Get the Facts: Fact-checking the presidential debate between Biden, Trump

For the first time since 2020, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump shared the debate stage Thursday.Similar to the candidates' previous meetings, some of the statements made during the debate require clarification or further explanation.Our National Investigative Unit is fact-checking tonight's debate and breaking down the context of both candidates' statements.Trump’s false claims about the economyClaim: Former President Donald Trump is still repeating a claim we've heard before about the economy under his leadership, saying, “We had the greatest economy in the history of our country, and we have never done so well. Everybody was amazed by it. Other countries were copying us."Get the Facts: Economists generally measure our economy's health by looking at the GDP, which is the gross domestic product, and adjusting it for inflation. That basically means the monetary value of the goods and services we produce here in the U.S. Under Trump, the growth was modest. At most, it grew 3% in 2018. An analysis of government data by our partners at FactCheck.org found the economy grew at a faster annual rate 48 times and under every president before and after Trump, dating back to 1930, except under Barack Obama and Herbert Hoover.Biden misstates a pandemic claimClaim: When talking about the pandemic, President Biden made a claim about Donald Trump and how he told people to get rid of the coronavirus. "The pandemic was so badly handled, many people were dying. All he said was, 'it's not that serious, just inject a little bleach in your arm. You'll be alright.'"Get the Facts: This is not what Trump said. Back in 2020, during a news conference, Trump suggested that scientists test the use of "very powerful light" and "disinfectant" in the body to kill the virus. He mentioned an injection at one point, but he never said to use bleach, and he did not tell people to inject themselves.Trump’s misleading claim on energy independenceClaim: Donald Trump claimed that the U.S. was "energy independent" when he was president, suggesting that is no longer the case under Biden, saying, "On Jan. 6, we were energy independent.”Get the Facts: That’s not true. The U.S. is still producing record amounts of oil under President Biden. According to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Their data shows that during Biden's term, the U.S. has exported more energy, including petroleum, than imported, and we have produced more energy than consumed. Biden’s comment on the health care needs contextClaim: President Joe Biden has always praised the Affordable Care Act and made this statement about Donald Trump’s feelings about it; "He wants to get rid of the ACA again, and they're going to try again if they win."Get the Facts: That comment needs more context. According to our partners at FactCheck.org, Trump has said in the past that he wants to get rid of the law. But in March of this year, Trump wrote on social media that he wants to make it “better," “stronger” and “far less expensive.” Trump wrote on social media that he wants to make it a formal health care plan, but the former president has not released one. Trump’s false claim on raising taxesClaim: Donald Trump made the statement that President Joe Biden wants to raise taxes. "He's the only one I know, he wants to raise your taxes by four times."Get the Facts: Looking at an analysis from the nonprofit group Tax Foundation, President Biden's proposed tax increases would be about $4.4 trillion over 10 years. The Congressional Budget Office says that under current policies, without those proposals, the U.S. would collect $62.6 trillion. So that means Biden's policies would increase taxes by about 7%. That's a lot less than "four times," and many of Biden's tax proposals would affect corporations and higher-income level taxpayers. Trump's inaccurate claim on abortionClaim: “The problem they have is they’re radical because they will take the life of a child in the eighth month, the ninth month, and even after birth, after birth," Donald Trump said.Get the Facts: Trump inaccurately referred to abortions after birth. Infanticide is criminalized in every state, and no state has passed a law that allows killing a baby after birth.Abortion rights advocates say terms like this and “late-term abortions” attempt to stigmatize abortions later in pregnancy. Abortions later in pregnancy are exceedingly rare. In 2020, less than 1% of abortions in the United States were performed at or after 21 weeks, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Abortions later in pregnancy also are usually the result of serious complications, such as fetal anomalies, that put the life of the woman or fetus at risk, medical experts say. In most cases, these are also wanted pregnancies, experts say.Misleading information on migrantsTrump, referring to Biden: “He’s the one that killed people with a bad border and flooding hundreds of thousands of people dying and also killing our citizens when they come in.”Get the Facts: A mass influx of migrants coming into the U.S. illegally across the southern border has led to a number of false and misleading claims by Trump. For example, he regularly claims other countries are emptying their prisons and mental institutions to send to the U.S. There is no evidence to support that.Trump has also argued the influx of immigrants is causing a crime surge in the U.S., although statistics actually show violent crime is on the way down.There have been recent high-profile and heinous crimes allegedly committed by people in the country illegally. But FBI statistics do not separate out crimes by the immigration status of the assailant, nor is there any evidence of a spike in crime perpetrated by migrants, either along the U.S.