Debate Fact-Check: Reviewing What Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton Said During the Debate
By ABC NEWS Oct 9, 2016, 10:55 PM ET
Saul Loeb/Pool via Getty ImagesDonald Trump speaks as Hillary Clinton listens during the town hall debate at Washington University on Oct. 9, 2016 in St Louis, Missouri.Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump faced off tonight in the second presidential debate tonight and made charges about each other's records while defending their own characters and careers.
The debate was a high-stakes evening for the Trump campaign, which was in turmoil following the release on Friday of a 2005 video showing the GOP presidential nominee carrying on a lewd conversation about women.
The debate, at Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., followed a town hall meeting format and half of the questions came from the audience while the others were posed from the co-moderators Martha Raddatz of ABC News and CNN's Anderson Cooper.
Fact-check No. 1: Trump said that Clinton started the "birther" movement.
Trump: "You’re the one that sent the pictures around your campaign, sent the pictures around with president Obama in a certain garb. That was long before I was ever involved. So, you actually owe an apology."
Our grade: False
Explanation: A Politico report has linked Clinton’s most ardent supporters to the circulation of an e-mail suggesting President Barack Obama was born in Kenya during the 2007-2008 primary campaign. But no evidence has ever been found connecting this claim with Clinton herself or her campaign. The Trump campaign has circulated what they define as several pieces of evidence linking the Clinton campaign to the start of the birther movement, which Trump mentioned tonight, but they don’t hold up.
Fact-check No. 2: Trump said the U.S. has an $800 billion trade deficit.
Trump: "Last year, we had an almost $800 billion trade deficit. Other words, trading with other countries. We had an $800 billion deficit. It's hard to believe. Inconceivable."
Our grade: Yes and No
Explanation: According to Census Bureau data the United States had a combined deficit in goods and services of $500 billion in 2015. Donald Trump seems to be referring only to the deficit in goods which was $763 billion in 2015. The U.S. though, exports more in services that in goods and when the two are combined, the total deficit is actually lower -- it is a little over $500 billion when both are combined.
Trump would be more accurate if he clarified his statement to say a goods trade deficit.
Fact-check No. 3: Trump said the U.S. gave Iran $150 billion in one-sided transaction.
Trump: "When I look at the Iran deal and how bad a deal it is for us. It's a one sided transaction where we're giving back $150 billion to a terrorist state really the number one terror state, we've made them a strong country from really a very weak country just three years ago. When I look at all of the things that I see in all of the potential that our country has, we have such tremendous potential. Whether it's in business and trade, where we're doing so badly."
Our grade: False
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has said lifting certain financial sanctions only gives Iran access to $56 billion, and it’s not plausible to call it a one-sided transaction considering the changes Iran has made to its nuclear program, including an agreement to reduce its stockpile of enriched nuclear material and to cease further enrichment, effectively extending the time it would take Iran to build a bomb from a few months to one year.
The $150 billion figure is at the high end of estimates. The U.S. Treasury has put the figure closer to $56 billion. The chief economist at the Institute of International Finance, Garbis Iradian, also estimates the number figure at around $60 billion.
Fact-check No. 4: Trump accused Clinton of deleting e-mails after a subpoena for those documents was issued.
Trump: "There has never been anything like this, where emails, and you get a subpoena, you get a subpoena and after getting the subpoena you delete 33,000 e-mails."
Grade: Mostly True
Explanation: The timeline produced by the FBI shows the emails (those which Clinton deemed personal in nature) were deleted after the Benghazi committee subpoena, but Clinton argues that orders to do so were made earlier and mistakenly not carried out.
It’s not known whether Platte River Networks (the private company managing her email) decided to delete her those documents to protect them from a subpoena, but the fact is they were deleted after the subpoena from Congress was issued. The Select Committee on Benghazi issued its subpoena asking for all her emails related to the Benghazi terror attack on March 4, 2015. And according to the FBI’s investigation, Clinton’s team deleted all emails she deemed personal somewhere between March 25 and March 31. The catch is that they were instructed by Clinton’s lawyers to be deleted prior to that, except that they forgot to do it, according to a report produced by the FBI. An unnamed staffer at PRN had an “oh s---” moment, according to the FBI’s investigation, after realizing he hadn’t deleted them yet. It’s also important to note that FBI Director James Comey testified that during the course of the FBI’s email investigation investigators "didn't find any evidence of evil intent and intent to obstruct justice."
