In this video, we review several false and misleading claims that President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden made at the final presidential debate on Oct. 22.
Here are the claims that we cover in the video:
- Trump accused Biden of receiving “$3.5 million from Russia.” There’s no evidence of that.
- Biden claimed Social Security’s chief actuary said if Trump “continues his plan to withhold the tax on Social Security” the program “will be bankrupt by 2023.” Trump hasn’t proposed ending the tax without providing alternative funding, the scenario the actuary assessed.
- Trump misleadingly suggested the Obama administration was to blame for his administration’s policy that caused the separation of immigrant families.
- Biden wrongly said “the president’s own advisers have told him” that the use of face masks can save an estimated 100,000 U.S. lives over the remainder of this year. That estimate, which has since been revised down to 34,000, came from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation — not the administration.
- The president falsely claimed that “less than 1%” of those caught crossing the border and released pending immigration hearings appear in court. The rate is about 50%, according to his own Justice Department. Immigration experts say it is even higher than that.
- Trump also falsely claimed murderers and rapists are released under a so-called “catch and release” policy. In fact, immigration laws require such criminals be detained.
- Biden misleadingly claimed that “38,000 prisoners were released from federal prison” during the Obama administration. The total number went down by about 12,000.
For more, see “FactChecking the Final 2020 Presidential Debate.”
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