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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

State of the Union Anecdotes Debunked

State of the Union Anecdotes Debunked

It is customary for presidents to invite guests to the State of the Union address to provide anecdotal evidence that supports the president’s policies. But it turns out President Donald Trump’s speech included misleading descriptions of two such guests.

Roger Stone’s Crimes

Roger Stone’s Crimes

President Donald Trump has criticized the Justice Department for prosecuting the president’s longtime associate Roger Stone and recommending that Stone serve up to nine years in prison. That’s his opinion, but he falsely supports it by claiming Stone did “nothing” and “nobody even can define what he did.”

Bloomberg Misleads on Stop-And-Frisk

Bloomberg Misleads on Stop-And-Frisk

Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg misleadingly stated that he “cut” the police practice of stop-and-frisk — a policy that he “inherited” — by “95%” by the time he left office as mayor of New York. There were nearly twice as many stops in his last year as mayor compared with the year before he took office.

Fact-Checking Trump’s Defense for Removing Vindman

Fact-Checking Trump’s Defense for Removing Vindman

President Trump defended removing Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman from the National Security Council by claiming that Vindman’s “superior … publicly stated that Vindman had problems with judgement, adhering to the chain of command and leaking information.” But the latter claim leaves a false impression, and the others omit important context.

Trump Has Condemned White Supremacists

Trump Has Condemned White Supremacists

Former Vice President Joe Biden wrongly claimed President Donald Trump has “yet once to condemn white supremacy, the neo-Nazis.” Trump has specifically condemned white supremacists and neo-Nazis on a few occasions.

Trump Attacks Romney with Baseless Viral Claims

Trump Attacks Romney with Baseless Viral Claims

Several days after Sen. Mitt Romney was the lone Republican vote to convict President Donald Trump of abuse of power in the impeachment trial, the president used his Twitter account to spread dubious and unfounded viral claims about the Utah senator.

Sanders Spins Young Voter Turnout in Iowa

Sanders Spins Young Voter Turnout in Iowa

Sen. Bernie Sanders claimed there was a “huge voter turnout” among young caucusgoers in Iowa this year, saying the turnout was “even higher than Obama’s extraordinary victory in 2008.” In fact, about 10,300 fewer young voters turned out this year than in 2008.

Biden Miscasts Hot Mic Moment About Trump

Biden Miscasts Hot Mic Moment About Trump

Joe Biden falsely claimed that a hot mic at a NATO reception caught “leaders of the free world” privately saying “they didn’t think [President Donald Trump] knew anything, they didn’t trust him et cetera.” Biden has turned Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s mild ribbing about Trump holding long, unscheduled press interviews into something far worse.

Trump Repeats Falsehoods in Celebrating Acquittal

Trump Repeats Falsehoods in Celebrating Acquittal

A day after his acquittal in the Senate impeachment trial, President Donald Trump made celebratory remarks in the White House on Feb. 6, thanking many Republican politicians and repeating several false and misleading claims, many of which we’ve checked before.