In this week’s collaboration with FactCheck.org, Jake Tapper of CNN’s “State of the Union” tackles three claims from the first Democratic debate.
Three Democratic Debate Lowlights
Issues: trade
FlackCheck Video: Trump Announcement
This “Campaign Watch” video from FlackCheck.org covers several false and misleading statements Donald Trump made during his presidential announcement speech.
Trump Tramples Facts
Real estate developer Donald Trump’s speech announcing he is running for the Republican nomination for president contained a number of false and misleading statements.
Arkansas Exaggerations
Candidates in the Arkansas governor’s race are exaggerating their differences in misleading TV ads.
And Then There Were Five …
In a spirited debate, Republican candidates variously strained the facts on President Obama’s record on trade, tangled with each other over a misleading ad about allowing felons to vote, and erred on the history of the federal income tax.
Otherwise, the five remaining GOP presidential candidates pretty much stuck to the facts as they debated Jan. 16 at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The event was sponsored by Fox News and the Wall Street Journal.
Ads Energetically Thank Democrats
Recently, we have seen several ads from liberal advocacy groups thanking various Democratic representatives for voting in favor of the Waxman-Markey energy bill. Some, like those from the group Americans United for Change, benignly mix images of nature with kind words of thanks. Others pour on the superlatives, but could use some further explanation.
For instance, an ad from VoteVets says that because the bill was passed, "now America is poised to import less oil, 300,000 barrels less every day."
Obama’s Trade Trickery
Summary
An Obama-Biden ad ties McCain to the closing of a plant in Pennsylvania. Its assertions are misleading and false:
The ad says McCain "sold … out" workers whose factory closed. But there was nothing McCain, or anyone could have done. The factory was making parts for televisions that are becoming obsolete. The company in question has called the ad "misleading."
It implies jobs were sent to China by saying that workers were paid to "disassemble the plant and ship the equipment to China"
Outsourcing Jobs: The PRESIDENT Said That?
Kerry ad puts words in Bush’s mouth that Bush never uttered.
What Bush Left Unsaid in State of the Union Address
President Bush accentuated the positive in his annual State of the Union Address to Congress Jan. 20 – leaving out some pertinent but negative facts.