Donald Trump’s frequent claim that a wave of people voting illegally cost him the popular vote is a lie. So is his claim of gigantic crowds at his inauguration. And from that foundation flowed an unprecedented torrent of flat lies, wild exaggerations, and what the experts call “bullshit” — statements not even intended to reflect the truth.
As the president approaches his 100th day in office, an extensive — but not exhaustive — BuzzFeed News review found an average of one false statement per day from Trump and his top aides.
We don’t take calling things “lies” lightly. (See our definitions at the top of this article.) And we don't suggest that Trump is the first president in history to lie: As I.F. Stone once wrote, “All governments lie.”
But Trump’s falsehoods come with an unprecedented frequency, scale, and lack of shame. They are a defining feature of his tenure, and have helped create a crisis of credibility.
Donald Trump, Jan. 21
During a speech to the CIA, the president bragged about the size of the crowd
at his inauguration: "I looked out, the field was, it looked like a million,
million and a half people." He added that it was packed "all the way back to
the Washington Monument."This is wrong.
Aerial photos show the crowd watching the inauguration did not extend back to the Washington Monument.
Donald Trump, Jan. 21
Trump bragged to the CIA that he had been on the cover of Time magazine "15 times this year," calling it "the all-time record in the history" of the magazine.This is false.
Trump has made it to the cover of Time magazine 11 times in total. Richard Nixon holds the record at 55.
Donald Trump, Jan. 21
During his speech to the CIA, Trump blamed the "dishonest" media for making "it sound like I had a feud with the intelligence community.""And I just want to let you know, the reason you're the number one stop is exactly the opposite," he said.
This is a lie.
Trump made a number of public statements disparaging the intelligence community. In one instance, he compared leaks from the intelligence agencies to living in Nazi Germany.
Donald Trump, Jan. 21
Trump also told the CIA that ISIS would not exist if the US had "kept the oil" when it got out of Iraq."And I always said, in addition to that, keep the oil. Now, I said it for economic reasons. But if you think about it, Mike, if we kept the oil you probably wouldn't have ISIS because that's where they made their money in the first place. So we should have kept the oil."
That's inaccurate.
While ISIS has financed some of its activities through Iraqi oil, it has earned most of its cash through robbery, extortion, and oil from Syrian fields, FactCheck.org reported, citing government reports and terrorism financing experts.
Donald Trump, Jan. 21
During a speech at the Liberty Ball, Trump referred to the weather at his inauguration. "I looked at the rain, which just never came, you know, we finished the speech, went inside, it poured then we came outside."Wrong.
The rain did come. In fact, it began to rain when he started his speech and continued to lightly rain after.
Sean Spicer, Jan. 21
White House @PressSec on the crowd at Trump's inauguration: "This was the largest audience to ever witness an inaug… https://t.co/7glywUgJJm
"This was the largest audience to ever witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe," Spicer said at a hastily arranged White House press conference, where the sole subject was the size of Trump's inaugural crowd.False.
This wasn't the "largest audience to ever witness an inauguration." Photos showed larger crowds for Barack Obama's inauguration in 2009. And online and television viewing numbers are far from definitive.
Sean Spicer, Jan. 21
"This was the first time in our nation's history that floor coverings have been used to protect the grass on the Mall," Spicer said during the press conference, trying to explain why Trump's inauguration crowd appeared smaller in photos than Obama's. "That had the effect of highlighting any areas where people were not standing, while in years past the grass eliminated this visual."This is false.
Floor coverings were also used in 2013 when then-president Obama was sworn in for a second term.
Sean Spicer, Jan. 21
"We know that 420,000 people used the DC Metro public transit yesterday, which actually compares to 317,000 that used it for President Obama's last inaugural," Spicer said at his inauguration press conference.This is wrong.
The Metro said people took 782,000 trips for Obama's 2013 inauguration, and 570,557 for Trump's. The 317,000 figure quoted by Spicer was metro ridership as of 11 a.m. on Obama's Inauguration Day.
Sean Spicer, Jan. 21
At the same press briefing Spicer said, "This was also the first time that fencing and magnetometers went as far back on the Mall, preventing hundreds of thousands of people from being able to access the Mall as quickly as they had in inaugurations past."Not true.
The Secret Service told CNN that no magnetometers were used on the National Mall. Also, magnetometers have been used in past inaugurations, according to a 2017 Congressional Research Service report, PolitiFact reported.
Donald Trump, Jan. 23
Trump spent at least 10 minutes of a meeting with congressional leaders claiming that 3 to 5 million "illegals" voted in the election, costing him the popular vote, sources told multiple media outlets.This is a lie.
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. The National Association of Secretaries of State — which has a majority of Republicans — said it is "not aware of any evidence that supports the voter fraud claims made by President Trump."
Donald Trump, Jan. 23
"I'm a very big person when it comes to the environment. I have received awards on the environment," Trump said in a meeting with business leaders.This is misleading.
The only environmental award ever given to Trump directly that has been verified was the Green Space Award from the Friends of Westchester County Parks in 2007. Trump donated 436 acres of land to the state of New York after facing opposition to developing it into a golf course. Also, the 2007 Metropolitan Golf Association Club Environmental Award was given to the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, but the club was later cited for a series of environmental violations, according to the Washington Post.
Sean Spicer, Jan. 24
"[Trump] won overwhelmingly with 306 electoral votes, the most since any Republican since Reagan," Spicer said at a daily press briefing.This is a misstatement.
George H.W. Bush got 426 electoral votes in the 1988 election.
Sean Spicer, Jan. 24
At the same press briefing, Spicer said the president's "long-standing belief" about voter fraud was based on "studies and evidence people have presented to him.""I think there's been studies," Spicer said. "There's one that came out of Pew in 2008 that showed 14% of people who voted were noncitizens."
