The Envelope, Please; and the Winner is ....
And Proud, too Thank You, Thank You, Thank You ...
Liar, liar, pants on fire…!! Let’s count the critical lies by Donald J.
Trump, shall we? From Politifact.org and others reported here in part from Media Matters.org.
PolitiFact Found That 70 Percent of
Donald Trump’s Assertions Are “Mostly False; False; or, Pants on Fire.”
Moreover, Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler wrote
that because Trump “never takes anything back — and often repeats the same
false claims, voters are likely to hear these time and again during the
campaign season.” [PolitiFact, accessed 9/21/16; The Washington Post, 3/22/16]
Donald Trump Falsely Claimed That “The
Birther Movement Was Started By Hillary Clinton In 2008.” Trump has asserted on numerous occasions that
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton “started and was all in” on
claims that Barack Obama was not born in the United States. In September 2015,
Trump tweeted, “The birther movement was started by Hillary Clinton in 2008.
She was all in!" At the time PolitiFact rated the statement “false, noting
there is no record that Clinton herself or anyone within her campaign ever
advanced the charge that Obama was not born in the United States.” Trump has
continued to push the lie, most recently during a September 16 speech, where
Trump stated, “Hillary Clinton and her campaign of 2008 started the birther
controversy.” PolitiFact once again rated the claim “false, noting that while
“Trump has repeatedly claimed that Clinton began the whole issue in the first
place … PolitiFact and our friends at FactCheck.org and the Washington Post
Fact-Checker have debunked this zombie claim multiple times.”
Trump Falsely Claimed That He “Finished”
Conspiracy Theories about Barack Obama’s Birthplace, Which PolitiFact Rated
“Pants on Fire.” In September 2016,
Trump finally admitted that “President Barack Obama was born in the United
States. Period,” but added Clinton’s campaign was the source of the claim, and
that he “finished it.” PolitiFact rated Trump’s claim “Pants on Fire,” writing
“in no credible sense is this true,” and noting that Trump continued “fanning
the flames of birther conspiracies … for at least another three and a half
years” after Obama released his birth certificate.
Trump Has Repeatedly Falsely
Claimed That He “Was Totally Against The War In Iraq.” Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed that he “was
totally against the war in Iraq," most recently during NBC’s September 7 Commander-In-Chief
Forum. However, in 2002, a year before the invasion of Iraq, when asked by
Howard Stern if he was “for invading Iraq,” Trump said “I guess so.” Multiple
fact-checkers have called out Trump’s claim that he was “totally against the
war in Iraq,” with PolitiFact rating it “False.” The Washington Post
fact-checker gave it “four Pinocchios” because despite documentation of Trump’s
“bogus claim, Trump repeatedly claims he opposed the war from the beginning.”
Trump Has Falsely Claimed That Clinton
“Soundly Slept In Her Bed” During The 2012 Attack In Benghazi, Libya. Trump has repeatedly claimed that, while secretary of
state, Clinton “soundly slept in her bed” during the 2012 Benghazi attack.
However, as PolitiFact noted, the attack “took place at about 9:30 p.m.
Benghazi time, or 3:30 in the afternoon Washington time on a Tuesday and that Clinton
was at her State Department office at the time.” Moreover, according to
PolitiFact, Mrs. Clinton “worked late into the night on September 11, 2012, and
none of numerous congressional investigations into the attacks faulted Clinton
for her actions as the attacks unfolded that day.”
Trump Lied That Clinton Wants To
“Abolish The Second Amendment.” Trump
has repeatedly lied that Clinton wants to “abolish the Second Amendment” and
the right to bear arms, saying Clinton “wants to take your guns away.” That is
not true. PolitiFact rated the claim false, saying, “We found no evidence of
Clinton ever saying verbatim or suggesting explicitly that she wants to abolish
the Second Amendment, and the bulk of Clinton’s comments suggest the opposite.
She has repeatedly said she wants to protect the right to bear arms while
enacting measures to prevent gun violence.” Clinton has repeatedly explained
that the country can regulate guns while respecting the Second Amendment.
[PolitiFact, 5/11/16; New York Times, 9/17/16, Media Matters, 9/21/16]
Trump Claimed That “Inner-City Crime Is
Reaching Record Levels, Which Is False.”
In an August 29 tweet, Trump asserted that “Inner-city crime is reaching record
levels.” But, according to PolitiFact, “the trend in crime statistics from
large cities is unmistakable: The frequency of violent crime has declined since
the early-to-mid 1990s, adding that patterns for homicide are the same as they
are for violent crime generally – they have been declining.” [PolitiFact rated
Trump’s assertion “Pants on Fire”].
Trump Has Falsely Claimed That “It Could
Be 30 Million Undocumented Immigrants Currently Residing in the United States.” And, has said that the government has “no idea what
the number is.” His most recent attempt to peddle this false claim was during
an August 31 speech in Arizona. But, according to PolitiFact, “HSD last
estimated the size of the undocumented immigrants at 11.4 million in January
2012, down from a peak of 12.2 million in 2007.” Moreover, as PolitiFact notes,
“Every credible estimate” approximates that the population of undocumented
immigrants in the United States is “in the 11 million range, with a margin of
error of around 1 million.”
Trump And His Campaign Have Frequently
Falsely Claimed That Trump’s Tax Returns Are Not “A Burning Issue to Most
Americans.” Trump, his campaign, and
his surrogates have repeatedly claimed that Americans “don’t care” about his
tax returns. Trump’s campaign manager claimed on September 13 that Trump’s
refusal to release his tax returns wasn’t “a burning issue to most of
Americans,” while Trump’s running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, declared “I
don’t hear a lot of people talking” about it. However, a recent Quinnipiac
University poll revealed that 62 percent of Republicans and 74 percent of all
voters want Trump to release his tax returns. [Politico, 9/6/16; Media Matters, 9/13/16]
Trump Has Lied That, Because His Taxes
Are Under Audit, He “Can’t” Make Them Public. Trump and his campaign have asserted that Trump “can’t” make his tax
returns public because he is being audited by the IRS.” But, as The Washington
Post noted, the IRS has “said nothing, including an audit, prevents individuals
from sharing their own tax information.” Moreover, the Post pointed out that
Trump’s own tax lawyers have said Trump’s tax “returns from 2002 to 2008 are no
longer being audited, and President Richard Nixon released his tax returns
while under audit.”
Trump Has Repeatedly Falsely Claimed
That the “Real Unemployment Rate is 42 Percent.” Trump has asserted that the unemployment rate
reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics is “one of the biggest hoaxes in
American modern politics, and claimed that the real unemployment rate is 42
percent.” (Think Progress: “calculating the unemployment rate doesn’t
change between presidential administrations and, to get anywhere close to
Trump’s 42 percent figure, you’d have to count everyone who is out of the labor
force, in other words is not working, which would include: Retirees, college
students, and stay-at-home parents who don’t want a job”). Ergo: More grossly inflated
numbers from Trump.
Thanks for stopping by. Stay
tuned and watch the 1st debate on September 26th…
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