In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper looks at three climate-related claims President Donald Trump made in an interview with the Washington Post.
Video: Trump’s Climate Claims to the Post
Person: Donald Trump
Trump’s Sketchy Cohen Claims
President Trump went on the attack against Michael Cohen, saying his former personal attorney is a “weak person” trying to avoid jail time by “lying” about negotiations with Russian officials about a possible Trump Tower development in Moscow. But the president twisted several facts in service of his points.
The Science Trump Got Wrong in the Post Interview
In a Nov. 27 interview with the Washington Post, President Donald Trump made a series of inaccurate statements. He questioned the cause of climate change, praised a nonexistent method for wildfire prevention and even recycled a long-debunked news story from the 1970s.
Trump Misuses Data in 9th Circuit Attack
President Donald Trump wrongly tweeted that the largest federal appellate court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, is “overturned more than any circuit in the country, 79%.”
Is Trump Responsible for Falling Gasoline Prices?
With gasoline prices plummeting, President Trump gave himself a third-person pat on the back via Twitter: “thank you President T.” Energy experts say the decline is largely motivated by market forces outside the president’s control. But experts attribute at least part of the drop to the administration’s decision to soften Iran sanctions.
America Not ‘Cleanest We’ve Ever Been’
In response to a question about climate change, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that the United States was “the cleanest we’ve ever been.” Data from a variety of sources show that while the country has made strides in the last decade, its carbon dioxide, or CO2, emissions are far from their lowest point.
The president’s comments came on Nov. 26 after he was asked by a journalist about the latest National Climate Assessment.
Trump’s Border Claims
After a group of migrants tried to breach the U.S. border at Tijuana, Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan said there were no “reported serious injuries on either side of the border.” But President Donald Trump told reporters the same day that “three Border Patrol people yesterday were very badly hurt through getting hit with rocks and stones.”
Trump Repeatedly Errs on California Wildfires
Over the past two weekends, as two major wildfires devastated communities in Northern and Southern California, President Donald Trump has inaccurately blamed the state’s forest management practices for the blazes. He has also wrongly said that raking — a method he attributed to Finland — could have solved the problem.
Trump Spins Midterm Election Results
President Donald Trump in recent days has engaged in some post-election spin. He claimed that Gov. Rick Scott won the Senate race in Florida “by a lot,” and tweeted that the “Midterm results” for House Republicans “were better than other sitting Presidents.”
Video: False Florida Recount Claims
CNN’s Jake Tapper examines bogus claims about voter fraud in this week’s fact-checking video in collaboration with FactCheck.org.