This is wrong.
Spicer appeared to be confusing a Pew study with a 2014 debunked study by a political-science blog hosted by the Washington Post.
Donald Trump, Jan. 25
Discussing crime in Chicago in an ABC News interview, Trump said, "Look, when President Obama was there two weeks ago making a speech, a very nice speech. Two people were shot and killed during his speech."False.
Chicago Police told BuzzFeed News there were no fatal shootings in the city on Jan. 10, the day the former president gave the speech.
Donald Trump, Jan. 25
View this video on YouTube
Also in
that ABC News interview, Trump pointed to framed photographs of his inauguration hung on a wall and said, "The audience was the biggest ever. This audience was massive, look how far back it goes." He then pointed to another
panoramic photo, saying the crowd — which he described as "a sea of love" — goes "all the way down."That's a lie.
His inauguration audience wasn't the biggest ever, and it didn't extend to the Washington Monument, as he implies. It's also worth noting that Trump reportedly called the director of the National Parks Service the day after the inauguration and wanted to see the photos it took. Those shots are here.
Donald Trump, Jan. 25
In a speech at the Department of Homeland Security, Trump overinflated the support he had received from the agency."I want to recognize the ICE and Border Patrol officers in this room today and to honor their service and not just because they unanimously endorsed me for president."
ICE and Border Patrol did not unanimously endorse him.
He was endorsed by a union representing ICE employees and a union representing Border Patrol officers.
Donald Trump, Jan. 26
At the same GOP retreat, Trump said Philadelphia's murder rate is "steady, I mean just terribly increasing."That's a lie.
The city had fewer murders in 2016 than in 2015, and over the last decade, the homicide rate has been steadily declining. The numbers are posted online by the Philadelphia Police Department.
Donald Trump, Jan. 26
In an interview with Fox News, Trump touted Israel's border wall as a cure-all for stopping illegal immigration."And a wall protects. All you have to do is ask Israel. They were having a total disaster coming across and they had a wall. It's 99.9% stoppage."
That's not the whole story.
Israeli officials have praised their wall on the West Bank as successful in deterring terror attacks, but Israel has its own human-trafficking industry despite the wall, bringing laborers but also attackers into Israel, the New York Times reported.
Donald Trump, Jan. 27
Trump returned to the topic of voter fraud. "Gregg Phillips and crew say at least 3,000,000 votes were illegal. We must do better!" he tweeted.Still a lie.
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud. And though many have asked activist Gregg Phillips how he arrived at his estimate of 3 million illegal votes, he's refused to share any proof.
Donald Trump, Jan. 27
Trump, while speaking at a press conference with UK Prime Minister Theresa May, placed himself close to the action during Brexit."I happened to be in Scotland, at Turnberry, cutting a ribbon, when Brexit happened," he said.
This is not true.
Trump arrived in Scotland the day after the EU referendum, June 24, 2016, when the result was already clear.
Donald Trump, Jan. 27
Trump criticized the New York Times over its coverage of the campaign and election in an interview with Christian broadcaster CBN."They actually apologized to their readers. They lost a lot of subscriptions not because their readers even like me, they said how inaccurate could you be?"
Not true.
The Times has said it did not apologize to its readers. Its paid subscriptions increased after the election.
Donald Trump, Jan. 27
In the same interview with CBN, Trump said, "If you were a Christian in Syria it was impossible, at least very, very tough to get into the United States. If you were a Muslim, you could come in, if you were a Christian, it was impossible."It was not impossible.
PolitiFact crunched the numbers with federal data: Since the beginning of 2012 to the end of January 2017, there were 19,324 refugees from Syria — 19,025 were Muslims and 199 were Christians. In Syria, 87% of people who list a faith say they are Muslim.
Donald Trump, Jan. 27
Trump bragged about his election results to CBN."And the Cuban-Americans, I got 84% of that vote. And they voted in big numbers."
It's not clear where Trump got this number, and it doesn't add up.
There doesn't appear to be any national tracking of Cuban-American voters. In Florida, where most Cuban-Americans live, Trump received only 54% of their votes.
Kellyanne Conway, Jan. 27
"Here's the fact," Kellyanne Conway told CBS's Charlie Rose. "The No. 1 source of income into Mexico are Mexicans working here and sending the money back."Not true.
Mexicans in the US sent a projected $27 billion to family members back in Mexico in 2016, what economists call remittances. But as pointed out by PolitiFact, the US purchase of Mexican goods alone is over 10 times the amount of remittances sent from the US — $295 billion in 2015.
Kellyanne Conway, Jan. 27
After Trump described voters being registered in multiple states as a sign of election fraud, it was discovered that his own daughter, Tiffany, was registered to vote in both New York and Pennsylvania. Kellyanne Conway denied that fact on The Today Show."I talked last night with Tiffany Trump and she said it is flatly false that she is registered in two states. She had been registered in Pennsylvania and went through the process, [and] said it was very byzantine and took a long time, but she said that she is not registered to vote in two states."
False.
Tiffany Trump was registered to vote in two states at the time of Conway's statement, NBC News reported.
Donald Trump, Jan. 29
Trump defended his controversial travel ban of people from several Muslim-majority countries in a Facebook post."My policy is similar to what President Obama did in 2011 when he banned visas for refugees from Iraq for six months."
That's false.
There were definitely serious delays to the flow of Iraqi refugees during a 2011 review of vetting procedures, but both fact-checkers at the Washington Post and PolitiFact said there was no ban and refugees continued to be admitted to the US, but at a much slower pace.
Sean Spicer, Jan. 29
In interviews and briefings related to the travel ban, Spicer kept referring to a terrorist attack in Atlanta."What do we say to the family who loses somebody over a terroristic [sic], to whether it's Atlanta or San Bernardino or the Boston bomber?"
