Double Check: Fact Checking Day 3 of the Democratic National Convention
Photo: Lorie ShaullHere's Logically's round-up of fact checks from another big day of political events.
The ten most dangerous cities in the U.S. are all run by Democrats.
MISLEADING
During the 2020 presidential election race, President Donald Trump has claimed on multiple occasions that Democrats run the most dangerous cities in the U.S. While the cities with the highest crimes have Democrat mayors, studies show little correlation between party affiliation and crime.
Preliminary data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report covering the first half of 2019 shows the ten cities with the highest overall violent crimes in decreasing order are places controlled by Democrats. However, the ranking of cities based on the FBI crime data does not portray a realistic picture of the density of criminal activities in the region because of the varied demographic and cultural factors that are at play in each city. The FBI itself explicitly warns against this type of ranking.
On Palm Beach, Trump led a crusade to allow Jews and Blacks into private clubs.
MISLEADING
Mar-a-Lago (in Spanish, sea-to-lake) was a mansion built by cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1927. Trump bought the 128-room, 20-acre estate and its furnishings in 1985, for $9 million. He used Mar-a-Lago as a private residence until 1995 and then tried to subdivide the property but was denied. He then turned it into a private club and opened it to anyone who could afford the $100,000 initiation fee. But it was a business move, not a crusade. Laurence Leamer wrote in his book, 'Mar-a-Lago: Inside the Gates of Power at Donald Trump's Presidential Palace,' that Trump's lawyer Paul Rampell persuaded Trump of the business value of a wider membership by arguing that Palm Beach had many Jewish residents, but they had no real club of their own.
Trump administration has done more to combat human trafficking than any other in modern history
MISLEADING
While he has passed laws, Trump's harsh immigration policies and changes in visa processes have put several immigrants at risk of human trafficking.
On the fourth night of the Republican National Convention (RNC), Sean Reyes, Attorney General of Utah, dubbed President Donald Trump a 'warrior against child trafficking.' During Trump's speech on the same night, he claimed that he took down child traffickers who prey on women and children.
Since taking office, Trump vowed to combat an epidemic of human trafficking in the United States. In a Washington Post op-ed penned by Ivanka Trump, she reiterated her father's claims that human trafficking was one of his government's top priorities.
While Trump's administration has signed certain legislation targeting child trafficking and provided funding to groups helping victims of child trafficking, his administration has also come under fire from experts and civil society activists for some of his policies. His administration has been criticized for its anti-immigration policies, its decrease in investigations, and the discriminatory treatment of LGBTQ individuals, making people more vulnerable to trafficking.
Jean Bruggeman, the executive director of Freedom Network USA told the Post the Trump administration policy limited the number of asylum seekers allowed to cross the border, and other restrictions meant people fleeing trafficking are not getting the help they need. She also said long wait times and rule changes for T-visas, designated for victims of crimes and their families, have discouraged some survivors from stepping forward.
100% of ISIS Caliphate obliterated by Trump.
FALSE
On the concluding night of the Republican National Convention, multiple speakers asserted that ISIS, the jihadist terrorist organization, has been completely eliminated. The parents of Kayla Mueller, a humanitarian worker who was held captive, tortured and killed by ISIS in February 2015 spoke on the occasion. They spoke about the atrocities she endured and appreciated the Trump administration for the killing of ISIS founder and chief Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
More than 10,000 Islamic State fighters are estimated to remain active in Iraq and Syria, and have been responsible for several attacks alone in 2020.
Joe Biden has promised to give away healthcare dollars to immigrants
MISLEADING
On the fourth night of the Republican National Convention, Trump claimed that Biden has promised to use taxpayers money to provide healthcare to immigrants. This is misleading and Biden's stance has been taken out of context. When Biden was asked if undocumented immigrants who are law-abiding citizens should be entitled to federal benefits, Medicare and Medicaid, Biden responded by saying if anyone needs healthcare, regardless of whether they’re documented or undocumented, they should see that they’re cared for. He further said this is why America needs more clinics.
In conclusion, even though Biden did state that the U.S. had an obligation to ensure immigrants received health care, his view has been largely misrepresented by Trump. While he would extend healthcare access to undocumented immigrants through the marketplace, it would not be government-subsidized.
US has the lowest COVID-19 case fatality rates of any major country in the world
FALSE
The US case fatality rate at 3.1% is higher than Russia, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Norway, and Japan.
Joe Biden called the China travel ban 'xenophobic'.
MISLEADING
On the concluding night of the Republican National Convention, President Donald Trump claimed that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden had called the China travel ban 'hysterical' and 'xenophobic.'
Joe Biden has used the word 'xenophobia' in the context of Trump's handling of the coronavirus crisis and not for the China travel ban.
Trump has done more for the African American community than any President since Abraham Lincoln
FALSE
Several presidents have presided over historic gains for the african-american community since Abraham Lincoln. Most notably, Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act, which has had a lasting impact on black americans, and is an achievement far beyond the scope of anything accomplished by the Trump administration in the area of racial justice.
Biden allowed Chinese fentanyl flood the southern borders
PARTLY TRUE
The fentanyl crisis started and rose significantly under the Obama-Biden administration, however, it is still a growing problem in the U.S in 2020.
More than half of the nation's overdose deaths in 2019 involved synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, with deaths related to synthetic opioid overdoses accounting for 36,500 of the 70,980 deaths in 2019. According to the White House's preliminary data, drug overdose deaths have risen significantly in 2020, primarily due to Covid-19. Overdose deaths were up by 11.4% from January to April of 2020 compared to the same period in 2019. Therefore, while the fentanyl crisis grew significantly under the Obama-Biden administration, the issue is still significantly affecting Americans in 2020. Therefore, we conclude that this claim is Partly True.
The US secured energy independence for the first time.
FALSE
It is inaccurate that the US is energy independent. It still imports oil from the Middle East, and global prices influence domestic oil prices.
Trump gave historic funding increases for high-quality child care.
MISLEADING
On the fourth night of the Republican National Convention, Ivanka Trump claimed that President Donald Trump secured the largest ever increase for the Child Care and Development Fund. While he did sign the funding into law, she did not mention Trump's initial proposal for cutting $95m from the funding.
Trump had initially proposed a funding cut to the program. His 2018 budget proposal called for a $95 million decrease in the program compared with actual spending in 2017. Ultimately Congress approved a boost, and Trump signed it into law.
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