Fact-check No. 5: Trump's said health insurance costs are rising by 68 percent, 59 percent, 71 percent.
Trump: "When I watch the deals being made, when I watch what’s happening with some horrible things like Obamacare, where your health insurance and health care is going up by numbers that are astronomical, 68 percent, 59 percent 71 percent."
Grade: Mostly False
Explanation: While healthcare and health insurance costs have been rising, there does not appear to be any basis to these specific numbers. Healthcare costs have been on the rise, and in a number of categories –- health insurance premiums, out-of-pocket costs, employer costs to ensure employees, to name a few. However, according to the Department of Health and Human Services, the costs that matter to individuals do not appear to be near these percentages –- at least not year-on-year. According to the HHS report, the average premium under ObamaCare for 2016 plans rose to $408 per month, which is about a 9 percent increase from this time last year.
Fact-check No. 6: Trump claims Clinton wants a single-payer healthcare plan.
Trump: "She wants to go to a single-payer plan, which would be a disaster somewhat similar to Canada. And If you have ever noticed the Canadians, when they need a big operation, when something happens they come into the United States in many cases, because their system is so slow, it's catastrophic in certain ways."
Grade: Mostly False
Explanation: Part of the Democratic Party platform calls for an expansion of Medicare and Clinton's healthcare plan also calls for that expansion. But it’s only for a small group of those insured -- simply another way to get coverage to the insurance marketplace. Private insurance would still be the primary method of coverage.
Fact-check No. 7: Trump says he was against the Iraq War.
Clinton. "The final thing I will say, this is the 10th or 12th time that he’s denied being for the war in Iraq. We have it on tape and the entire press corps looked at it and it has been debunked but it never stops him from saying what he wants to say."
Trump: "Has not been debunked."
Clinton: "So please. Go to HillaryClinton.com."
Trump: "I was against the war in Iraq. Has not been debunked. You voted for it and you shouldn't have."
Grade: False
Explanation: Trump expressed support for the invasion of Iraq before expressing some reservations.
Asked by Howard Stern on Sept. 11, 2002 if he was “for invading Iraq,” Trump at the time answered, “Yeah, I guess so.”
But by Jan. 28, 2003, Trump expressed some concern about the possibility of an invasion, telling Fox Business’ Neil Cavuto that President Bush “has either got to do something or not do something, perhaps, because perhaps shouldn’t be doing it yet and perhaps we should be waiting for the United Nations, you know.” Then, the day after the invasion of Iraq got underway, Trump told Cavuto in another interview on Mach 21, 2003 that the war “looks like a tremendous success from a military standpoint.” While Trump now portrays himself as having been an outspoken opponent of the invasion, his public statements in the lead up to that point tell a much more nuanced story.
Fact-check No. 8: Trump says that Clinton is going to raise taxes.
Trump: "And I will tell you, Hillary Clinton is raising your taxes, folks, you can look at me. She’s raising your taxes really high."
Grade: Mostly False
Explanation: Clinton’s website says her policy is to “provide tax relief to working families” and to “cut taxes for small business.” She would raise taxes only on top 3% (individuals making over $200K, couples over $250K), not the middle class. Trump’s accusation may stem from a campaign event in Omaha when Clinton stumbled over her words. She seemed to say that we “are” going to raise taxes on the middle class but a close review of the video revealed she said “aren’t.”
Fact-check No. 9: Trump says Clinton doesn't know if Russia is responsible for recent hacks.
Trump: "I notice anytime anything wrong happens, they like to say the Russians, she doesn't know if it's the Russians doing the hacking. Maybe there is no hacking. But they always blame Russia."
Our Grade: False
Explanation: On Friday, the U.S. intelligence community issued a rare statement saying they are "confident" that the Russian government is responsible for a series of recent hacks into political organizations.
Fact-check No. 10: Clinton says Trump would raise taxes on middle class families.
Clinton: "Indeed the way that he talks about his tax cuts would end up raising taxes on middle class families. Millions of middle class families."
