Fact-Check: What Trump got wrong at his rally
THE NEW YORK TIMES
President Trump kicked off his re-election campaign in Melbourne, Fla., on Saturday.
Much seemed familiar Saturday as President Donald Trump held his first campaign rally as president: the hats, the chants and even some of Trump’s misstatements and exaggerations.
Trump compared himself to Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, presidents who “fought with the media and called them out.”
“We are here today to speak the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth,” he said. But he then offered several misleading claims.
— Trump warned that refugees coming into the United States are not screened.
“We’ve allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country. There was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing.”
Refugees are vetted, and it takes two years.
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Trump repeatedly made this inaccurate claim during the 2016 campaign. The country’s vetting system for refugees, which begins at the United Nations, is extensive.
Applicants undergo several rounds of background and biometric checks — fingerprints and retina scans, for example — by multiple federal immigration and intelligence agencies. The system is not foolproof, and intelligence officials have raised concerns about gaps in data collection on people coming from conflict zones like Syria.
— Trump claimed that Americans are optimistic about the future.
“Look at what’s happening in every poll when it comes to optimism in our country.”
Some polls show optimism, others don’t.
In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s election, the majority of voters expressed optimism about the next four years in several respected polls. But the results have varied in more recent months: 53 percent said they were optimistic in a Quinnipiac University poll, while 54 percent said they were pessimistic or uncertain in an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll.
According to Gallup’s weekly economic optimism poll, Americans are slightly less confident in the economy in February than they were in January. In other Gallup polls, Trump’s approval rating and Americans’ view of the country’s standing in the world are the lowest in decades.
— Trump extolled an increase in jobs.
“Jobs are already starting to pour back in. They’re coming back in like you haven’t seen in a long time.”
Data shows modest gains so far.
The economy added 227,000 jobs in January 2017, a healthy but less than record increase, more likely attributable to the ending days of the Obama administration than the incoming president. And the unemployment rate “was little changed,” remaining at 4.8 percent for January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That’s 0.1 percent higher than it was the previous month.
— Trump alluded to high crime in Chicago and the country at large.
“Look at what’s happening in Chicago — hundreds of shootings, hundreds of deaths. I’ll tell you what’s happening in Chicago, and many other places.”
Crime is high in Chicago but has generally declined.
Trump warned of soaring levels of crime during the 2016 election, ignoring data. Chicago did experience a surge in homicides last year, with more than 750 people killed. The country’s third-largest city, along with three other urban areas, contributed to a jump in the national homicide rate in 2016. But, overall, both violent crime and property crime have fallen since the early 1990s.
© 2017 The New York Times Company
40 responses to “Fact-Check: What Trump got wrong at his rally”
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This article omits one of the craziest Trump lies from the rally. Trying to stoke fears of terrorism, Trump said, “We’ve got to keep our country safe. You look at what’s happening in Germany. You look at what’s happening last night in Sweden. Sweden, who would believe this?”
The answer to Trump’s question is that no one should believe this. Nothing out of the ordinary happened Friday night in Sweden. The Swedish prime minister tweeted, “Sweden? Terror attack? What has he been smoking? Questions abound.”
Sweden has been central to one of Trump’s longest running lies — that he is of Swedish ancestry. In ‘THE ART OF THE DEAL,” he falsely claimed that his grandfather emigrated as a boy from Sweden. Inspired by his father, Trump kept this lie alive for decades.
What pathological diagnosis can explain Trump’s habit of telling lies that can be exposed so quickly and so easily? Or is he so divorced from reality that he believes what he says?
One of the many issues related to Mr. Trump’s peculiar mental state is his constant lying about subjects, after he has been corrected and the facts are known. That’s called pathological lying, and in this case, he lies about things that he knows his audience knows are untrue. It’s a major personality disorder for a President, but it’s part of Trump’s day – every day.
Trump is remaining fixed on stoking fear. Dictators, and dictator wannabes, constantly making their cowardly followers more fearful by fabricating false attacks and stoking fears of future attacks. Mr. Trump has the advantage here, because Republicans have become such loathsome cowards. Just read comments on here. People are afraid of Syrian widows and orphans.
– Saying his win was larger than it was to develop the illusion of a mandate
– Stoking fear among people who don’t know any better
– Bringing down the press, who are a check against him
– Bringing down the Judiciary, who are a check against him
Dictator in training.
president trump won and he will keep on winning for the next 8 years!!
he is our president..get used to it!!
imua trump aloha
Great rally. Did you see all the people? Now let’s hear from all the party poopers. blah blah blah
deepdiver311 – You mean like you did when Mr. Obama was President?
