Here's A Running List Of President Trump's Lies And Other Bullshit
Just one day after being sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump told his first lie. We're keeping track.
Originally posted on January 26, 2017, at 10:53 p.m.
Updated on March 20, 2017, at 9:01 p.m.
Mary Ann Georgantopoulos
BuzzFeed News Reporter
There’s a high bar to accusing someone of committing a “lie,” and we don’t do it lightly.
A lie isn’t just a false statement. It’s a false statement whose speaker knows it’s false. In these instances, the president — or his administration — have clear reason to know otherwise. Reporters are understandably cautious about using the word —
some never do, because it requires speculating on what someone is thinking. The cases we call "lies" are ones where we think it's fair to make that call: Trump is saying something that contradicts clear and widely published information that we have reason to think he's seen. This list also includes bullshit: speech that is — in its
academic definition — "unconnected to a concern with the truth."
March 20: Clearly mischaracterized the FBI director and NSA director's testimony about Russian involvement in the 2016 election
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President Trump
✔@POTUS
The NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence electoral process.
6:42 PM - 20 Mar 2017
Trump's words: "The NSA and FBI tell Congress that Russia did not influence electoral process."
Lie: Trump posted the above tweet just hours after FBI Director James Comey and National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers began testifying about Russian interference in the 2016 election in favor of Trump. Comey testified that the FBI came to believe that Russia was using “active measures” to hurt the Clinton campaign and help the Trump campaign.
“They wanted to hurt our democracy, hurt her and help him,” Comey said. “Putin hated Secretary Clinton so much that the flip side of that coin was that he had a clear preference for the person running against the person he hated so much.”
Trump's tweet — and the video clip included with it — is a selective portion of the hearing where Nunes was asking Rogers if he had evidence Russia changed vote tallies in specific states.
Feb. 16, 2017: Lied about winning the most Electoral College votes since Ronald Reagan.
Mario Tama / Getty Images
Trump's words: “We got 306 because people came out and voted like they’ve never seen before so that’s the way it goes. I guess it was the biggest Electoral College win since Ronald Reagan,” Trump said during a news conference on Feb. 16.
Lie: Trump actually won 304 electoral votes, because two electors refused to cast their vote for him when the Electoral College met.
Several former presidents have also received more electoral votes than Trump. George H. W. Bush won with 426 electoral votes in 1988. Bill Clinton won 370 votes in 1992 and 379 in 1996, and Barack Obama won with 365 votes in 2008.
When a reporter at the news conference called Trump out for spreading false information, the president said, "Well, I was just given that information. I don’t know. I was just given…We had a very big margin."
Read more
here.
Feb. 12, 2017: Falsely claimed that Bernie Sanders was cut off from CNN for using the phrase "fake news."
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Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
While on FAKE NEWS
@CNN, Bernie Sanders was cut off for using the term fake news to describe the network. They said technical difficulties!
2:14 PM - 12 Feb 2017
Trump's words: Trump tweeted on Sunday, "While on FAKE NEWS
@cnn, Bernie Sanders was cut off for using the term fake news to describe the network. They said technical difficulties!"
Senator Sanders was on
CNN's Erin Burnett Out Front on Feb. 10, discussing Trump's travel ban and controversy surrounding National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, among other topics.
Lie: During the interview, Burnett showed Sanders a clip of Trump responding to a reporter's question following news that Flynn called the Russian ambassador to the US before the inauguration to discuss previously-imposed sanctions. In the clip, Trump says he has "not seen the report."
Burnett then asked Sanders if it's a problem that the president did not know about the report, in which Sanders criticized Trump for dismissing negative news as "fake news."
CNN PR
tweeted a transcript of the interview, which reads:
Burnett: "He says he knows nothing about it, hasn't seen any of these reports. Is that a problem?"
Sanders: "Well, I don't know, maybe he was watching CNN fake news, what do you think?"
Burnett: "You don't buy it?"
Sanders: "That was a joke."
Burnett: "I know it was a joke. I'm saying, you don't buy what he said, obviously?"
Right after Burnett acknowledged that Sanders was joking when he called CNN "fake news," the audio cut out and CNN went to a commercial break. When the show returned, Burnett picked up her interview where they left off and Sanders went on to say it's "not a joke" when "you have a president who attacks people in the media who make critical remarks of him — which is what their jobs is — as providing 'fake news.'"
Watch the interview
here.