This is misleading.
There has never been a terror attack in Atlanta committed by someone from one of the Muslim-majority countries subject to Trump's travel ban. A pipe bomb was detonated at the 1996 Olympics there — two people died — which was the work of an American from Florida and North Carolina who was upset about abortion rights and homosexuality.
Donald Trump, Jan. 30
Trump defended the chaotic rollout of his travel ban, assigning blame for the delays and confusion it caused to seemingly anyone but his administration."Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage, protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems."
This is a lie.
Mass outrage and confusion at airports — and in courtrooms — were directly caused by Trump's executive order, which travelers, immigration attorneys, airlines, judges, and customs officials struggled to interpret. The protests were peaceful. Delta's computer outage didn't happen until two days after the order was signed.
Sean Spicer, Jan. 30
Spicer downplayed the effects of the travel ban in an appearance on MSNBC's Morning Joe."Three hundred and twenty-five thousand people flew into this country from airports and 109 people were affected and slowed down in their travel."
That's not the whole story.
It's true that 109 people were detained at airports. But in all, at least 60,000 valid visas were revoked on Jan. 27, according to the State Department. That figure does not include refugees who were affected.
Sean Spicer, Jan. 31
At a White House press briefing, Spicer lashed out at reporters who used the word "ban" to describe Trump's executive order banning the entry of people from seven Muslim-majority countries into the US."It's not a Muslim ban. It's not a travel ban. It's a vetting system to keep America safe."
It's a ban.
And on multiple occasions, Trump called it a ban himself.
Donald Trump, Feb. 1
"Do you believe it? The Obama Administration agreed to take thousands of illegal immigrants from Australia. Why? I will study this dumb deal!" Trump tweeted.Not so.
The deal involved the US accepting 1,250 — not thousands — of refugees and asylum-seekers from Australian custody.
Donald Trump, Feb. 2
On his Facebook page, Trump shared an article with the headline, "Kuwait issues its own Trump-esque visa ban for five Muslim-majority countries.""Smart!" the president added.
The story was fake news.
The Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressly denied the reports.
Kellyanne Conway, Feb. 2
Conway criticized Democrats in Congress in an appearance on Fox & Friends for holding up approvals for Trump's cabinet nominees. "This is longest that the nation has gone without a secretary of the Treasury, at least in modern times. If it's not the longest, it's darn close to it."Incorrect.
The United States didn't have a president-appointed, Senate-confirmed secretary of Treasury for 34 days in 2013, PolitiFact reported. It had been 14 days since the inauguration when Conway made this claim. But there is no question that Democrats did slow down the process for several of Trump's nominees.
Sean Spicer, Feb. 2
At a White House press briefing, Spicer referred to an act of aggression by Iran ostensibly toward a US Navy ship."I think Gen. Flynn was really clear yesterday that Iran has violated the Joint Resolution, that Iran's additional hostile actions that it took against our Navy vessel are ones that we are very clear are not going to sit by and take."
That didn't happen.
Houthi rebels in Yemen, who have ties to the Iranian government, attacked a Saudi naval vessel, not a US one.
Kellyanne Conway, Feb. 2
Kellyanne Conway cited the false "Bowling Green Massacre" during an interview with @HardballChris but later clarifi… https://t.co/1w7UqqgRUn
In a now-famous interview with MSNBC's Chris Matthews, Conway decried people who had forgotten about the "Bowling Green massacre.""I bet it's brand-new information to people that President Obama had a six-month ban on the Iraqi refugee program after two Iraqis came here to this country, were radicalized, and they were the masterminds behind the Bowling Green massacre."
This is a lie.
There was no Bowling Green massacre. Two Iraqi nationals who lived in Bowling Green, Kentucky, were sentenced to federal prison terms after attempting to send money and weapons to assist al-Qaeda in Iraq. The two men also admitted during the legal process that they participated in attacks against US soldiers in Iraq.
Donald Trump, Feb. 3
After protests against his travel ban, Trump tweeted, "Professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters are proving the point of the millions of people who voted to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"There's no evidence people who protested Trump's travel ban were paid.
Donald Trump, Feb. 5
In an interview with Fox News, Trump repeated misleading numbers — which his administration had used before — about the travel ban."I think it was very smooth. We had 109 people out of hundreds of thousands of travelers and all we did was vet those people very, very carefully."
That's not the whole story.
At least 60,000 valid visas were revoked on Jan. 27, according to the State Department. That figure does not include refugees who were affected.
Donald Trump, Feb. 5
Trump said in a Fox News interview, "Sanctuary cities, as you know, I'm very much opposed to sanctuary cities. They breed crime. There's a lot of problems."Researchers say there's no statistically significant evidence that there is more crime in sanctuary cities when compared to non-sanctuary cities.
In general, higher concentrations of immigrants tend to have lower crime rates, the Washington Post reported.
Donald Trump, Feb. 5
Trump repeated a claim he made often on the campaign trail to Fox News: "I've been against the war in Iraq from the beginning."False.
In 2002, Trump said he supported invading Iraq.
Donald Trump, Feb. 6
In a speech at MacDill Air Force Base, Trump spoke about terrorist attacks in Europe."All across Europe, you've seen what happened in Paris and Nice. All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it."
That's a lie.
The Paris and Nice attacks that Trump mentioned were extensively covered by US media organizations. And it doesn't take more than a Google search to find media reports about other incidents.
Donald Trump, Feb. 6
In the same speech, Trump took credit for saving millions of taxpayer dollars."I have already saved more than $700 million when I got involved in the negotiation on the F-35. You know about that."
That's false.
Savings for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter were in the works before Trump began speaking about its cost, the Washington Postreported.
