President Donald Trump’s latest campaign-style rally was in Youngstown, Ohio, where the president made some false and misleading claims about military spending, immigrants and job creation.
FactChecking Trump’s Rally in Ohio
Trump Wrong About Campaign Donations
Twice in two days, President Donald Trump falsely tweeted that acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe’s wife received $700,000 in campaign donations from Hillary Clinton.
Trump and Transgender Service Members
President Donald Trump cited “the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.” Whether the cost is “tremendous” is opinion, but a government-funded report found that allowing transgender people to openly serve in the military would likely have a “marginal impact” on health care costs and military readiness.
Smith Spins NASA Funding
Rep. Lamar Smith said that, after national security agencies, “NASA received the most favorable budget request from the Trump administration.” True, but President Trump’s 2018 proposal would still cut NASA’s budget by about 3 percent compared with the agency’s enacted budget for 2017.
Hoyer Revisits Mike Pence’s Emails
Rep. Steny Hoyer wrongly claimed that Vice President Mike Pence “used a private server when he was governor of Indiana.” Pence did use a personal AOL account for some government business, but he did not have a “private server.”
Trump’s Power to Pardon
President Donald Trump tweeted that “all agree the U.S. President has the complete power to pardon.” It’s true that the president has the constitutional power to issue pardons, but there are some limits to that power.
Selling Insurance Across State Lines
President Donald Trump said that by allowing insurers to sell plans across state lines, “your premiums will be down 60 and 70 percent.” We couldn’t find any study supporting such a decrease, and experts we consulted disputed the idea that overall average premiums would decline significantly.
Trump’s Misplaced Baltimore Bias
Trump misleadingly suggested Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein may be biased against him because Rosenstein “is from Baltimore” and “there are very few Republicans in Baltimore.”
Trump Spins Putin Dinner Conversation
In his latest attack on the media, President Donald Trump gave a misleading account of news reports regarding a previously undisclosed second conversation that he had had with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G-20 summit.
Is Bacon Better for You Than Tilapia?
Q: Is bacon better for you than tilapia? Does tilapia cause cancer and/or Alzheimer’s disease?
A: No. These false claims, spread by multiple websites, are not supported by solid scientific evidence.