Our Grade: True
Explanation: Trump’s latest tax plan would cost more than $5 trillion over 10 years. Trump claims his plan would cut taxes for every income group, with the largest tax cuts for working- and middle-class families. Despite its enormous price tag, his plan would actually significantly raise taxes for millions of low- and middle-income families with children, with especially large tax increases for working single parents, according to the Tax Foundation.
Fact-check No. 11: Trump says Clinton failed to bring jobs back to upstate New York.
Trump: "It's just words, folks. It’s just words. Those words I've been hearing them for many years. I heard them when they were running for the senate. In New York. Where Hillary was going to bring back jobs to upstate New York and she failed."
"She is all talk and it doesn't get done. Take a look at upstate New York... It would be a disaster."
Our Grade: Yes and No
Explanation: Clinton did not bring 200,000 jobs to New York as she promised during her Senate campaign, but it's hard to call the situation as "disaster" when neighboring states lost more jobs than New York during her time in the Senate. Additionally, it’s hard to pin job loss during the recession on a senator.
Fact-check No. 12: Trump refutes he sent out a series of tweets in which he alleges that former Miss Universe actress Alicia Machado has a "sex tape."
Cooper: "In the days after the first debate, you sent out a series of tweets from 3 a.m. to 5 am including one that told people to check out a sex tape. Is that the discipline of a good leader?"
Trump: "No it wasn't check out a sex tape. It was just take a look at the person that she built up to be this wonderful girl scout. Who was no Girl Scout."
Our Grade: False
Explanation: Trump did send out a series of tweets starting at 3:30AM on September 30th where he called former Miss Universe contestant Alicia Machado “disgusting” and alleged she has a sex tape.
In one of the tweets, Trump called Machado, who he referred to as “Alicia M,” disgusting. Machado has said Trump repeatedly called her “Miss Piggy” among other insults and Clinton invoked her name and story at the first debate.
Clinton fired back at Trump, posting on Twitter: “What kind of man stays up all night to smear a woman with lies and conspiracy theories?"
Fact-check No. 13: Clinton deleted 30,000 emails.
Trump: "I think the one and the thing you should be apologizing for and the thing that you should be apologizing for are the 33,000 e-mails that you deleted."
Our Grade: True
Explanation: Clinton’s team confirmed this figure soon after the story first broke last year. More than 30,000 emails were deleted "because they were personal and private about matters that I believed were within the scope of my personal privacy," Clinton told reporters in March of 2015, as the controversy around her private emails was growing.
In late 2014, the State Department asked Clinton and other former secretaries of state to hand over any work-related emails they had. In December 2014, Clinton’s legal team provided about 30,000 emails -- totaling 55,000 pages -- to the State Department. "[Clinton] then was asked by her lawyers at the end, 'Do you want us to keep the personal emails?' And she said, 'I have no use for them anymore.' It's then that they issued the direction that the technical people delete them," FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers. After that, the 30,000 emails were deleted.
Fact-check No. 14: Trump said he had seen evidence of bombs in the San Bernadino terrorist apartment.
Trump: "We have to be sure that Muslims come in and report when they see something going on, when they see hatred going on, they have to report it. As an example, in San Bernardino, many people saw the bombs all over the apartment of the two people that killed 14 and wounded many, many people."
Our Grade: False
Explanation: There is no evidence that many people saw bombs all over the apartment. Investigators uncovered nothing like what Trump described. One senior law enforcement official with direct knowledge of the investigation told ABC News this evening that “it’s not accurate.”
ABC News' Margaret Chadbourn, Serena Marshall, Dan Childs, Katherine Faulders, Alana Abramson, Justin Fishel, Ryan Struyk, Ben Siegel, Jack Date and Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.
John Locher/APDonald Trump and Hillary Clinton debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Oct. 9, 2016.The second presidential debate came at the end of a tumultuous and unprecedented week on the campaign trail, and the battle between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump reflected every bit of that drama.
The Republican and Democratic presidential nominees faced off in the town hall-style debate, which was co-moderated by ABC News’ Martha Raddatz and CNN’s Anderson Cooper at Washington University in St. Louis.
The fireworks started early and carried through the debate’s 90 minutes. Here are eleven moments that mattered at Sunday night’s debate:
Debate Fact-Check: What Trump and Clinton Claimed
Most Memorable Lines of the Second Presidential Debate
1. No Great Shakes
Breaking with what is a political debate tradition, Trump and Clinton didn’t shake hands at the start of the night.
