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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

FactChecking Day Two of the GOP Midterm Convention

FactChecking Day Two of the GOP Midterm Convention

Vice President JD Vance gave the keynote address on the second night of the Republican midterm convention, which also featured Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., House Speaker Mike Johnson and a final send-off from President Donald Trump. Here’s what we found in fact-checking their remarks:

FactChecking Trump’s Midterm Convention Speech

FactChecking Trump’s Midterm Convention Speech

In a nearly two-hour speech at the first Republican midterm convention, President Donald Trump promised to pay Americans if Republicans won, and he repeatedly said communists could take over Congress if they didn’t, among other familiar claims.

Ohio Democratic Ads Connect Husted to Bribery Scandal, Despite No Charges of Wrongdoing

Ohio Democratic Ads Connect Husted to Bribery Scandal, Despite No Charges of Wrongdoing

Democratic ads in the Ohio Senate race are highlighting a political bribery scandal involving an energy company that benefited from a 2019 nuclear-power bailout law. It’s true, as the ads say, that Republican Sen. Jon Husted backed the legislation and that the company supported his campaigns. But Husted hasn’t been charged with or accused of any wrongdoing in the scandal, which is the impression the ads may leave with voters.

The NRSC’s Weak Ties Between Brown and Deadly Interstate Crash in Ohio

The NRSC’s Weak Ties Between Brown and Deadly Interstate Crash in Ohio

In the Ohio Senate race, a Republican ad blames former Sen. Sherrod Brown for a deadly crash in April on an Ohio interstate in which an immigrant was charged with vehicular homicide. But there’s no evidence of any tie between Brown’s votes on immigration, as the ad suggests, and the suspect in this incident.

Trump’s Misleading Crime Drop Claims

Trump’s Misleading Crime Drop Claims

In announcing the latest FBI annual report on nationwide crime, President Donald Trump wrongly cast the decline in crime in 2025 as a dramatic turnaround and made misleading claims about the impact of his administration’s policies.

RFK Jr.’s Falsehood-Filled CNN Interview

RFK Jr.’s Falsehood-Filled CNN Interview

In a contentious interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made several false, misleading and baseless claims about the origins of Lyme disease and the respiratory syncytial virus, the COVID-19 pandemic, and what the science shows about autism, vaccination and acetaminophen use during pregnancy.

FactChecking Trump’s Election Security Speech

FactChecking Trump’s Election Security Speech

In a July 16 prime-time speech that warned of “shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure,” President Donald Trump cast doubt on the country’s ability to hold “free and fair elections” but offered no evidence that widespread fraud had occurred.