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Washington Post

The Fact Checker is the fact-checking column of The Washington Post in the United States. It rates claims with Pinocchios.

Checked by Washington Post26 Nov 2024United States Politics and government

DOGE, DOGE

“In FY2023, the U.S. Government spent $6.16 trillion while only bringing in $4.47 trillion. The last budget surplus was in 2001. This trend must be reversed, and we must balance the budget.”

Washington Post rated this: Numbers don't add up

Washington Post says: It will be all but impossible to cut $2 trillion

Checked by Washington Post24 Oct 2024United States Economy and jobs

Donald Trump, former U.S. president

“Kamala has said repeatedly, she wants to ban fracking, which would kill over 500,000 jobs in Pennsylvania alone.”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: This number is ten times too high

Checked by Washington Post22 Oct 2024United States Economy and jobs

Trump campaign ad, Trump for president

“Kamala Harris supports EV mandates, killing Michigan jobs. She wants to end all gas-powered cars. Crazy but true. Harris’s push requiring electric only is failing big, and Michigan autoworkers are paying the price. Massive layoffs already started.”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: This ad makes many false claims. Auto manufacturing is at a 34-year high.

Checked by Washington Post21 Oct 2024United States

Donald Trump, Former US president

“I love cows but if we go with Kamala, you won’t have any cows anymore …. According to Kamala, who’s a radical left lunatic, you will not have any cows anymore.”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: This is nonsense

Checked by Washington Post16 Oct 2024United States Politics and government

JD Vance, GOP vice presidential candidate

“Donald Trump “was president for four years, and he didn’t go after his political opponents. You know who did go after her political opponents? Kamala Harris.”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: We found a dozen examples

Checked by Washington Post14 Oct 2024United States Economy and jobs

Bob Casey, U.S. Senator (D-Penn.)

“McCormick’s promised the richest people in America a massive tax break. To pay for it, he’s made clear he’ll slash your Medicare and Social Security and cut Medicaid for nursing home care.”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: McCormick never said this

Checked by Washington Post9 Oct 2024United States Politics and government

Kamala Harris, Vice president

“The first bill we proposed to Congress was to fix our broken immigration system, knowing that if you want to actually fix it, we need Congress to act. It was not taken up.”

Washington Post rated this: Misleading

Washington Post says: This was not a border security bill

Checked by Washington Post9 Oct 2024United States Immigration

Donald Trump, Former U.S. president

“The Harris-Biden administration says they don’t have any money [for hurricane relief]. … They spent it all on illegal migrants. … They stole the FEMA money just like they stole it from a bank, so they could give it to their illegal immigrants that they want to have vote for them.”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: No FEMA money was taken from disaster relief for migrants

Checked by Washington Post28 Sep 2024United States Politics and government

Donald Trump, Former US president

“It [the 2019 impeachment] was over a phone call with the president, and … he could have grandstanded and played cute. But he didn’t do that. He said President Trump did absolutely nothing wrong. He said it loud and clear.”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: Zelensky never said this.

Checked by Washington Post25 Sep 2024United States

Donald Trump, Former U.S. president

“Kamala and Crooked Joe, they try and take credit for $35 insulin. But I was the one that did the $35 insulin, not them.”

Washington Post rated this: False

Washington Post says: Trump had a little pilot program; Biden passed a law

Checked by Washington Post18 Sep 2024United States Crime and security

Donald Trump, Former U.S. president

“The Department of Justice just released brand new Crime Data showing I was absolutely and completely right at the Debate. In fact, the Data is even worse than we could have ever imagined. Compared to 2020, Violent Crime is up nearly 40 percent.”

Washington Post rated this: Cherry-picked data

Washington Post says: Trump is dating from 2020, when numbers were affected by covid

Checked by Washington Post16 Sep 2024United States Crime and security

Scott Creighton, Preserve America PAC

“While America’s cities were burning, Kamala was defending peaceful protests. She raised millions to help bail rioters out of jail. And supported defunding our police.”

Washington Post rated this: Three Pinocchios

Washington Post says: Harris did not support defunding the police and she denounced the riots

Checked by Washington Post9 Sep 2024United States

Wisconsin GOP, political party

“As attorney general, Kamala Harris “categorized rape of an unconscious person, human trafficking involving sex acts with minors, assault with a deadly weapon and more as ‘nonviolent’ crimes, allowing inmates who committed those offenses to receive earlier parole.”

Washington Post rated this: False

Washington Post says: She did not do so and took no stand on the referendum

Checked by Washington Post4 Sep 2024United States

Donald Trump, Former U.S. president

“We didn’t lose one person in 18 months. And then they took over that disaster.”

Washington Post rated this: Two Pinocchios

Washington Post says: There was an 18-month gap, but not in Trump's presidency alone.

Checked by Washington Post28 Aug 2024United States

JD Vance, GOP vice-presidential nominee

“If you go back to the Trump presidency, we had 12,000 factories that were built during Donald Trump’s presidency.”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: These aren't factories and the number is wrong

Checked by Washington Post27 Aug 2024United States

Donald Trump, campaign advertisement

“News reports confirm Biden and Harris have weaponized the IRS to confiscate your tip money. Biden and Harris have literally unleashed the IRS to harass workers who receive tips.”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: The IRS program was never implemented

Checked by Washington Post19 Aug 2024United States Economy and jobs

Harris-Walz campaign, KamalaHQ account on X

“Fact: Trump announced a budget to cut Social Security and Medicare every single year he was in office.”

Washington Post rated this: Three Pinocchios

Washington Post says: Most of these "cuts" were intended to improve the financing of the programs and did not harm seniors.

Checked by Washington Post18 Aug 2024United States Economy and jobs

Donald Trump, Former U.S. president

“Did you know the Kamala price hikes have cost the average American family $28,000?”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: This is a nonsense figure

Checked by Washington Post15 Aug 2024United States Elections

Tim Walz, Democratic vice-presidential nominee

“JD Vance "never cast a vote on a pro-worker bill in his life.”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: Vance voted for at least two pro-worker bills

Checked by Washington Post13 Aug 2024United States Elections

JD Vance, GOP vice-presdential nominee

“She cast the deciding vote for the so-called Inflation Reduction Act that sent a lot of our resources to China.”

Washington Post rated this: Four Pinocchios

Washington Post says: Vance’s claim that the IRA is sending jobs and resources to China is based on a facile hunch, not evidence.