Instead of sticking with formality and shaking Trump's hand, Clinton merely nodded in his direction, saying, "Hello."
The snub -- on the part of both candidates -- was a window into the tension that permeated the night.
2. Trump and Clinton React to His Vulgar 2005 Recording
Trump said he’s “very embarrassed” by his vulgar comments that were recorded in 2005 when he talked about his ability to make advances on women because of his fame.
“I hate it but it’s locker room talk,” he said tonight.
“This was locker room talk. I’m not proud of it. I apologized to my family. I apologized to the American people. Certainly I'm not proud of it. But this is locker room talk,” he said.
When pressed by co-moderator Anderson Cooper whether he ever did any of the actions he described in the tape, which included kissing women against their will and groping their genitalia, Trump said he had not.
Clinton said it's clear to anyone who heard the video that it represents "exactly who he is."
"We have seen him insult women. We’ve seen him berate women; on their appearance, ranking them from one to 10. We saw him after the first debate spend nearly a week denigrating a former Miss Universe in the harshest, most personal terms," Clinton said.
"So, yes, this is who Donald Trump is."
3. Trump Brings Former Clinton Accusers Into Debate
Trump used old sex assault claims against Bill Clinton as a way to attack Hillary Clinton during tonight’s debate.
While answering a question about the recordings of his talking about women in a vulgar fashion, Trump deflected to say that he was not the worst offender.
“If you look at Bill Clinton, far worse, mine are words, and his was action. His was — what he’s done to women, there's never been anybody in the history of politics in this nation that's been so abusive to women....Hillary Clinton attacked those same women. And attacked them viciously, four of them here tonight,” Trump said.
The women in question are Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick, and Kathleen Willey, all of whom have accused former president Bill Clinton of either having a sexual relationship with them or making unwanted sexual advances; the fourth is Kathy Shelton, who was raped at the age of 12 and whose alleged attacker was represented by Hillary Clinton.
Trump appeared at a news conference hours before the debate with the four women, all of whom are supporting him in this election.
4. Candidates Issue Dueling Demands for Apologies
Both candidates demanded apologies from each other for the false “birther” theory that President Obama was born in Kenya, and not Hawaii, which Trump pedaled for years after first bringing it up during the 2012 election.
Clinton attacked Trump, arguing that the Republican nominee “never apologizes for anything to anyone.”
“He owes the president an apology, he owes our country an apology and he needs to take responsibility for his actions and his words,” Clinton said.
But accusing Clinton’s 2008 campaign of starting the “birther” conspiracy about Obama, Trump said, “Well, you owe the president an apology because, as you know very well, your campaign's Sidney Blumenthal; he’s another real winner that you have and he’s the one that got this started, along with your campaign manager.”
“So you really owe him an apology.” Trump said.
No evidence has been uncovered to link the idea of birtherism to the Clinton campaign.
Trump also hit Clinton for the private email server she used as secretary of state. “I think the one and the thing you should be apologizing for and the thing that you should be apologizing for are the 33,000 e-mails that you deleted,” he said.
5. Trump’s ‘Exploding’ Campaign
When asked about the private email server she maintained when she served as secretary of state, Clinton admitted once again that she made a mistake. And, after Trump’s response, Clinton said she’d like to move on to the questions from the audience.
Trump interjected, “And get off this question.”
“Ok, Donald, I know you're into big diversion tonight,” Clinton said.
“Anything to avoid talking about your campaign and the way it's exploding and Republicans are leaving you,” Clinton said, referring to the number of GOP congressional members who, over the weekend, said they wouldn’t vote for Trump because of the 2005 tape in which Trump is heard making lewd comments about women.
6. Trump Says Muslim Ban ‘Morphed’
One of the town hall participants, a Muslim, asked,“ With Islamophobia on the rise, how will you help people?” Trump didn’t answer, instead saying, "We have to be sure that Muslims come in and report when they see something going on, when they see hatred going on.”
Clinton went next, saying, "My vision is an America where everyone has a place if you are willing to work hard and do your part and you contribute to the community. That's what America is. That's what we want America for our children and grandchildren. It's short-sighted and dangerous to be engaging in the kind of demagogic rhetoric that Donald has. We want Muslims to be on the side of our eyes and ears.”