Donald Trump, Feb. 7
Trump, while speaking in the White House with sheriffs from around the US, said the country's murder rate was the highest it has been in "45 to 47 years."That's a lie.
The US murder rate is close to an all-time low, down more than half from a peak in 1980.
Donald Trump, Feb. 7
"It is a disgrace that my full Cabinet is still not in place, the longest such delay in the history of our country. Obstruction by Democrats!" the president tweeted.That's not the whole story.
Though overall Trump's nominees are getting confirmed more slowly than those of most previous modern presidents, he still hadn't been without a full cabinet longer than his predecessors were when he said this. Obama's final nominee wasn't confirmed, for example, until April 2009, and both Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush had nominees confirmed in March.
Donald Trump, Feb. 7
At a roundtable with county sheriffs, Trump complained about the "sudden" opposition to the construction of the Dakota Access pipeline. "And then, as you know, I did the Dakota pipeline and nobody called up to complain. Because it was unfair," Trump said."Years of getting approvals, nobody showed up to fight it, this company spends tremendous — hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars — and then all of a sudden people show up to fight it."
This is false.
Protest camps drew thousands of people and received national headlines in 2016, but opposition goes back earlier. One group of protesters gathered in 2015, before the pipeline was approved, the Des Moines Register reported. Native Americans voiced their opposition, and farmers met with then–presidential candidate Rand Paul to discuss their concerns.
Donald Trump, Feb. 9
Trump tweeted this about a CNN segment featuring Sen. Richard Blumenthal discussing Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch: "Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave 'service' in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS!"False.
The CNN anchor asked that exact question of Blumenthal.
Donald Trump, Feb. 9
Trump continued to criticize Blumenthal on Twitter as a liar. Blumenthal had told reporters that, in a private conversation, Gorsuch called Trump's verbal attacks on the judiciary "disheartening" and "demoralizing.""Sen.Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie),now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?" Trump tweeted.
Trump was wrong.
A spokesperson for Neil Gorsuch confirmed what Sen. Blumenthal had said.
Donald Trump, Feb. 10
Elaborating on his previous claims of voter fraud during a meeting with senators, Trump said "thousands" of people were "brought in on buses" from Massachusetts to vote illegally in New Hampshire.That's not true.
The New Hampshire secretary of state's office said there was no evidence to support the president's claim, the Boston Globe reported.
Donald Trump, Feb. 12
Trump on Twitter called CNN fake news and alleged the network tried to silence Sen. Bernie Sanders during a segment. "While on FAKE NEWS @CNN, Bernie Sanders was cut off for using the term fake news to describe the network. They said technical difficulties!"That's a mischaracterization.
Sanders said he was joking about the "fake news" remark, then audio cut out and CNN went to commercial. Sanders was still on after the commercial and went on to say it's "not a joke" to have a president who attacks members of the media.
Stephen Miller, Feb. 12
On ABC This Week, Miller expanded on the president's claim that thousands of Massachusetts residents were bused to New Hampshire to vote illegally."I have actually, having worked before on a campaign in New Hampshire, I can tell you that this issue of busing voters into New Hampshire is widely known by anyone who's worked in New Hampshire politics. It's very real. It's very serious."
Again, there's no evidence to support these claims.
Politico also reported on the sharp criticism Miller's statement drew from New Hampshire officials and political operatives.
Donald Trump, Feb. 16
Trump elaborated on a false claim made by press secretary Sean Spicer on Jan. 24."We got 306 [Electoral College votes] because people came out and voted like they've never seen before so that's the way it goes," Trump said during a press conference. "I guess it was the biggest Electoral College win since Ronald Reagan." (This went further than Spicer's comment in January, when he said Trump had the biggest Electoral College win since Reagan among Republicans.)
That's a lie.
The numbers hadn't changed since Spicer made his similar claim: Former presidents George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama have received more Electoral College votes than Trump.
Donald Trump, Feb. 16
Regarding the 9th Circuit Court of Appeal's halting of his travel ban, Trump criticized "the bad decision we received from a circuit that has been overturned at a record number. I have heard 80%, I find that hard to believe, that is just a number I heard, that they are overturned 80% of the time. I think that circuit is — that circuit is in chaos and that circuit is frankly in turmoil."The court did in 2015 have a reversal rate of 80%, but that's not a record or sign of turmoil.
The 11th Circuit had a reversal rate of 100% that year; in general, the Supreme Court reverses most of the Circuit court cases it decides to hear, FactCheck.org reported.
Donald Trump, Feb. 16
During the press conference where he was asked about his campaign's ties to Russia, Trump turned his attention to Hillary Clinton."You know, they say I'm close to Russia. Hillary Clinton gave away 20% of the uranium in the United States. She's close to Russia."
That's not what happened.
And it wasn't something Clinton was personally responsible for. The then–secretary of state was one of nine officials who agreed to approve the sale of a company that mined uranium in the US to a Russian firm. None of the uranium produced at the facility may be taken outside the US.
Donald Trump, Feb. 16
Trump took credit for a Walmart business decision during a press conference, saying, "Walmart announced it will create 10,000 jobs in the United States just this year because of our various plans and initiatives."This is misleading.
Walmart announced the expansion in October 2016, before Trump's victory.
Donald Trump, Feb. 18
Trump tonight mentioned an incident “last night in Sweden” There was no attack there last night This Fox segment… https://t.co/qwj3loSJgT
Trump had people around the world scratching their heads with his comments regarding national security at a campaign-style rally in Florida."Here's the bottom line, 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."
There was no terrorist attack in Sweden on Feb. 17.
Trump later admitted he was talking about a Fox News report that generally mentioned crime in Sweden.
Donald Trump, Feb. 18
At the rally, Trump criticized the country's system of admitting refugees."We've allowed thousands and thousands of people into our country. And there was no way to vet those people. There was no documentation. There was no nothing."
