PLUG IN: ArcStar News Feed: Fact Checker: Republican convention was an ocean of falsehoods

The truth behind the rhetoric.

By Salvador Rizzo

Trump's Republican convention was an ocean of falsehoods

For viewers tuning in this week, the Republican National Convention was like a daily highlight reel taken from President Trump's collection of falsehoods and twisted truths. For The Fact Checker, it was like running a marathon while playing Whack-a-Mole.

We ended up with 90 claims fact-checked over four nights, 25 of them from Trump's acceptance speech on the White House lawn Thursday. The deceptions can be divided into three themes:

1. Parroting Trump's falsehoods

Donald Trump Jr. (Night One): "Look to the man who did what the failed Obama-Biden administration never could do and built the greatest economy our country has ever seen."

Trump inherited a thriving economy and has presided over a slowdown, with 8.1 million jobs created in the last three years of the Obama administration to 6.6 million in the first three years of Trump. Once the coronavirus pandemic began in the fourth year, the economy went into a tailspin from which it is beginning to recover.

Going back further in time, by just about any important measure, the economy under Trump did not do as well as it did under Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson or Bill Clinton.

Eric Trump (Night Two): "Biden has pledged to defund the police."

False. Biden supports increased spending on social programs, separate from local police budgets, but he also wants more funding for police overhauls such as body cameras and training on community policing approaches.

"No, I don't support defunding the police," Biden told CBS. "I support conditioning federal aid to police based on whether or not they meet certain basic standards of decency and honorableness. And, in fact, are able to demonstrate they can protect the community and everybody in the community."

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2. Huge exaggerations

Vice President Pence (Night Three): "Joe Biden — he supports taxpayer funding of abortion right up to the moment of birth."

Biden does not support funding abortion "right up to the moment of birth." Trump, Pence and antiabortion advocates argue that some laws and court decisions have opened loopholes that allow abortions to the very end of a pregnancy. Experts have told us that abortions up to the moment of birth are not happening in the United States and that it's false to equate Biden's position with support for infanticide.

Biden supports abortion rights and says he would codify in statute the Supreme Court's landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade and related precedents, which generally limit abortions to the first 20 to 24 weeks of gestation.

Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley (Night One): "Obama and Biden let North Korea threaten America. President Trump rejected that weakness, and we passed the toughest sanctions on North Korea in history."

That happened in 2017. Haley conveniently leaves out the rest of the story. Trump met with Kim Jong Un in Singapore, the first time a U.S. president sat down with a North Korean leader. "His country does love him. His people — you see the fervor. They have a great fervor," Trump said after the meeting. Then, Trump met Kim again. Then, Trump met him a third time. The result of this? A joint statement by the two leaders that included weaker commitments than previous U.S. presidents got. North Korea continues to develop its weapons program.

3. Contradictions

Trump (Night Four): "We will always and very strongly protect patients with preexisting conditions. And that is a pledge from the entire Republican Party."

We've given Trump's claim our worst rating, a Bottomless Pinocchio. He immediately began efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act upon taking office, and now, his administration is asking the Supreme Court to strike down the entire law, including the preexisting condition coverage guarantee. Trump has not offered a replacement plan, despite promising one since days before taking office in 2017.

We have also given Four Pinocchios to several Republican senators who have consistently worked to undermine the Affordable Care Act and its coverage guarantee, and who support the GOP lawsuit pending before the Supreme Court.

Trump (Night Four): "We took the toughest, boldest, strongest, and hardest-hitting action against China in American history."

Many economists say Trump's trade war with China has made matters worse for American farmers and exporters. First, Trump imposed tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars' worth of goods from China. In retaliation, China reduced purchases of U.S. crops such as soybeans. Then, Trump directed subsidies to American farmers to soften the blow.

Studies by leading economists have shown that the cost of Trump's China tariffs is largely borne by American consumers, because companies pass down the cost. The two countries eventually resolved some sticking points in the first phase of a trade deal that took effect in February. But China is lagging far behind in its commitment to purchase $200 billion in agricultural, manufactured and energy products above 2017 levels. Yet Trump deceptively claims they are "more than living up to" their commitments under the deal.

For the full fact checks, click on the following links: Night One, Night Two, Night Three and Night Four.

Marathon Whack-a-Mole, the book

For a more complete guide to the claims from Trump and the Republican convention, check out our new book, a national bestseller. "Donald Trump and His Assault on Truth," published by Scribner, tells the story of a president who has racked up more than 20,000 false or misleading claims — and what it's like to fact check him.

Over 386 pages, we debunk a host of statements and tweets Trump has made on the economy, immigration, foreign policy, his impeachment, the Russia probe, the coronavirus pandemic and more. The book is as comprehensive as it is reader-friendly, divided into chapters by subject. It's available in print, e-book and audiobook.

Reviewers have called it "a great public service," "an extremely valuable chronicle," "an authoritative and pull-no-punches guide through Trump's alternate universe" and "a fascinating and necessary guide to his behavior, well-suited both to those only vaguely familiar with U.S. politics and those who follow Trump's every move."

We're always looking for fact-check suggestions.

You can reach us via email, Twitter (@GlennKesslerWP, @rizzoTK, @mmkelly22, @SarahCahlan) or Facebook. Read about our process and rating scale here, and sign up for the newsletter here.

Scroll down for this week's Pinocchio roundup.