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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

Pence’s Claim that ISIS ‘Has Been Defeated’

Pence’s Claim that ISIS ‘Has Been Defeated’

On the same day ISIS claimed responsibility for a deadly attack against U.S. service members in Syria, Vice President Mike Pence declared that ISIS “has been defeated.” It is true that the U.S. and its allies have retaken virtually all of the land ISIS controlled in Iraq and Syria, but experts say the group still has tens of thousands of fighters and remains dangerous.

Trump Revises History on Mexico’s Wall Payment

Trump Revises History on Mexico’s Wall Payment

President Donald Trump, who campaigned on a promise that Mexico would pay for a border wall, now misleadingly claims he never meant that Mexico would “write out a check” to pay for it. His campaign at least twice laid out specific methods of direct payment.

Trump’s Budget Wouldn’t Erase Deficits, CBO Said

Trump’s Budget Wouldn’t Erase Deficits, CBO Said

Under President Trump’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2018, there would have been hundreds of billions of dollars in deficits each year from 2018 to 2027, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That contradicts White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney’s claim that the U.S. “would actually be on a glide path to balancing the budget” under the plan.

Video: FactChecking Trump’s Immigration Address

Video: FactChecking Trump’s Immigration Address

In this video, we review four statements President Donald Trump made during his national address on illegal immigration and the need for Congress to appropriate $5.7 billion for a wall along the Southwest border. 

FactChecking Trump’s Immigration Address

FactChecking Trump’s Immigration Address

In a national address, President Donald Trump called on Congress to provide $5.7 billion for a border wall to address what he called a “crisis” on the border. The president made some false and misleading claims, and provided some facts without context.

Misleading Border Crime Statistic

Misleading Border Crime Statistic

U.S. Border Patrol encountered 6,259 immigrants with criminal convictions, many of them for illegal entry charges, in fiscal 2018, according to the most recent statistics. Yet, White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney misleadingly claimed authorities “had arrested 17,000 criminals at the southern border.”

RNC Misleads on ‘Immoral’ Democratic Bill

RNC Misleads on ‘Immoral’ Democratic Bill

The RNC attacks a “Pelosi plan” as “immoral” because it “would spend $54 billion taxpayer dollars on foreign countries” but not address “the border crisis.” Yet that’s the same amount that Republican-controlled appropriations committees approved in June for the State Department’s operations, which includes foreign aid.

Democratic Spin on Border Security Funds

Democratic Spin on Border Security Funds

Democrats say the Trump administration is asking for more money for a border wall even though it has spent only 6 percent of the funds that Congress has appropriated for border security over the past two years. That’s misleading. About 60 percent has been awarded to contracts.

Trump’s Border Blunders

Trump’s Border Blunders

On the day he met with congressional leaders to discuss the budget stalemate, President Donald Trump repeated several false and misleading claims about the Southwest border and the wall he wants to build.

Rep.-elect Green Wrong About Vaccines, CDC Fraud

Rep.-elect Green Wrong About Vaccines, CDC Fraud

At a town hall event on Dec. 11, Rep.-elect Mark Green of Tennessee inaccurately claimed that vaccine preservatives might cause autism. He also repeated an unsubstantiated claim that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “fraudulently managed” data that showed a link between vaccinations and autism.