Fact-checking the Clinton-Trump Presidential Debate
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The two began the night debating their very different approaches to some of the country's stickiest issues: gun rights, abortion and immigration.
It was a striking turnabout from how the previous two debates unfolded. The last time the two met, in
In
Immigration
The statement: "
The facts: Almost, but not quite. As a senator from
And it was built. Nearly 700 miles of fencing was put in place during President
The fencing is placed largely in urban areas along the nearly 2,000-mile frontier. It is not the type of solid wall that Trump has pledged to construct at
The statement: Clinton, on Trump's charge that she called for open borders in a 2013 speech to a Brazilian bank: "I was talking about energy."
The facts: She was actually talking about more than energy, but apparently less than an open border that immigrants can spill across at will, according to the partial transcript released by
Clinton said in the speech that "my dream is a hemispheric common market, with open trade and open borders, sometime in the future with energy that is as green as sustainable as we can get it, powering growth and opportunity for every person in the hemisphere." The remarks suggest a broad interest in open trade but were not necessarily evidence that she would support the unfettered movement of people, as Trump charged.
The statement: Trump has hired undocumented immigrants.
The facts: It was Trump's contractor, not Trump himself, who hired 200 undocumented Polish workers to demolish a building to make room for
But the case was appealed and before it was retried, Trump settled the case out of court, so it's unclear how much he ended up doling out.
The statement: Clinton "has no idea whether it's
The facts: Actually, the
Trump's refusal to point the finger at
"We believe, based on the scope and sensitivity of these efforts, that only
Top
The statement: Trump used to sing a different tune about knowing, meeting
The facts: Trump has changed what he's said about whether he's had a relationship with Putin.
In 2013, he said, "I do have a relationship." In 2014 he said, "I spoke, indirectly and directly, with
More recently, though, Trump has said, "I never met Putin - I don't know who Putin is" and "I have no relationship with him."
Guns
The statement: "I disagreed with the way the court applied the Second Amendment" in the
The facts: While Clinton emphasized the protection of children from gun accidents, the main holding in that case was far broader: that individuals have a right to own guns, at least in their homes and for self-defense. The case marked the first time the court said that individuals have a Second Amendment right to own a gun. The decision struck down
Free college
The statement: "I want to make college debt-free," Clinton said.
The facts: Clinton might aspire to that lofty goal, but she has only proposed making college tuition free for in-state students who go to a public college or university. Even with expanded grant aid, room-and-board costs can lead students to borrow.
Clinton would have the government pay for in-state tuition at public colleges and universities for students from families earning less than
But Trump was correct when he said that government would shoulder higher costs with Clinton's plan.
Her plan would cost the federal government an estimated
Deportations
The statement: "
The facts: That's true. Obama has overseen the deportation of more than 2.5 million immigrants since taking office in
During Obama's first term hundreds of thousands of immigrants were deported annually, following a trend of increasing deportations started under President
But Trump also claims that "nobody knows about it, nobody talks about it" and that's far from the truth. Obama has been dubbed "the deporter in chief" by immigration advocates and opponents of his immigration enforcement policies.
Terrorism
The statement: Trump says Clinton "gave us
The facts: The roots of
Donations
The statement:
The facts: It doesn't violate campaign rules for a nonprofit philanthropy to accept donations from foreign governments. Over the years, the
Tax returns
The statement: Save
The facts: It is true that the only major-party presidential nominee who didn't release returns was Ford, the Republican nominee in 1976. It's also worth noting that many nominees have released numerous years of returns, but some have released only one or two.
Voter fraud
The statement: Trump cites a Pew report when talking about a rigged election.
The facts: The Trump campaign points to a 2012 Pew Center study that estimated about 24 million, equal to one in every eight, voter registrations in
Abortion
The statement: Clinton has said she could support restrictions on abortions in the third trimester (about week 28 of a pregnancy) if the mother's life and health are taken into account.
The facts: According to PolitiFact, there are many instances of Clinton saying abortion should be "safe, legal and rare." Clinton is open to restrictions on late-term abortions provided there are exceptions for the life and health of the mother. This includes both mental health and medical complications like preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication of high blood pressure that could lead to death.
Missing money
The statement: Under
The facts: Not quite. That figure is a distortion about a legitimate record-keeping concern. In 2014, the
Economic growth
The statement: "So I just left some high representatives of
The facts:
But
Factoring in life expectancy, inequality and leisure, Bernanke notes that
Taxes
The statement: "Her plan is going to raise taxes and even double your taxes," Trump says of Clinton.
The facts: Clinton's plan wouldn't raise taxes at all for 95 percent of Americans, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center. The very wealthiest would take the greatest hit, though a doubling is highly questionable.
Two-thirds of her proposed increases would hit the top 0.1 percent of richest Americans, the center estimates. The main components of her tax plan: a minimum 30 percent tax on those earning at least
Honesty
The statement: "She's lied hundreds of times to the people, to
The facts: Trump's claim about the FBI doesn't square with what FBI Director
At a July congressional hearing, two days after announcing that he was recommending against bringing charges against Clinton over her use of a private email server to handle sensitive information while secretary of state, Comey said, "We have no basis to conclude she lied to the FBI."
Health insurance
The statement: Obamacare premiums going up, according to Trump.
The facts: Trump has said, "People's premiums ... are going up 35, 45, 55 percent."
Some insurance plans in the federal exchange will see price hikes at the levels that Trump is suggesting. But he's cherry-picking the high end of premium changes to come. Estimates for the national average are far below Trump's figures, ranging from 4.4 percent to 13 percent.
The report includes information from AP and Politifact.
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