According to Merriam-Webster, a con man is known for being a master manipulator who uses charm, flattery, and false promises to win over their targets.
During his speech at the Republican National Convention, former President Donald Trump made numerous false claims on various topics. Here are some notable examples:
Immigration
Claim: Immigrants are coming from prisons, jails, mental institutions, and insane asylums.
Fact: There is no evidence to support this claim. Immigration officials arrested about 103,700 noncitizens with criminal convictions from fiscal years 2021 to 2024, but this does not mean they were all allowed into the U.S. Moreover, many immigrants face barriers to mental health treatment in their home countries, suggesting they are not coming from psychiatric hospitals.
Economy
Claim: The U.S. had the greatest economy in the history of the world under his presidency.
Fact: This is inaccurate. The pandemic triggered a massive recession during Trump's presidency, and economic growth averaged 2.67% during his first three years, which is lower than the 4% growth during Bill Clinton's terms. The government borrowed $3.1 trillion in 2020 to stabilize the economy, and Trump left office with fewer jobs than when he started.
Crime
Claim: There has been a spike in violent crime due to an influx of migrants.
Fact: National statistics show that violent crime is on the way down, and studies have found that people living in the country illegally are less likely than native-born Americans to commit crimes.
Foreign Policy
Claim: Trump claimed to be the first modern president not to initiate new wars.
Fact: This overlooks ongoing conflicts and military actions during his presidency, including civil wars in Yemen and Syria, and U.S. troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Claim: Trump falsely claimed to have defeated "100 percent of ISIS."
Fact: The ISIS caliphate was declared fully liberated more than two years into his presidency, but the group was not entirely defeated.
Taxes
Claim: Democrats are proposing to quadruple people's taxes.
Fact: This is a baseless claim. Budget proposals and campaign promises made by President Biden do not support this assertion.
Election Integrity
Claim: Democrats exploited Covid-19 to manipulate the 2020 election.
Fact: There is no evidence to support this claim. Changes in voting procedures during the pandemic were aimed at facilitating safe voting practices, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency stated that the 2020 election was the most secure in American history.
Inflation and Prices
Claim: The price of groceries is up 57% under Biden.
Fact: This is exaggerated. Actual figures show inflation is currently at 3%, and grocery prices have a less dramatic increase of about 21%.
IRS Agents
Claim; The government recently hired 88,000 IRS agents.
Fact: This number comes from a projection in a 2021 Treasury Department report, which anticipated 87,000 new hires over the next decade due to the Inflation Reduction Act.
Human Trafficking:
Claim: That he stopped human trafficking.
Fact: This is a lie.
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