about twice as much as Bernie said it would.” [New York Magazine, 2/18/16]
“Left-Leaning Economists Question Cost of Bernie Sanders’s Plans” [The New York Times, 2/15/16]
“The plan would create winners and losers…” [The Atlantic, 2/8/16]
“Study: Bernie Sanders’s single-payer plan is almost twice as expensive as he says.” [Vox, 1/28/16]
“The Bernie Sanders Health Plan Is Too Good To Be True, Analyst Says.” [Huffington Post, 1/27/16]
]]>Boston Globe’s Michael Cohen: Bernie Sanders “gets away with proposing unrealistic policy ideas that have little chance of being passed even by Democrats in Congress, let alone Republicans, and then gets praised for being authentic.” [Boston Globe, 1/18/16]
New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait: “Those areas in which a Democratic Executive branch has no power are those in which Sanders demands aggressive action, and the areas in which the Executive branch still has power now are precisely those in which Sanders has the least to say.” [New York Magazine, 1/18/16]
New York Magazine’s Jonathan Chait: “It seems bizarre for Democrats to risk losing the presidency by embracing a politically radical doctrine that stands zero chance of enactment even if they win.” [New York Magazine, 1/18/16]
]]>“Study: Bernie Sanders’s single-payer plan is almost twice as expensive as he says.” [Vox, 1/28/16]
“The Bernie Sanders Health Plan Is Too Good To Be True, Analyst Says.” [Huffington Post, 1/27/16]
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