That's not at all how the system works.
Refugees face more stringent vetting than anyone entering the United States. Documentation must be provided, along with an interview. The information is also checked by officials from the National Counterterrorism Center, the FBI, DHS, the Defense Department, and the State Department.
Donald Trump, Feb. 18
At the same rally, Trump said, "Jobs are already starting to pour back in. They're coming back in like you haven't seen in a long time."This is false.
The data for the most recent jobs report at the time — showing 230,000 jobs were created — was collected in early January when Obama was still president.
Donald Trump, Feb. 23
Trump praised the progress his administration had made on illegal immigration in a meeting with business leaders."You see what's happening at the border, all of a sudden for the first time, we're getting gang members out, we're getting drug lords out. We're getting really bad dudes out of this country, and at a rate that nobody's ever seen before."
That's not true.
ICE and Border Patrol removed more than 2,000 gang members in 2016 and at least 60,000 other people with criminal convictions. At the time of Trump's statement, removals were at a similar or lower rate than they had been under Obama.
Donald Trump, Feb. 23
At the same meeting, Trump bemoaned the trade deficits the US was running with some countries."I am trying to find a country where we actually have a surplus — surplus of trade. Everything is a deficit. I actually said to my people: Find a country where we actually do well. So far, we haven't found that country."
Trump is wrong.
The Washington Post reported that the US has a trade surplus with Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the United Arab Emirates, Belgium, and Australia — among others. Also, economists don't agree that a trade deficit is necessarily a bad thing.
Donald Trump, Feb. 24
In a speech at CPAC, Trump made a claim about the number of jobs the Keystone XL pipeline would create."Could be 42,000 jobs, somewhere around there — a lot of jobs."
Those numbers are off.
Around 16,000 direct jobs, including construction jobs, will be created, according to the State Department. Once operational, the pipeline would require 35 permanent employees.
Donald Trump, Feb. 26
Trump tweeted, "The race for DNC Chairman was, of course, totally 'rigged.' Bernie's guy, like Bernie himself, never had a chance. Clinton demanded Perez!"There's no evidence anything was rigged.
Sanders publicly pushed back against Trump's claim.
Donald Trump, Feb. 27
At a meeting with the National Governors Association, Trump bemoaned the complications of health care. "Nobody knew health care could be so complicated," he said. This is bullshit.
Politicians and pundits have for years called health care policy complicated — including Trump himself on Jan. 11, when he noted, "So we're gonna do repeal and replace, very complicated stuff."
Donald Trump, Feb. 28
In his address to Congress, Trump painted a picture of sky-high unemployment. "Tonight, as I outline the next steps we must take as a country, we must honestly acknowledge the circumstances we inherited. Ninety-four million Americans are out of the labor force. ...More than one in five people in their prime working years are not working."
That twists the numbers.
The 94 million Americans not in the workforce include high school students, retirees, people who are disabled, and stay-at-home parents — not only people who want a job but can't find one.
Donald Trump, Feb. 28
In his address to Congress, Trump exaggerated the size of his defense budget. "I am sending Congress a budget that rebuilds the military, eliminates the defense sequester, and calls for one of the largest increases in national defense spending in American history," Trump said.
That's inaccurate.
Trump's budget director said his plan increased defense spending by about 10%. Ten budgets over the last several decades have featured a similar defense increase, and some years saw increases that were significantly higher — putting Trump's planned increase at about average.
Donald Trump, Feb. 28
While signing the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) executive order, Trump said the Environmental Protection Agency's regulators were "putting people out of jobs by the hundreds of thousands and regulations and permits started treating our wonderful small farmers and small businesses as if they were a major industrial polluter."There is no evidence to support the claim that Obama's Waters of the United States rule, which Trump is referring to, cost "hundreds of thousands" of jobs, according to the Washington Post's Fact Checker.
After the rule was issued by Obama's administration in 2015, it was blocked by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals and never actually took effect. There has been no evidence from either opponents of the rule or from the White House about its impact on jobs since it was stayed by the court.
Donald Trump, March 3
Trump accused the Democrats of delaying the approval of his Cabinet picks, tweeting, "It is so pathetic that the Dems have still not approved my full Cabinet."The White House was to blame for the delay.
At the time of Trump's tweet, the two remaining slots were unfilled because the White House had not sent the nominees' paperwork to the Senate.
The day before Trump's tweet, Sen. Marco Rubio had tweeted: "After the votes taken earlier this afternoon, the U.S. Senate has now confirmed all of the available Cabinet nominations."
Donald Trump, March 4
Comey says the FBI has no information that supports Trump's wiretapping claims.
Trump accused Obama of having his "wires tapped" in Trump Tower before he won the election. "Terrible! Just found out that Obama had my "wires tapped" in Trump Tower just before the victory. Nothing found. This is McCarthyism!" Trump's tweet said.
FBI Director James Comey said he had no evidence to support Trump's tweet, and no single president would have the authority to order a wiretap.
Rep. Devin Nunes, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee and a staunch Trump supporter, said there was no evidence to suggest Obama wiretapped Trump Tower, as did the committee's ranking Democrat, Rep. Adam Schiff. Attorney General Jeff Sessions also said he did not give Trump a reason to believe that he was wiretapped by Obama. The FBI did obtain a warrant to monitor the communications of Trump's adviser Carter Page's ties to Russia, the Washington Postreported.
Donald Trump, March 4
Trump continued his online feud with Arnold Schwarzenegger, claiming that he was fired as the host of The New Celebrity Apprentice."Arnold Schwarzenegger isn't voluntarily leaving the Apprentice, he was fired by his bad (pathetic) ratings, not by me. Sad end to great show," Trump tweeted.
