Here are the five biggest lies that President Trump told during the first 30 minutes of his address to Congress.
1). Trump said, “We have withdrawn the United States from the job-killing Trans-Pacific Partnership.”
The Facts: via The Washington Post (August 16, 2016), “And his bid to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, the centerpiece of a foreign-policy “pivot to Asia,” now appears dead on arrival thanks to grass-roots revolts in both parties.”
2). Trump said, “We have begun to drain the swamp of government corruption by imposing a 5-year ban on lobbying by Executive Branch Officials – and a lifetime ban on becoming lobbyists for a foreign government.”
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The Facts: via The Washington Post, “But his five-year ban on lobbying is less than advertised. Trump has originally promised to extend the ban to congressional officials, but he did not. Moreover, the five-year ban applies only to lobbying one’s former agency — not becoming a lobbyist. Moreover, Trump actually weakened some of the language from similar bans under Obama and George W. Bush, and reduced the level of transparency.”
3). Trump said, “My economic team is developing historic tax reform that will reduce the tax rate on our companies so they can compete and thrive anywhere and with anyone. At the same time, we will provide massive tax relief for the middle class.”
The Facts: via PoliticusUSA, “47% of Donald Trump’s proposed tax cuts go to the top one percent, but his tax plan will raise taxes on 26 million Americans who are part of 8.5 million low-income families.”
4). Trump said, “For that reason, we will soon begin the construction of a great wall along our southern border. It will be started ahead of schedule and, when finished, it will be a very effective weapon against drugs and crime.”
The Facts: via PoliticusUSA, A growing number of Republicans are refusing to pay for the wall. The wall has no funding and Mexico is refusing to pay.
5). Trump said, “We’ve saved taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars by bringing down the price of the fantastic new F-35 jet fighter, and will be saving billions more dollars on contracts all across our government.”
The Facts: via The Washington Post, “The Pentagon had announced cost reductions of roughly $600 million before Trump began meeting with Lockheed Martin’s chief executive.”
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