No. It’s time to fight him.
British betting parlors now are taking money that Trump won’t last one term.
Yes and our President is making stuff up to fool people like you. Sweden, really now…
photo of apprentice president closely resembles the greeting of the other mad dictator from germany…
https://itsmiobambino.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/heil-hitler.gif
After less than 30 days in office and fulfilling none of his campaign promises, using “smoke and mirrors” to fool the trumpettes. The PEETUS felt it was time for a staged pep rally while his VP is actually working in Europe. The new EPA Director will be dismissed as quickly as Flynn as soon as Oklahoma determines he colluded illegally with oil and gas companies. 4 weeks in office and 3 vacations costing the tax payers millions.
Keep on diving. Dumpster diving that is.
Imua Trump!
You are a MINORITY Trump supporters. The truth hurts….
“I love the poorly educated!” – Donald J.Trump
“I love the poorly educated!” He sure was right and now they criticize everything he does.
Yes he was able to come out on top due to republican practice of voter suprression but to assume he will be president for 8 years is a bit much. I ssuspect he will be lucky to make it to Christmas before he pulls a Sara Palin and resigned to do greater good. So far he is performing as I thought he would. (Just as the Town butcher performing brain surgery) Flynn is gone in record time, so called executive orders have to be reworked, stupid statements on Sweeden, sure doesn’t sound like winning to me. Guess we just have different ideas of winning. lol
Trump doing a great job of by passing the liberal mainstream media and they can’t handle it. He speaks directly to the people so get used to it.
Pupule is as pupule does.
He doesn’t know what to do as the president so he goes back on the campaign trail. The Chump is the Pied Piper and you Chumpsters are his rats. It must be humiliating to be a victim of the greatest scam artist in the history of mankind. It’s like catching your spouse in bed with their lover and blacking the whole scene out. Confused, desperate and weak is a perfect description of the average Chumpster.
Another great day in the books for our new President. Tomorrow is a Not HiLIARy Day. tyj
Trump says he was watching Fox news. Did anyone see the footage about the immigrant violence in Sweden? And how about the Muslims cheering over the 9/11 incident? Makes me wonder where he come up with “Fake News”!.
Stupid rally. In order to gain support Drumpf has to talk with people who are *not* his supporters, find out what they want, and figure out how win them over. He doesn’t need to win over the same minions again, he already has their support. Does Drumpf need to have people stroke his johnson to feel better?
Trump is a salesman. He is so used to exaggerating, scheming, conniving, puffing, bragging, and misleading. It’s in his blood and he just can’t get rid of it. In the business world, he filed for bankruptcy a number of times in order to bail himself out because of poor decisions. As POTUS, he is risking not his business money but the people of America as he continues to shoot from the hip and think of himself before anything or anyone else. What is is “bankruptcy”option when he fails as the leader of our great country?
No matter what Trump accomplishes, the left will nevter, ever be satisfied.
…but he nevter accomplish noting
Quit believing what the media the left says and reports and then only then will you start to see what President Trump is accomplishing.
oops, I forgot…
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2017/01/26/trumps-mar-lago-doubles-initiation-fee-to-200k.html
not exactly from a “left” media source, eh?
Mito – that may turn out to be a yuuuge problem as well. He keeps telling his followers “Look what I’ve accomplished!!” such as the stock market increases, which go up and down daily independently (so far anyway) of anything he has done. Such as the number of jobs pouring in. Dear Sarge and deep diver – show us how his actions affected jobs 30 days into his presidency. All he has done is greatly increase the number of jobs available in the Secret Service to protect Mar-A-Lago, his New York High Rise building where his wife and son reside, and their various golf courses, to say nothing of trips all his children take to their business dealings overseas. the list is long, but I need to be brief here. The only important thing on my horizon is the pure fact that this person is trying to get rid of our FREE PRESS which is part of our U.S. CONSTITUTION – and he is attempting to undermine the validity of our COURT SYSTEM! Think about it carefully before you defend rants coming from this person.
Dow futures up 42 pts. Thank you President Trump. Do you understand futures? The people are seeing a bright future and putting their money where their mouth is. He is meeting with business leaders. Do you get the picture?
So nalogirl tell me what has he accomplished?
The media source is questionable so their article and views should not be taken seriously. New York Times hired Glenn Thrush who was exposed in WikiLeaks emails of sending stories to Hillary Clinton staffers FOR APPROVAL before publication.