This is false.
According to an NBC source, Schwarzenegger was not fired from the show. In a statement about his departure, Schwarzenegger said he was leaving because of the show's "baggage" and later indicated that viewers and advertisers were turning away from the show because of its association with Trump.
He also fired back at the president in a tweet: "You should think about hiring a new joke writer and a fact checker."
Donald Trump, March 6
In a video address touting his success in bringing back jobs, Trump took credit for an ExxonMobil plan to build and expand oil and natural gas plants on the Texas and Louisiana coasts. "This is something that was done to a large extent because of our policies and the policies of this new administration having to do with regulation and so many other things. I said we would bring back jobs. This is one example of it," Trump said.
This is misleading.
Exxon began its expansion in the US Gulf region in 2013, and many of its plans were announced before Trump took office.
Donald Trump, March 7
Trump slammed Obama for his decision to release Guantanamo Bay prisoners, tweeting from both his personal and his official White House account, "122 vicious prisoners, released by the Obama Administration from Gitmo, have returned to the battlefield. Just another terrible decision!"Trump is wrong about Obama being responsible for all of the detainees that re-engaged in terrorism-related activities.
From a total of 714 detainees released from Guantanamo, 121 re-engaged in terrorism-related activities, according to a 2017 report from the director of National Intelligence. (Trump likely got his 122 figure from the 2016 version of the report.) According to the 2017 report, of the 532 detainees who were released before Obama's presidency, 113 re-engaged in terrorism-related activities. Under Obama, 8 of 182 detainees who were released re-engaged in terrorism-related activities.
Sean Spicer, March 8
Spicer contrasted the circumstances around the release of Guantanamo Bay detainees under President Bush versus President Obama during a press briefing."Just to be clear, there is a big difference. Under the Bush administration most of those were court-ordered. The Obama administration took great steps. They talked about — it was a campaign promise, frankly, from day one to close Gitmo."
This is inaccurate.
532 detainees were released or transferred under President Bush, and less than a dozen of those were ordered by the court, according to several legal experts.
Kellyanne Conway, March 12
Conway implied that microwaves can be used to spy on people."There are many ways to surveil each other now unfortunately," she said in an interview with the Bergen Record. "There was an article this week that talked about how you can surveil someone through their phones, certainly through their television sets, any number of different ways. And microwaves that turn into cameras."
No.
There are no microwaves that have turned into cameras as of yet.
Donald Trump, March 15
Regarding the Affordable Care Act, Trump told a Tennessee rally, "It's a catastrophic situation, and there's nothing to compare anything to because Obamacare won't be around for a year or two. It's gone."This is misleading.
The Congressional Budget Office said the individual market would be stable in most places for at least 10 years under ACA, the Washington Post reported.
Donald Trump, March 15
.@TuckerCarlson to @POTUS: “Why not wait to tweet about [‘wiretapping’] until you can prove it?” #Tucker
While walking back his claims of Obama wiretapping him, Trump said it was important to note that he put the word "wiretapping" in quotes."And don't forget, when I say wiretapping, those words were in quotes," he told Fox News host Tucker Carlson. "That really covers, because wiretapping is pretty old-fashioned stuff. But that really covers surveillance and many other things. And nobody ever talks about the fact that it was in quotes, but that's a very important thing."
This is a lie.
Trump tweeted four times about Obama wiretapping him. He used quotations in two of those tweets, and in two he did not.
Donald Trump, March 17
During a White House press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Trump said, "Germany has done very well in its trade deals with the US, and I give them credit for it."This is inaccurate.
Germany has no direct trade deals with the US. The European Union negotiates with the US on behalf of its member states.
Donald Trump, March 18
"Germany owes vast sums of money to NATO & the United States must be paid more for the powerful, and very expensive, defense it provides to Germany!" Trump said in tweets.Trump apparently misunderstood how NATO's joint defense works.
Germany currently spends 1.2% of its GDP on defense, short of the NATO target of 2%. But the defense spending isn't paid to NATO or the US, so Germany does not owe them anything.
Donald Trump, March 20
Referring to FBI Director James Comey's testimony about Russian involvement in the 2016 elections, Trump tweeted: "The NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence electoral process."That is a mischaracterization.
Trump was referring to the National Security Agency director Michael Rogers' testimony about Russia not changing vote tallies in specific states. Comey testified that Russia used "active measures" to influence the election in favor of Trump.
Sean Spicer, March 20
.@PressSec w/ what can at the very least be called a false statement: Paul Manafort—Trump's former campaign chair!—… https://t.co/92G3AV9aar
Spicer tried to distance the administration from Paul Manafort, who was under fire for his alleged ties to the Russian government. "Obviously there's been discussion of Paul Manafort, who played a very limited role for a very limited amount of time," Spicer said at a press briefing.
This is a lie.
Manafort was Trump's campaign chair — a critical role — and chief strategist.
Donald Trump, March 21
Trump claimed that TransCanada — the company behind the Keystone XL pipeline — "dropped" a $14 billion lawsuit against the US after he threatened to "terminate" the project. At the National Republican Congressional Committee's March fundraiser, Trump appeared to recall a conversation he had with Gary Cohn, the director of the National Economic Council.
"I said, wait a minute. I'm approving the pipeline and they're suing us for $14 billion, and I've already approved it, right? I said, I just heard it. Go back to them and tell them if they don't drop the suit immediately we are going to terminate the deal. You have great — you know, being president gives you great power, right? So I just saw him this morning — I said, by the way, how did you do? He said, sir, they dropped the suit. Good."
This is false.
TransCanada did not "drop" a multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the US. It suspended an arbitration claim filed with the North American Free Trade Agreement in order to give the State Department time to approve the presidential permit granted by Trump.