Feb. 10, 2017: Claimed without evidence that "thousands" of people were bused across state lines to vote.
Pool / Getty Images
Trump's words: Trump again claimed there was widespread voter fraud during the November election, this time telling senators “thousands” of people were bussed in from Massachusetts to vote in New Hampshire.
Trump made the unsubstantiated claims in a closed-door meeting with 10 senators Thursday to discuss his Supreme Court nomination, Neil Gorsuch,
Politico reported.
Trump blamed “thousands” of people who were “brought in on buses” from Massachusetts to vote illegally in New Hampshire during the meeting, which was also reported by
the Associated Press.
Lie: Officials at New Hampshire’s secretary of state office, US Attorney’s Office, and Massachusetts’ attorney general’s office told BuzzFeed News there was no evidence to support the president’s claim.
“We have not seen any evidence of busloads of out-of-state voters coming across the border to vote in New Hampshire elections,” David Scanlan, deputy secretary of state for New Hampshire, said. Read more
here.
Feb. 9, 2017: Lied about Chris Cuomo not asking Sen. Blumenthal about him falsifying his service in Vietnam
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Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
Chris Cuomo, in his interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave "service" in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS!
3:19 PM - 9 Feb 2017
Trump's words: Trump tweeted at 6:57 a.m., "Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who never fought in Vietnam when he said for years he had (major lie), now misrepresents what Judge Gorsuch told him?"
At 8:17 a.m., Trump added, "Chris Cuomo, in this interview with Sen. Blumenthal, never asked him about his long-term lie about his brave 'service' in Vietnam. FAKE NEWS!"
Blumenthal was interviewed on CNN Thursday morning, following his
statement from the previous day, in which he said the president's nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Gorsuch, said Trump's recent attacks on the judiciary are "disheartening" and "demoralizing."
Lie: Cuomo asked that exact question. His question to Blumenthal was, "What is your response to the president of the United States, who says you should not be believed because you misrepresented your military record in the past?"
youtube.com
Feb. 7, 2017: Claimed he was facing a historic delay to get all of his cabinet nominees confirmed
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Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
It is a disgrace that my full Cabinet is still not in place, the longest such delay in the history of our country. Obstruction by Democrats!
3:04 AM - 8 Feb 2017
Trump's words: The same day that Trump's education pick Betsy DeVos was confirmed, he tweeted that it is a “disgrace” that his “full Cabinet is still not in place” and that the delay is the longest “in the history of our country.”
The truth: Though overall Trump's nominees are getting confirmed more slowly than those of most previous modern presidents, he still hasn't been without a full cabinet longer than his predecessors were. Obama's final nominee wasn't confirmed, for example, until April of 2009, and both Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush had nominees confirmed in March.
So while Trump's frustration in a slow confirmation process may be grounded in reality, his claim that this is "the longest such delay in the history of our country" is not.
Feb. 7, 2017: Lied that the murder rate was the highest in 45 years
Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Trump's words: Trump
told a group of US sheriffs that the murder rate in the US was the highest it's been in "45 to 47 years."
The truth: The US murder rate is at close to an all-time low, and law enforcement experts say Trump's claim is so far away from the facts that it's ludicrous. Based on FBI statistics, the murder rate was 5.0 homicides per 100,000 people in 2015, down from a peak in 1980 of 10.2 per 100,000 people. The highest number of total homicides was in 1991, when 24,703 were killed. Though several US cities have seen the number of murders rise from 2015 to 2016, the overall number is still dramatically lower than what it was in the 1980s and 1990s.
Feb. 6, 2017: Claimed that terrorist attacks across Europe are "not even being reported"
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David Mack
✔@davidmackau
Trump says "the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report" on terrorism: "They have their reasons, and you understand that."
9:00 PM - 6 Feb 2017
Trump's words: In a speech at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, Trump said that radical Islamic terrorists "are determined to strike our homeland." He went on to say that terrorism was spreading across Europe, but that the media was refusing to cover it.
"All across Europe you've seen what happened in Paris and Nice," Trump said. "All over Europe it's happening. It's gotten to a point where it's not even being reported. And in many cases the very, very dishonest press doesn't want to report it."
"They have their reasons, and you understand that," he said without elaborating.
The truth: The
Paris and
Nice attacks that Trump mentioned in his speech were extensively covered by every major US media organization.
Other attacks that have also received extensive media attention include
an attack in Brussels in March 2016, as well as an
incident in February 2017 at the Louvre museum in Paris in which a man
attempted to use a machete and was shot by a soldier.
