David Axelrod Archives - FactCheck.org

Axelrod’s Hazy Memory of 2008

March 7, 2012

David Axelrod’s zeal to help President Obama win reelection has clouded his memory. In depicting the 2012 GOP primary as unusually nasty and harmful to the party’s eventual nominee, Obama’s senior campaign adviser falsely claimed “we mentioned Hillary Clinton twice in our advertising” during the 2008 campaign. With little effort, we found 10 such ads — five times what Axelrod claimed.
In a March 6 interview with NBC’s Brian Williams, Axelrod expressed shock at this year’s GOP primary nastiness and recalled with fondness (and fallacy) the gentleness of the 2008 Democratic nominating process.

Axelrod Ups the Ante

October 31, 2011

President Barack Obama’s reelection strategist David Axelrod said on CNN’s “State of the Union” Oct. 30 that “all economists agree” that the White House jobs bill “would create millions of jobs.” That goes beyond the usual White House exaggeration, and is simply not true.
Axelrod, Oct. 30: Obviously the American Jobs Act, all economists agree would have a marked effect on economic growth and would create millions of jobs. We just have to get the Congress to act on it.

Sunday Replay

December 14, 2010

Surprisingly – considering that the topic du jour was taxes, which means numbers – the flubs and fibs on the Dec. 12 talk shows were few, and relatively minor.
Not So Out-of-Context
On "Meet the Press," the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, Austan Goolsbee, claimed host David Gregory had taken a quote by White House economic adviser Larry Summers "a little out of context." Not so. Goolsbee and Gregory were discussing the tax deal President Barack Obama had worked out with congressional Republicans.

Earmarks, Taxes and Premium Hikes

November 19, 2010

In episode 38 of our podcast, we highlight false statements from Democrats on the Sunday talk shows, and exaggerations from Republicans about the impact of the new health care law on premiums.

For more on the stories discussed in this episode, see:
Sunday Replay Nov. 15
The Truth About Health Insurance Premiums Nov. 19

Sunday Replay

November 15, 2010

Americans are worried about money – the government’s as well as their own – and the Sunday talk shows reflected that concern. We had a few bones to pick with their guests when it came to discussion of earmarks, the housing market and Social Security. And however one defines that murky term "middle class," we’re confident it doesn’t include 98 percent of the population.
Did Dems Cut Earmarks in Half?
On "Fox News Sunday,"

Sunday Replay

September 27, 2010

On this week’s Sunday talk shows, we found false claims on the debt, discretionary spending, foreign-funded attack ads and polling data.
Wrong on Debt
On ABC’s "This Week," Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell made a false claim about the federal debt — a claim that we debunked in January, when Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, a Republican, made a similar statement. The debt situation has worsened since then, but not enough to make this GOP talking point true.

Sunday Replay

September 13, 2010

All of the misstatements that crept into the Sunday shows this weekend (at least, all the ones we found) had to do with the economy, the topic that is most on voters’ minds as the midterm elections approach.
Beware the Third Rail
White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod made an incorrect claim — and another slightly exaggerated one — during his appearance on NBC’s "Meet the Press."
While defending the Obama administration’s economic policies to host David Gregory,

Sunday Replay

July 12, 2010

Call this one the Axelrod Edition. President Obama’s senior adviser, David Axelrod, was on three of the political talk shows on July 11, and we found that he strayed from the factual straight-and-narrow several times in talking about the oil spill, border security and other issues.
We also found Republican congressman Brian Bilbray overstating support for an immigration bill and Attorney General Eric Holder repeating a claim we’ve critiqued before about how many terrorism trials have taken place in the civilian justice system.

Obama’s Oil Spill Speech and Sunday Talk Shows

June 18, 2010

In episode 16 of FactCheck Radio, we look at some overstatements from the president in his speech on the BP oil spill. And we talk about false and misleading remarks from Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina and White House Senior Adviser David Axelrod on "Meet the Press."
(Click the play button below to listen to the podcast. Or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.)

For more on the stories discussed in this episode, see:
Fact-Checking Obama’s Oil Speech

Sunday Replay

June 14, 2010

Once again, the Sunday talk shows produced more than a few misstatements. Among the topics of misinformation: The Gulf of Mexico oil spill, border security, the popularity of the Republican Party, and U.N. sanctions against Iran. Here’s what we found.
Oil Industry Official or Bureaucrat?
Carly Fiorina, the Republican nominee for Senate in California, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a vice chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, disagreed over the background of the former head of the Minerals Management Service.