Donald Trump, March 22
In a Time magazine interview about falsehoods, Trump defended his previous comments on Sweden that had falsely suggested the occurrence of a terrorist attack in the country."Sweden. I make the statement, everyone goes crazy. The next day they have a massive riot, and death, and problems," Trump said.
Trump exaggerated.
There was a riot in a predominantly immigrant suburb of Stockholm, but no one died.
Donald Trump, March 22
In the Time interview Trump also exaggerated the impact of the FBI's investigation into Anthony Weiner's laptop."Huma [Abedin] and Anthony [Weiner], you know, what I tweeted about that whole deal, and then it turned out he had it, all of Hillary's email on his thing," Trump said.
This is a big exaggeration.
"All of Hillary's emails" were not found on Weiner's laptop. After a review of thousands of Huma Abedin's emails on the laptop, the FBI reportedly found mostly already reviewed duplicates.
Donald Trump, March 22
In an oft-repeated reference, Trump cited a National Enquirer story to point to Ted Cruz's father, Rafael Cruz, having breakfast with John F. Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald. "Well, that was in a newspaper," Trump said. "No, no, I like Ted Cruz, he's a friend of mine. But that was in the newspaper. I wasn't, I didn't say that. I was referring to a newspaper. A Ted Cruz article referred to a newspaper story with, had a picture of Ted Cruz, his father, and Lee Harvey Oswald, having breakfast."
There is no evidence to support the National Enquirer's story.
The Cruz campaign has said, "The story is false; that is not Rafael in the picture."
Donald Trump, March 24
At a White House ceremony, Trump said, "Today I am thrilled to announce that Charter Communications has just committed to investing $25 billion — with a B, $25 billion — you're sure that's right, right? With a B, right — $25 billion here in the United States, and has committed further to hiring 20,000 American workers over the next four years."This is misleading.
Charter's billion-dollar investment and commitment to hiring 20,000 workers had been in the works since 2015 as part of its merger with Time Warner Cable.
Donald Trump, March 24
At the same ceremony, Trump said, "Charter's announcement follows a number of American businesses — from Exxon to Intel to Lockheed to Boeing to many others — that have recently announced billions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs coming into the United States following my election victory."In regard to Intel, that's incorrect.
The company had already announced the same plan in 2011 — it just announced it again with Trump in office.
Donald Trump, April 4
Trump slammed Obama for not building anything from the "trillion dollar" infrastructure bill approved during his administration. "You know, there was very large infrastructure bill that was approved during the Obama administration — a trillion dollars — nobody ever saw anything being built," he said during a CEO town hall meeting. "I mean, to this day, I haven't heard of anything that's been built. They used most of that money — it went, and they used it on social programs. And we want this to be on infrastructure."
Trump says nothing was built, but things were, in fact, built.
$80 billion went to road, bridge, and building projects, including the DFW connector in Dallas-Fort Worth, a truck route in Tampa, a light rail in Salt Lake City, and a hospital at Camp Pendleton. The overall stimulus bill involved various types of funding, much of which was not spent on infrastructure but on other types of programs.
Donald Trump, April 4
At the CEO town hall meeting, Trump tried to discuss how unemployment was calculated, saying, "But when you look for a job, you can't find it and you give up. You are now considered statistically employed. But I don't consider those people employed."He is wrong.
In government reports, people who are unemployed and stop looking for work are labeled as "discouraged workers" — they are not considered "employed."
Donald Trump, April 11
In a New York Post interview, Trump downplayed the importance of his chief strategist, Steve Bannon, amid reports of Bannon's ideological rifts with the president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. "I like Steve, but you have to remember he was not involved in my campaign until very late," Trump said. "I had already beaten all the senators and all the governors, and I didn't know Steve."
This contradicts Trump's previous statements on Bannon.
When Trump announced he was hiring Bannon in August 2016, he said that he had known him for "many years." According to a Real Clear Politics report, they first met in 2011 as Trump was considering a 2012 presidential campaign.
Donald Trump, April 11
"Toyota just announced that it will invest more than $1.3 billion — it's probably going to be $1.9 billion — into its Georgetown, Kentucky, plant, an investment that would not have been made if we didn't win the election," Trump said at a meeting with CEOs at the White House.This is misleading.
Two Toyota representatives dismissed the president's claim. They said his election victory played no role in the investment decision, which "predated" the Trump administration by "several years."
Sean Spicer, April 11
Sean Spicer just claimed that Hitler never used chemical weapons: https://t.co/iXjzTJ5eys
While talking about the Syrian government's recent chemical attack against its civilians during a press briefing, Spicer said, "We didn't use chemical weapons in World War II. We had someone as despicable as Hitler who didn't even sink to using chemical weapons...I think when you come to sarin gas, he was not using the gas on his own people the same way that Assad is doing."This is wrong.
Chemical weapons were not used on the battlefield in WWII, but during the Holocaust, Hitler used gas chambers to exterminate millions of Jewish people in concentration camps — many of whom were Germans. After issuing several clarifications about his statements, Spicer apologized for his "inappropriate and insensitive" comments.
Donald Trump, April 12
Trump has totally changed his mind on NATO. He now says "it's no longer obsolete," in press conference with NATO Se… https://t.co/oJ3w15SVQ4
During a press conference with the NATO secretary, Trump said, "The secretary general and I had a productive conversation about what more NATO can do in the fight against terrorism," Trump said. "I complained about that a long time ago, and they made a change. Now they do fight terrorism. I said it was obsolete. It's no longer obsolete."This is false on two counts.
First, NATO has been involved in counterterrorism efforts since the 1980s. And second, Trump was not responsible for it making a change, which likely referred to the creation of an assistant secretary general for intelligence and security position at NATO.
