Yes, there were repeated debunked claims yet again in the presidential campaign this week. We summarize our fact-checking of these familiar talking points in our “Groundhog Friday” feature.
Groundhog Friday
Pence’s Obsolete Poverty Point
Old talking points die hard. Mike Pence is still claiming that the number of people living in poverty has gone up by 7 million under President Obama, nearly a week after the news came out that 3.5 million escaped poverty last year alone.
Does Zika Cause Blindness?
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid claimed that Zika “affects everyone” — not just pregnant women and their babies — because recent research found that it “causes people to go blind.” That’s false.
Trump Surrogates Spin ‘Birther’ Narrative
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie falsely claimed that Donald Trump did not question President Barack Obama’s birthplace “on a regular basis” after the president produced his long-form birth certificate in April 2011.
Groundhog Friday
We give a rundown of repeated claims in our “Groundhog Friday” feature. This week’s edition includes claims on jobs, Iran, the trade deficit and income inequality.
Kaine Twists Words of GOP Rivals
In a speech in Michigan, Tim Kaine cherry-picked the words of his Republican opponents, Donald Trump and Mike Pence, to leave a misleading impression of their public statements on military service members and white nationalist David Duke.
Trump on Birtherism: Wrong, and Wrong
Donald Trump finally, definitively allowed that “President Barack Obama was born in the United States, period.” But his terse statement on the matter included two falsehoods.
Video: Ivanka Wrong on Paid Leave
Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka wrongly claimed that the Trump Organization provides paid maternity leave to all of its employees.
Trump on Clinton’s Child Care Plan
Donald Trump falsely claimed that Hillary Clinton “has no child care plan” and “never will.” In fact, Clinton’s proposals for child care and paid family leave have been posted on her campaign website for months.
Trump’s Job Loss Exaggeration
Donald Trump distorted the facts when he claimed New York’s job losses during Hillary Clinton’s eight years as the state’s U.S. senator were “worse than just about any place in the country.”