Trump provided no evidence of any other attacks that the media has not covered. He didn't mention any specific incidents, and BuzzFeed News was unable to identify any events that were ignored by major US media organizations. The Trump administration did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News' request for a list of terror-related incidents that were "not even being reported."
Feb. 2, 2017: Lied that Kuwait had issued a visa ban on several Muslim-majority countries after his immigration order
Facebook: DonaldTrump
Trump's words: President Donald Trump
posted to his official
Facebook page a news report that erroneously claimed Kuwait had followed his recent immigration order by implementing a visa ban on several Muslim-majority nations.
Lie: The Kuwaiti Ministry of Foreign Affairs has expressly denied the reports. In a statement to state-run news outlet
Kuwait News Agency, Assistant Foreign Minister for Consular Affairs Sami Al-Hamad said the ministry “categorically denies these claims and affirms that these reported nationalities … have big communities in Kuwait and enjoy full rights.” Read more
here.
Jan. 30, 2017: Lied that Delta, protesters, and Sen. Chuck Schumer's tears were to be blamed for the problems over his travel ban
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Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
Only 109 people out of 325,000 were detained and held for questioning. Big problems at airports were caused by Delta computer outage,.....
2:16 PM - 30 Jan 2017
Follow
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
protesters and the tears of Senator Schumer. Secretary Kelly said that all is going well with very few problems. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN!
2:20 PM - 30 Jan 2017
Trump's words: After a weekend of nationwide protests over Trump's controversial executive order barring US entry for refugees as well as citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, he blamed Delta's computer outage, protesters, and the tears of Schumer for the "big problems at airports."
Lie: The mass outrage and confusion at airports from Friday through Sunday
was caused by Trump's executive order itself, which travelers, immigration attorneys, airlines, judges, and custom officials struggled to interpret. Delta's outage didn't happen until Sunday night, and no protesters interrupted the arrivals process at airports. Read more
here.
Jan. 27, 2017: Lied about being in Scotland the day before the "Brexit" vote
Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
Trump's words: Trump
said Friday during a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Theresa May that he was in Scotland the day before the "Brexit" vote last June and predicted the EU referendum would pass.
“I happened to be in Scotland, at Turnberry, cutting a ribbon, when Brexit happened," he said. "And we had a vast amount of press there and I said – this was the day before, you probably remember – 'Brexit is going to happen' and I was scorned in the press for making that prediction, I was scorned.
“Lo and behold the following day it happened and the odds weren’t looking good for me when I made that statement because as you remember everyone thought it wasn’t going to happen.”
Lie: In reality, Trump
arrived in Scotland the day after the EU referendum, June 24, 2016, when the result was already clear.
Jan. 26, 2017: Lied that the murder rate is rising in Philly
Alex Wong / Getty Images
Trump's words: At the GOP retreat on Jan. 26, Trump
said that Philadelphia's murder rate is "steady, I mean just terribly increasing."
Lie: The homicide rate in Philadelphia has been steadily declining over the past decade. According to
statistics from the Philadelphia Police Department, there were 277 murders in 2016, compared to 280 murders in 2015. Over a five-year period, murders were down 19%. And over a 10-year period, murders were down 41%.
View image on Twitter
Follow
Chris Palmer
✔@cs_palmer
Here are Philadelphia's year-end murder totals from 1988-2015 (2016 was lower than prior year). Has not been "horribly increasing"
8:55 PM - 26 Jan 2017
Jan. 26, 2017: Lied about Mexico’s president “agreeing to cancel” a meeting
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BuzzFeed News
✔@BuzzFeedNews
.
@POTUS claims that he and Mexico's president “agreed to cancel” meeting.
@EPN said he canceled the meeting earlier
https://www.buzzfeed.com/karlazabludovsky/trumps-border-wall-announcement-could-mean-mexicos-president?bftwnews&utm_term=4ldqpgc#4ldqpgc …
8:36 PM - 26 Jan 2017
Trump's words: A day after Trump
signed an executive order to extend a wall along the southern border and insisting Mexico would pay for it, the president said he and Enrique Peña Nieto agreed to cancel the meeting.
"The president of Mexico and myself have agreed to cancel our planned meeting scheduled for next week," Trump said at the GOP retreat in Philadelphia. "Unless Mexico is going to treat the United States fairly, with respect, such a meeting would be fruitless and I want to go a different route."