Donald Trump, April 12
.@POTUS: "We are sending an armada, very powerful. We have submarines, very powerful. Far more powerful than the ai… https://t.co/rz4KZYgxI6
In an interview with Fox Business, Trump claimed he was "sending an armada" to North Korea as a warning signal to the country. When asked what he was doing about North Korea, Trump first said, "You never know, do you." He then said, "I don't want to talk about it. We are sending an armada, very powerful. We have submarines, very powerful, far more powerful than the aircraft carrier, that I can tell you."
This is misleading.
At the time Trump said he was sending the "armada" to North Korea, the US aircraft carrier was actually headed to Australia to participate in joint exercises with the Australian navy as scheduled, the New York Times first reported. The Times' report highlighted the confusion among Pentagon and White House officials about the timeline of the carrier's course, perpetuating the false belief that the armada was on its way to North Korea at the time of Trump's statement.
Donald Trump, April 12
During the Fox Business interview, Trump claimed that the New York Times removed the word "wiretapped" from its headline for a story about the investigation into alleged ties between Russia and his associates. "The New York Times said the word 'wiretapped' in the headline of the first edition. Then they took it out of there fast when they realized," Trump said.
This is false.
Trump mixed up different headlines for the Times' print and online edition. The print version headline always had the word "wiretapped" in it, while the headline for the online version did not.
Donald Trump, April 12
Trump claimed that the US-led campaign to reclaim the Iraqi city of Mosul was supposed to last only a week. "Mosul was supposed to last for a week and now they've been fighting it for many months and so many more people died," Trump told Fox Business.
This is false.
At the outset of the operation, the commander of the US-led coalition said in a statement, "This operation to regain control of Iraq's second-largest city will likely continue for weeks, possibly longer."
Donald Trump, April 12
Referring to his airstrikes in Syria, Trump faulted the Obama administration for not taking similar action. "What I did should have been done by the Obama administration a long time before I did it and you would have had a much better — I think Syria would be a lot better off right now than it has been," Trump said during the Fox Business interview.
This is a wild contradiction.
While Obama was president, Trump repeatedly and publicly urged him not to attack Syria.
Donald Trump, April 12
In an interview with the Associated Press, Trump said he had never heard of WikiLeaks until it released the Clinton emails during the election."When WikiLeaks came out ... never heard of WikiLeaks, never heard of it," Trump said. "When WikiLeaks came out, all I was just saying is, 'Well, look at all this information here. This is pretty good stuff.'"
This is a lie.
Trump had called WikiLeaks "disgraceful" in 2010 when Chelsea Manning leaked classified documents to the organization, CNN reported. He also brought up WikiLeaks during a 2010 interview with Fox Business, saying, "You look at WikiLeaks, I mean, in China, if this would've happened the people would get a bullet through their head within 24 hours and here in this country we're embarrassed, everybody's embarrassed. We're calling the leaders of other countries horrible names — how do you go back and negotiate with people with that. That's just not the way life works. As far as I'm concerned it's spying, it's espionage."
Donald Trump, April 18
Trump said that he directed pipeline manufacturers, including those for the Keystone XL pipeline, to use only American steel. "I support the concept of everything from the US," Trump said in an interview with WTMJ. "You know, I don't know if you saw, but I approved a pipeline, right, called the Keystone pipeline, and other pipelines. And I want them to use American steel, American product. I want it manufactured here. And I made those changes just before we signed it. I said, Where's the steel coming from? So, all pipelines that are coming into this country from now on has to be American steel, which is really a big factor."
This is misleading.
Trump has directed pipeline manufacturers to use US steel, but it doesn't have to be American steel. As for the Keystone XL pipeline, it had already been manufactured when Trump made his directive. About half was made with steel from outside the US.
Sean Spicer, April 19
Spicer doubled down on Trump's claim that an armada was heading to North Korea. During a press briefing, Spicer said, "The president said we have an armada going toward the [Korean] peninsula. That's a fact. It happened. It is happening, rather."He's twisting the situation.
At the time that Trump stated that he was sending an "armada" to North Korea, the US aircraft carrier was actually headed to Australia to participate in joint exercises with the Australian navy.
Donald Trump, April 19
Trump blamed the Obama administration for the spread of a violent international gang. "The weak illegal immigration policies of the Obama Admin. allowed bad MS 13 gangs to form in cities across U.S. We are removing them fast!" Trump said in a tweet.
This is not accurate.
Criminal and Latin American experts say that the problem began much earlier. And most agree that aggressive deportation policies played a key role into turning the gang into an international criminal threat.
Donald Trump, April 23
Trump indicated in two tweets — mostly about poll numbers — that he beat Hillary Clinton in the popular vote: "New polls out today are very good considering that much of the media is FAKE and almost always negative. Would still beat Hillary in popular vote. ABC News/Washington Post Poll (wrong big on election) said almost all stand by their vote on me & 53% said strong leader."This is a lie.
Clinton won the 2016 presidential election popular vote by nearly 3 million votes.
Donald Trump, April 26
After a federal judge barred the Trump administration from enforcing part of the president's January executive order which denied federal funds for sanctuary cities, Trump tweeted: "First the Ninth Circuit rules against the ban & now it hits again on sanctuary cities-both ridiculous rulings. See you in the Supreme Court!"He added, "Out of our very big country, with many choices, does everyone notice that both the 'ban' case and now the 'sanctuary' case is brought in the Ninth Circuit, which has a terrible record of being overturned (close to 80%). They used to call this 'judge shopping!' Messy system."
Trump went after the wrong court.
Judge William Orrick, who issued the ruling against Trump's executive order on sanctuary cities, doesn't sit on the 9th Circuit. He is a US district court judge for Northern California. The 9th Circuit would be the next court to hear an appeal of the decision.
Trump, Spicer, Conway, and Miller photographs: Getty Images