The fourth Republican presidential debate featured fewer candidates, but no shortage of factual missteps.
FactChecking GOP Economic Debate
Locations: National
FactChecking the MSNBC Democratic Forum
The Democratic presidential candidates were interviewed by MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow in a Nov. 6 forum. And they stretched the facts on a few topics.
DEA Chief Wrong on Medical Marijuana
The acting head of the Drug Enforcement Administration claimed that smoking marijuana has “never been shown to be safe or effective as a medicine.” That’s false: though information is limited on the topic, several studies have found smoked marijuana has medical benefits and mostly mild side effects.
Video: Carson on ‘Extreme Bias’
This week, CNN’s Jake Tapper gives the full account of an incident Ben Carson has described as an example of “extreme political bias” on college campuses.
Smith Misfires on Climate Science
The chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology has made several inaccurate or misleading claims about climate science in an ongoing battle with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Bush on Senate Opponents’ Records
Jeb Bush derided the legislative accomplishments of GOP primary rivals, Sens. Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio, saying they “have a combined two bills that became law that they’ve sponsored.” True, but he ignores the way things work in the Senate.
A GOP Talking Point Turned False
Several Republicans have claimed that business deaths outnumber business births in the U.S. That was accurate for individual firms for 2009 to 2011, but no longer.
Senators Missing Votes
Q: Did Barack Obama and John Kerry miss 60 percent to 70 percent of their Senate votes while running for president, as Marco Rubio claimed?
A: Yes. Obama missed more than 64 percent of votes in 2008, and Kerry missed even more — nearly 90 percent — in 2004.
O’Malley’s Economic Talking Point
Martin O’Malley often says Maryland earned or achieved “the highest median income of any state in America” when he was governor. In fact, Maryland had the highest median household income before O’Malley became governor.
Carson’s ‘Extreme Bias’ Example
Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson says he would use the Department of Education to monitor “extreme political bias” on college campuses, but the example he has cited isn’t as clear-cut as Carson suggests.