By NABJ Monitor staff
The National Association of Black Journalists partnered with PolitiFact, a fact-checking project of the Poynter Institute, to provide live fact-checking during the Q&A Wednesday with former President Donald Trump. Below are some of the highlights, edited for space.
Trump’s claim: Migrants “are taking Black jobs.”
PolitiFact check: The notion that migrants are taking jobs from Black Americans is unsupported. Commonly used employment data does not include information specific enough to confirm or deny this pattern, but broader economic statistics cast doubt on the assertion. … Since [President Joe] Biden took office in early 2021, the number of foreign-born Americans who are employed has risen by about 5.6 million. But over the same period, the number of native-born Americans employed has increased by almost 7.4 million.
Trump’s claim: Vice President Kamala Harris “didn’t pass her bar exam.”
PolitiFact check: Harris didn’t pass her bar exam the first time, according to a 2016 New York Times profile. When she retook it, she passed and was admitted to the California state bar in June 1990.
Trump’s claim: “I’ve done so much for the Black population of this country, including employment, including opportunity zones with Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, which is one of the greatest programs ever for Black workers and Black entrepreneurs.”
PolitiFact check: Recent research has questioned how effective Opportunity Zones have been. Opportunity zones were enacted as a small part of a Republican-backed tax bill, which was universally opposed by Democrats for other reasons. One 2022 study from the University of California-Berkeley and Duke University concluded that “low-income tracts did not experience any increase in startup investment following” designation as opportunity zones. The paper concluded that designation “has generally failed to achieve its stated goal and that the serious concerns about its manipulability to favor specific investors are warranted.”
Trump’s claim: Special counsel Robert Hur found President Joe Biden “incompetent, and therefore he shouldn’t stand trial” for having classified documents in his Delaware home.
PolitiFact check: This is inaccurate. Hur’s report made several references to Biden’s “poor memory,” writing that his memory “was significantly limited” during interviews with the special counsel. Hur said it was one reason he declined to prosecute the president. “Incompetent” is a legal term.
Trump’s claim: During the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, police were “ushering, ushering everybody into the Capitol? ‘Go in. Go in. Go in.’ “
PolitiFact check: We have looked into similar claims that police willingly let Trump supporters into the Capitol and found no basis for that description. Here’s what we know: Rioters attacked police, destroyed windows and doors, and ransacked offices. The Justice Department charged more than 1,200 people.
Trump’s claim: Undocumented immigrants are voting in the United States.
PolitiFact check: We’ve rated a similar claim Pants on Fire!
Trump’s claim: “We have more liquid gold — gasoline, oil — under our feet than any other country.”
PolitiFact check: That’s not correct. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Venezuela ranked first in 2021 with 304 billion barrels of proven crude oil reserves. The U.S. ranked ninth internationally, with 61 billion barrels.
Trump’s claim: “They’re mandating that you buy an all-electric car.”
PolitiFact check: Trump is wrong to say there is a “mandate” to replace gasoline-powered cars with EVs. The Biden administration has set a goal — not a mandate — to have electric vehicles comprise half of all new vehicle sales by 2030. Gas-powered cars can continue to be sold, even after 2030.
Trump’s claim: The Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade puts the abortion issue back with the states, “where everybody wanted it, Democrats, Republicans, liberals, conservatives. Everybody wanted abortion brought back. They didn’t want Roe v. Wade in the federal government.”PolitiFact check: False. Roe v. Wade was a contentious legal issue that inspired legions of supporters and opponents. Before the ruling to overturn it came down in June 2022, numerous legal scholars wrote briefs urging the Supreme Court to uphold Roe. Polling since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022 shows support for Roe has outpaced support for dismantling it.
To read the full transcript of PolitiFact’s fact-check, go to https://nabjonline.org/blog/nabj-to-host-former-president-trump-for-a-conversation-in-chicago-during-its-annual-convention/
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