On his 100th day in office, President Donald Trump held a rally in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where he, among other familiar talking points, attacked the press. “Their priorities are not my priorities, and not your priorities,” he told his followers. “If the media’s job is to be honest and tell the truth, the media deserves a very, very big fat failing grade.” Speaking of big fat failing grades: the Washington Post has been keeping track of every “false claim” Trump has made in his three-plus months as president, and, well, if Trump were Pinocchio, his nose would stretch from Washington, D.C. to the newsroom of the “failing” New York Times. At least then Melania could see him?
According to the Post, Trump made 488 “false or misleading claims” in his first 100 days, an average of 4.9 per day. He only went without 10 days (six of which were spent on a golf course) without stretching the truth, and four times, he told 20 or more “alternative facts.” Trump’s greatest hits include:
Claim: “Thousands of new jobs are being re-shored back to America — including jobs at Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, Sprint, Intel and so many more.”
Fact: Trump takes undue credit for business decisions made prior to his election.
Claim: “I’m a very big person when it comes to the environment. I have received awards on the environment.”
Fact: There is little evidence that Trump received awards for the environment.
Claim: “I have already saved more than $700 million when I got involved in the negotiation on the F-35. You know about that.”
Fact: Trump takes credit for the lowered cost, but the Pentagon had announced cost reductions of roughly $600 million before Trump began meeting with Lockheed Martin’s chief executive.
Claim: “The murder rate in our country’s the highest it’s been in 47 years, right? Did you know that — 47 years? I’d say that in a speech and everybody’s surprised. Because the press doesn’t tell it like it is. It wasn’t to their advantage to say that.”
Fact: Trump often gets this statistic wrong. In 2015, there was the biggest percentage jump in a single year since 1970-1971, or 45 years ago. It was not the highest rate in 45 or 47 years. Overall, the rate of homicides and violent crimes are back down to the levels they were 45 years ago, and are at about half the rates at their peak in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Claim: “The failing @nytimes was forced to apologize to its subscribers for the poor reporting it did on my election win. Now they are worse!”
Fact: The Times did not apologize to its subscribers for its coverage of Trump. Both the Times and The Post have seen spikes in audience and subscribers.
For a deeper dive into Trump’s many misleading comments, check out the Washington Post’s fascinating breakdown here, maybe while listening to a certain Taking Back Sunday song.
(Via the Washington Post)