President Trump is a man of his word. Finally we have a President that will due what he promised and you will never here it from the media and the left. Where was the the News on President Trumps meeting with Israel’s Prime Minister, Gen Mattis meeting with NATO and getting them to agree to start kicking in their fare share, another promise from President Trump accomplished. It is sad that the Media refuses to report all the good that President Trump is doing. What is wrong with putting the Country and the American people first.
EXECUTIVE ACTIONS:
Expedite Environmental Reviews
Streamline Manufacturing Permitting Process
Use US Steel to Build Pipeline
Start Building Wall Along U.S.-Mexico Border
Eliminate 2 Existing Regulations for each one that’s Added
Scale back Dodd-Frank Regulations
180-Day Delay of Certain Financial Service Regulations
Grant Waiver for Affordable Care Act
Freeze Regulations for Federal Agencies
Suspend Mortgage Premium Rate Cut for Some Borrowers
Withdraw From Trans-Pacific Partnership
Review Keystone Pipeline Project
Advance Dakota Access Pipeline
ACTION ON ECONOMY/JOBS
Meets: Drug Industry CEOS on Drug Prices
Meets: Small Business Owners on Tax Cuts
Meets: Big 3 Auto Ceos
Meets: Manufacturing Ceos & Union Leaders
Signs Bill undoing Coal Regulations
Meets: Retail Ceos On tax Reform
Meets: Walmart, JP Morgan, Blackstone
Meets: Steelworkers and Harley Davidson
ECONOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Market Value Increase since 11/18/2016 $2.7T
Fiat Chrysler to Invest $1B In U.S.
Intel To Invest $7B In Az Plant
GM To Invest $1B In U.S. Factories
President Trump has done more in his first 30 days than the past administration did in a year and he is still not finished cleaning up the mess he inherited.
yes, the hot mess left by GWB in 2009 was YUUUUGE !!! & SAD
Prez Obama would have resolved it all, if not for intransigence from McConnell & the other Repubes
Economic highlights listed by DavCON are all lagging economic indicators & the fruits of Obama admin.
The current robust economy we R all enjoying is afterglow from POTUS 44.
Intel announced this same factory in 2011, but didn’t complete factory construction due to lack of demand for the product. Trump had nothing to do with this.
GM announced the $1B factory investment months before Trump’s inauguration and explained that it is part of the normal turnaround process to re-tool to build new models. Trump had nothing to do with this.
Fiat Chrysler $1B investment is phase two of a plan announced a year ago. Trump had nothing to do with this.
“There’s no precedent in the modern history of the presidency for what we’ve seen over the last month,” said Republican operative Steve Schmidt. “If you combine the dishonesty, the sloppiness and incompetence, the result is deep concern and anxiety across allied capitals, glee in the capitals of foreign enemies, and an American public that regard him one month in with the lowest levels of support in the modern era. We’ve just never seen an American administration collapse from a credibility perspective as quickly as this one has.”
Excellent post davcon. Enjoy reading the wimpy loser responses. Pathetic.
To paraphrase Groucho Marx, “Are you gonna believe me , or your lying eyes (and ears)? Bigly
The press must hold Trump and his administration accountable, every day, with no exception. As McCain stated, this is how dictators get started. Trump is neither a Republican or Democrat, but a Nationalist. And the last thing this country needs is to have a POTUS who embraces expediency.
Not to mention the terrible thing that happened in Sweden that has the Swedes confused about what he was referring to.
Don’t believe Fake News outlets: Swedish officials have officially caught the suspect in the Sweden attacks that went on in recent days, they are saying it is the same suspect that went on a rampage in Bowling Green. The suspect admitted to have snuck into America through an unlocked door while waiting for his extreme vetting interview. The suspect was armed with 5 high powered semi-automatic guns that he legally purchased in America, even though he is severally mentally ill and delusional, the suspect also admitted to illegally voting 6 times in the USA for Hillary in the last election. In a bizzar turn he was later found to be a card carrying member of the newly established (V)ery (F)ake (N)ews military group…#MAGA
He is also rumored to be Baron Trump’s biological father.
Now that’s Fake News…Trump is Barons dad, the real surprise is the mom, been hearing from Wikileaks that Ivanka IS the mother of Baron and that’s Melania is just the nanny, that’s why she stayed in NY and Ivanka is in DC…More will probably come out when Putin instructs the release of information…#PureBloodline…#MAGA