Lie: Hours earlier, Peña Nieto
tweeted that he called the White House to cancel the meeting, adding, "I lament and reject the decision of the United States to continue building a wall that for years does not unite us, but divides us."
Jan. 25, 2017: Lied about two people being shot and killed during Obama's farewell speech
ABC News / Via
abcnews.go.com
Trump's words: "Look, when President Obama was there two weeks ago making a speech, a very nice speech. Two people were shot and killed during his speech," Trump told ABC News' David Muir. "They weren't shot at the speech. But they were shot in the city of Chicago during his speech."
The president was discussing crime in Chicago and his suggestion to "send in the feds" when he claimed two people were shot and killed during Obama's Jan. 10 farewell address to the nation.
Lie: Chicago Police
told BuzzFeed News there were no people killed by gun violence on Jan. 10. A log of shootings in the city also showed there were five non-fatal shootings in the city that day, but none occurred while Obama gave his speech.
Jan. 25, 2017: Lied about voter fraud on ABC News
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ABC News
✔@ABC
President Trump to launch investigation into alleged voter fraud: “I want the voting process to be legitimate."
http://abcn.ws/2jSXf2V
12:31 AM - 26 Jan 2017
Trump's words: "You have people who are registered who are dead, who are illegals, who are in two states," Trump told ABC's David Muir. "You have people registered in two states. You have people registered in New York and New Jersey. They vote twice." He also cited a Pew report as evidence, saying, "Take a look at the Pew reports."
Lie: Once again, not true. Trump
references a debunked Pew study by a political blog hosted by the
Washington Post.
Jan. 23, 2017: Lied about voter fraud at a reception with congressional leaders
Nicholas Kamm / AFP / Getty Images
Trump's words: Sources
confirmed to multiple media outlets that Trump spent at least 10 minutes of his meeting with congressional leaders talking about how 3 to 5 million "illegals" voted in the election, costing him the popular vote.
Lie: There is
no evidence of widespread voter fraud. The National Association of Secretaries of State — which has a majority of Republicans —
said it is "not aware of any evidence that supports the voter fraud claims made by President Trump." And in a Michigan
legal filing by Trump's lawyers after the election, they wrote, "All available evidence suggests that the 2016 general election was not tainted by fraud or mistake."
This is not the first time Trump has claimed he would have won the popular vote if illegal immigrants had not voted. Almost 20 days after the election, Trump tweeted about the issue.
Follow
Donald J. Trump
✔@realDonaldTrump
In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote if you deduct the millions of people who voted illegally
10:30 PM - 27 Nov 2016
While Trump won the presidency with 309 electoral votes, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 3 million votes.
A claim that 3 million "illegal aliens" had voted in the election was published by right-wing conspiracy site
InfoWars on Nov. 14, but voting officials have
said there is no evidence of this.
Jan. 25, 2017: Lied about size of the inauguration crowd on ABC News
abcnews.go.com
Trump's words: Trump
finished his ABC News interview by pointing to framed photographs hung on a wall. "Here's a picture of the crowd," he said. "The audience was the biggest ever. This audience was massive, look how far back it goes." He then pointed to another panoramic photo, saying the crowd — which he described as "a sea of love" — goes "all the way down."
Lie: The audience wasn't "the biggest ever." As mentioned above, photographs from the inauguration show the crowd did not extend as far back as Trump claims it did.
Jan. 21, 2017: Lied about inauguration crowd size to the CIA
video-cdn.buzzfeed.com
Trump's
words: The inaugural crowd "looked honestly like a million and a half people” adding that “it went all the way back to the Washington Monument."
Lie:
Aerial photos of the crowd at 11a.m. and 12 p.m. — around the time Trump took the oath of office — show that the crowd witnessing the inauguration did not extend back to the Washington Monument.
EarthCam / Via
earthcam.com
CORRECTION
January 27, 2017, at 4:26 a.m.
About 11 million more households watched the 2017 inauguration than the 2013 inauguration, which Donald Trump tweeted about. A previous version of this post said that those Nielsen figures were incorrect, and the line was removed.
. Tuntui vaan niin absurdilta että noin kovan luokan poliitikko rupeaa julkiseen rasismiin.
Onhan noita juttuja jotkut seuranneet. Ei oikein juttu aina suju ja sanavarasto kaventunut siitä mitä oli. KVG ensimmäisistä sanoista edellä niin löytyy jonkinlaista analyysia millä mielentilalla mennään.
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