-Mexico border or in cities seeing the greatest influx of migrants, like New York. Studies have found that people living in the country illegally are less likely than native-born Americans to have been arrested for violent, drug and property crimes. For more than a century, critics of immigration have sought to link new arrivals to crime. In 1931, the Wickersham Commission did not find any evidence supporting a connection between immigration and increased crime, and many studies since then have reached similar conclusions.Texas is the only state that tracks crimes by immigration status. A 2020 study published by the National Academy of Sciences found “considerably lower felony arrest rates” among people in the United States illegally than legal immigrants or native-born.Some crime is expected, given the large population of immigrants. There were an estimated 10.5 million people in the country illegally in 2021, according to the latest estimate by Pew Research Center, a figure that has almost certainly risen with large influxes at the border. In 2022, the Census Bureau estimated the foreign-born population at 46.2 million, or nearly 14% of the total, with most states seeing double-digit percentage increases in the last dozen years.Trump’s statement on border control Claim: Donald Trump made the statement about the number of drugs he says are coming through the southern border, saying, “But the number of drugs coming across our border now is the largest we've ever had by far.” Get the Facts: That’s not true, at least according to the data that's kept, which only covers drugs seized by border patrol officials. The data can't account for drugs that are illegally smuggled. The number of drugs that are seized is trending down under Biden. For example, in 2020, 1.1 million pounds of drugs were seized by the border patrol and the Office of Field Operations. In 2021, 913,000 pounds were seized. The number continues to go down every year since. Biden's false endorsement Claim: During the debate, Joe Biden claimed the U.S. Border Patrol endorsed him, saying, "By the way, the Border Patrol endorsed me, endorsed my position."Get the Facts: Minutes later, the Border Patrol Union – National Border Patrol Council posted a message on X reading, "To be clear, we never have and never will endorse Biden."Argument over who is considered the worst president Claim: During the CNN Presidential Debate, former President Trump and President Biden traded barbs over who is considered the worst president."He's without question the worst president, the worst president in the history of our country," Trump said.Biden later responded, "And by the way, worst president in history, 159 presidential Scholars voted him the worst president in the history of the United States of America."Get the Facts: Biden's statement is true, according to the "⁠Presidential Greatness Project," which is managed by two professors at the University of Houston and Coastal Carolina University. They conducted an online survey in November and December 2023 to create a ranking of "Presidential Greatness."Five hundred and twenty-five respondents were invited to participate, including "current and recent members of the Presidents & Executive Politics Section of the American Political Science Association, which is the foremost organization of social science experts in presidential politics, as well as scholars who had recently published peer-reviewed academic research in key related scholarly journals or academic presses."Of the 154 "usable responses," Donald Trump was rated lowest by the group, while Abraham Lincoln was rated as the greatest president. President Biden ranked as the 14th greatest out of all presidents. Former President Obama was ranked seventh.Biden's reference to Trump's alleged 'suckers and losers' commentClaim: During the CNN Presidential Debate, President Biden referred to an article published by The Atlantic in September 2020 that quoted Trump, while president, referring to military members who lost their lives as "suckers" and "losers." Citing sources, the Atlantic reported that when canceling a 2018 visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery near Paris for the centennial anniversary of the end of World War I, Trump said, “Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” The article continues: "In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 Marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as 'suckers' for getting killed."Get the Facts: Trump has repeatedly denied he ever made those comments, including a denial during the CNN debate, despite the New York Times and other media outlets corroborating the events. Retired four-star Marine General John F. Kelly, who was Trump's White House chief of staff, also said Trump used that language.Trump claims Biden called the Black population 'super predators'Claim: “What he’s done to the Black population is horrible, including the fact that for 10 years he called them ‘super predators.’ … We can’t forget that — super predators … And they’ve taken great offense at it," Trump said.Get the Facts: This oft-repeated claim by Trump dating back to the 2020 campaign is untrue. It was Hillary Clinton, then the first lady, who used the term “super predator” to advocate for the 1994 crime bill that Biden co-authored more than 30 years ago. Biden did warn of “predators” in a floor speech in support of his bill.Biden's claims on Charlottesville rallyClaim: Biden, referring to Trump after the deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017: “The one who said I think they’re fine people on both sides."Get the Facts: Trump did use those words to describe attendees of the deadly rally, which was planned by white nationalists. But as Trump supporters have pointed out, he also said that day that he wasn’t talking about the neo-Nazis and white nationalists in attendance.“You had some very bad people in that group,” Trump said during a news conference a few days after the rally, “But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.”He then added that he wasn’t talking about “the neo-Nazis and the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally.” Instead, he said, the press had been unfair in its treatment of protesters who were there to innocently and legally protest the removal of a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.The gathering planned by white nationalists shocked the nation when it exploded into chaos: violent brawling in the streets, racist and antisemitic chants, smoke bombs, and finally, a car speeding into a crowd of counter-protesters, killing one and injuring dozens more.Trump touts record on environmentClaim: Trump, touting his environmental record, said that “during my four years, I had the best environmental numbers ever” and that he supports “immaculate” air and water.Get the Facts: That’s far from the whole story. During his presidency, Trump rolled back some provisions of the Clean Water Act, eased regulations on coal, oil and gas companies and pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accord. When wildfires struck California in 2020, Trump dismissed the scientific consensus that climate change had played a role. Trump also dismissed scientists’ warnings about climate change and routinely proposed deep cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency. Those reductions were blocked by Democratic and Republican lawmakers.Trump's comments on Wall Street Journal reporter detained in RussiaClaim: Trump, on Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was detained in Russia: “He should have had him out a long time ago, but Putin’s probably asking for billions and billions of dollars because this guy pays it every time.”Get the Facts: Trump is wrong to say that Biden pays any sort of fee “every time” to secure the release of hostages and wrongfully detained Americans. There’s also zero evidence that Putin is asking for any money in order to free Gershkovich. Just like in the Trump administration, the deals during the Biden administration that have brought home hostages and detainees involved prisoner swaps — not money transfers.Trump’s reference to money appeared to be about the 2023 deal in which the U.S. secured the release of five detained Americans in Iran after billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets were transferred from banks in South Korea to Qatar. The U.S. has said that the money would be held in restricted accounts and will only be able to be used for humanitarian goods, such as medicine and food.Biden's comments on insulinClaim: “It’s $15 for an insulin shot as opposed to $400," Biden said.Get the Facts: No, that’s not exactly right. Out-of-pocket insulin costs for older Americans on Medicare were capped at $35 in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that President Joe Biden signed into law. The cap took effect last year when many drugmakers announced they would lower the price of the drug to $35 for most users on private insurance. But Biden regularly overstates that many people used to pay up to $400 monthly. People with diabetes who have Medicare or private insurance paid about $450 yearly prior to the law, a Department of Health and Human Services study released in December 2022 found.Trump claims 'lowest taxes' on Jan. 6, 2021Claim: Trump, referring to Jan. 6, 2021, the day a mob of his supporters stormed the Capitol in an effort to stop the certification of Biden’s victory: “On Jan. 6, we had the lowest taxes ever. We had the lowest regulations ever on Jan. 6.”Get the Facts: The current federal income tax was only instituted in 1913, and tax rates have fluctuated significantly in the decades since. Rates were lower in the 1920s, just prior to the Great Depression. Tax rates under Trump were higher.Government regulations have also ebbed and flowed in the country’s history, but there’s been an overall increase in regulations as the country modernized and its population grew. There are now many more regulations covering the environment, employment, financial transactions and other aspects of daily life. While Trump slashed some regulations, he didn’t take the country back to the less regulated days of its past.Trump accuses then-House Nancy Pelosi of turning down soldiers, National Guard on Jan. 6Claim: Trump, on then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s actions on Jan. 6: “Because I offered her 10,000 soldiers or National Guard and she turned them down."Get the Facts: Pelosi did not direct the National Guard. Further, as the Capitol came under attack, she and then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called for military assistance, including from the National Guard.The Capitol Police Board makes the decision on whether to call National Guard troops to the Capitol. It is made up of the House Sergeant at Arms, the Senate Sergeant at Arms and the Architect of the Capitol. The board decided not to call the guard ahead of the insurrection but did eventually request assistance after the rioting had already begun, and the troops arrived several hours later.The House Sergeant at Arms reported to Pelosi, and the Senate Sergeant at Arms reported to McConnell. There is no evidence that either Pelosi or McConnell directed the security officials not to call the guard beforehand. Drew Hammill, a then-spokesperson for Pelosi, said after the insurrection that Pelosi was never informed of such a request.Trump claims police ushered protesters into Capitol on Jan. 6Claim: "They talk about a relatively small number of people that went to the Capitol and, in many cases, were ushered in by the police," Trump said.Get the Facts: That's false. The attack on the U.S. Capitol was the deadliest assault on the seat of American power in over 200 years. As thoroughly documented by video, photographs and people who were there, thousands of people descended on Capitol Hill in what became a brutal scene of hand-to-hand combat with police.In an internal memo on March 7, 2023, U.S. Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said that the allegation that “our officers helped the rioters and acted as ‘tour guides’” is “outrageous and false.” A Capitol Police spokesperson confirmed the memo’s authenticity to The Associated Press. More than 1,400 people have been charged with federal crimes stemming from the riot. More than 850 people have pleaded guilty to crimes, and 200 others have been convicted at trial.Military deaths under BidenClaim: “The truth is, I’m the only president this century that doesn’t have any — this decade — any troops dying anywhere in the world like he did," Biden said. Get the Facts: At least 16 service members have been killed in hostile action since Biden took office in January 2021. On Aug. 26, 2021, 13 died during a suicide bombing at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, as U.S. troops withdrew from the country. An enemy drone killed three U.S. service members at a desert base in Jordan on Jan. 28 of this year.George Floyd protests Claim: On Minneapolis protests after the killing of George Floyd: “If I didn’t bring in the National Guard, that city would have been destroyed,” Trump said.Get the Facts: Trump didn’t call the National Guard into Minneapolis during the unrest following the death of George Floyd. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz deployed the National Guard to the city.The Associated Press contributed to this article.