When former President Donald Trump accepted the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday, he outlined his vision for governing the country. He painted a dire picture of the state of the US and described a series of actions he planned to take. But his comments were marred by a myriad of false and misleading information that distorted the facts surrounding immigration, the US economy and its past achievements.
Here are the facts.
TRUMP: “The greatest invasion in history is taking place right here in our country – they are coming from every corner of the earth, not just South America, but Africa, Asia and the Middle East – they are coming from everywhere , and this administration does nothing to stop them. They come from prisons and jails, from mental institutions and asylums, and from terrorists at levels never seen before.”
THE FACTS: Trump spent much of his speech discussing immigration and the massive influx of migrants into the US, recurrent several false and misleading claims, including that it caused an increase in crime. He cited recent heinous and high-profile crimes allegedly committed by people in the country illegally as evidence.
But the suggestion that there has been an increase in violent crime nationally as a result of the influx is not supported by facts. FBI statistics do not separate crimes by the immigration status of the perpetrator, nor is there any evidence of an increase in crimes perpetrated by migrants, either along the US-Mexico border or in cities experiencing the largest influx of migrants. , like New York. In fact, national statistics show that violent crime is decreasing.
Studies have found that people living in the country illegally are less likely than native-born Americans to be arrested for violent, drug-related, and property crimes. A 2020 study published by the National Academy of Sciences found “considerably lower criminal arrest rates” among people in the United States illegally than legal immigrants or native-born citizens.
There is also no evidence to support that other countries are sending their murderers, drug traffickers and other criminals to the USA.
TRUMP: “We had the greatest economy in the history of the world.”
THE FACTS: This is far from accurate. The pandemic triggered a massive recession during his presidency. The government borrowed $3.1 billion in 2020 to stabilize the economy and Trump left the White House with fewer jobs than when he entered.
But even if we exclude the problems caused by the pandemic, economic growth averaged 2.67% during Trump’s first three years, which is pretty solid. But it’s nowhere near the 4% average during Bill Clinton’s two terms, from 1993 to 2001, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In fact, growth has been stronger so far under Biden than under Trump.
Trump dropped the unemployment rate to 3.5% before the pandemic, but the labor force participation rate for people ages 25 to 54 — the core of the U.S. working population — was higher under Clinton . The turnout rate was also higher under Biden than under Trump.
TRUMP, on US troops in Afghanistan: “We also left behind 85 billion dollars in military equipment.”
THE FACTS: These numbers are significantly inflatedaccording to reports from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, which oversees American taxpayer money spent on the conflict.
The value of US$85 billion resembles a number from a date of July 30th. quarterly report from SIGAR, which highlighted that the US has invested around 83 billion dollars to build, train and equip Afghan security forces since 2001.
However, that funding included paying for troops, training, operations and infrastructure, along with equipment and transportation over two decades, according to reports from SIGAR and Dan Grazier, a defense policy analyst at the Project on Government Oversight. .
“We spent well over $80 billion on assistance to Afghan security forces,” Grazier told the AP in August 2021. “But that’s not all of the equipment costs.”
In fact, only around $18 billion of that sum was allocated to equipping Afghan forces between 2002 and 2018, according to a June 2019 SIGAR. report showed.
Other I estimated of a 2017 Government Accountability Office report found that about 29% of dollars spent on Afghan security forces between 2005 and 2016 funded equipment and transportation. Transportation funding included equipment as well as contracted pilots and planes to transport staff to meetings.
If that percentage were to remain the same over the entire two-decade period, it would mean that the US has spent about $24 billion on equipment and transportation for Afghan forces since 2001.
But even if that were true, much of the military equipment would become obsolete after years of use, according to Grazier. Furthermore, American troops have already discarded unwanted equipment and, before withdrawal, disabled dozens of Humvees and aircraft so they could not be used again, according to Marine Gen. Frank McKenzie, head of U.S. Central Command.
While no one knows the exact value of the US-supplied Afghan equipment the Taliban obtained, defense officials confirmed is significant.
MIKE POMPEO, Trump’s Secretary of State, on Americans held hostage in the Gaza Strip by Hamas: “President Biden won’t even talk about the fact that Americans are still being held there by the Iranian regime.”
THE FACTS: President Joe Biden has spoken repeatedly about the Americans who were among the 240 people taken hostage by Hamas on October 7, 2023. Eight Americans were allegedly still in captivityincluding three who were killed.
For example, three days after the attack that started the Israel-Hamas Warsaid Biden, “we now know that American citizens are among those detained by Hamas.”
Soon after, on October 20, 2023he said, “As I told the families of Americans held captive by Hamas, we are seeking every means to bring their loved ones home.”
Biden released a statement on January 14, 2024who described the day as “a devastating and tragic milestone – 100 days of captivity for more than 100 innocent people, including up to 6 Americans, who are still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza.”
More recently, on April 27, wrote in a post on his official Facebook page: “I will not rest until all the hostages, like Abigail, torn from their families and detained by Hamas, are back in the arms of their loved ones. They have my word. Their families have my word.”
___ Find AP Fact Checks here: https://apnews.com/APFactCheck.
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