In a follow-up, Raddatz asked Trump about his temporary Muslim ban and whether it was "a mistake to have a religion test.” Trump then acknowledged his ban has “morphed.”
"The Muslim ban is something that in some form has morphed into an extreme vetting from certain areas of the world,” Trump said. When Raddatz asked about how the policy morphed, Trump again said, "It is called extreme vetting.”
7. Trump Threatens a Special Prosecutor for Clinton Emails
Trump said that if elected, he plans to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate Clinton’s emails.
“I’ll tell you what, I didn’t think I’d say this, but I’m going to say it, and I hate to say it, but if I win, I am going to instruct my attorney general to get a special prosecutor to look into your situation, because there has never been so many lies, so much deception, there has never been anything like it, and we're going to have a special prosecutor,” he said.
This is not the first time Trump has called for a criminal investigation into Clinton’s emails. On the campaign trail, Trump has expressed frustration over the Justice Department’s decision not to recommended charges against Clinton and has accused the FBI of politicizing the investigation.
“In my opinion, the people that are the long-term workers at the FBI are furious,” Trump said. “There has never been anything like this, where emails, and you get a subpoena, you get a subpoena and after getting the subpoena you delete 33,000 e-mails.”
Trump said Clinton took special measures to delete email correspondence from her time at the State Department. “You acid wash, or bleach them, as you would say, a very expensive process,” Trump said.
When asked to respond by Raddatz, Clinton brushed off Trump’s claims.
“Everything he just said is absolutely false,” she said. “But I’m not surprised.”
8. Trump Says, ‘Of Course,’ He Used Loopholes to Avoid Paying Federal Income Taxes
Trump said that, “of course,” he used the tax provision that allowed him to use a business loss to avoid paying federal income taxes for years.
Trump’s tax returns and payments have been a controversial part of the presidential campaign because he has not released the documents, as is common practice for presidential candidates, saying that he under audit.
A portion of his 1995 tax returns were leaked to The New York Times and those pages showed that he claimed a $916 million loss, which could have allowed him not to pay personal federal income taxes for a number of years afterward.
When asked whether he used the loss “to avoid paying taxes,” Trump said, “of course I do, and so do all of her donors.”
“I understand the tax code better than anyone and it's complex,” Trump said.
“I pay tremendous numbers of taxes and I used it and so did Warren Buffett and George Soros and the other people,” Trump said, naming two well-known Clinton supporters.
When asked whether he can say how many years he did not pay taxes, Trump said he could not.
9. Trump Breaks With Running Mate Mike Pence
Raddatz asked Trump what he would do about Syria and the humanitarian crisis in Aleppo if he were president, and reminded Trump of running mate Pence’s position.
Pence had taken the position during the vice presidential debate that the United States should be prepared to strike the military targets of the Assad regime, referring to Syrian President Bashar al Assad.
But contradicting his running mate, Trump said tonight, “He and I haven't spoken and I disagree.”
“I think we have to knock out ISIS. Right now, Syria is fighting ISIS,” Trump added.
10. R-E-S-P-E-C-T
In a change of tone, town hall participant Karl Becker posed a final question to Trump and Clinton. “Regardless of the current rhetoric, would either of you name one positive thing that you respect in one another?”
“I think that's a very fair and important question,” said Clinton. “I respect his children. His children are incredibly able and devoted and I think that says a lot about Donald. I don't agree with nearly anything else he says or does, but I respect that and think that is something that as a mother and a grandmother is very important to me. So I believe that this election has become in part so conflict-oriented and so intense because there is a lot at stake.”
Trump accepted Clinton’s compliment, in turn taking the opportunity to compliment her as well. “She doesn't quit and doesn't give up. I respect that. ... She is a fighter. I disagree with much of what she is fighting for. I do disagree with her judgment in many cases, but she fights hard and doesn't quit or give up, but that is a good trait.”
11. Trump Looms Behind Clinton
In the town hall format, the candidates were allowed to roam around the stage, remaining standing or sitting while their opponent answered a question.
At one point, Trump stood curiously close to Clinton, listening to her respond to a question from an audience member on the Affordable Care Act -- a moment that many noted on social media.
Rick T. Wilking/Pool via AP PhotoDemocratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton speaks as Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump listens during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Oct. 9, 2016.more +Sponsored Stories
