fact finder
Status: 11.09.2024 12:13
In the first TV debate between Trump and Harris, the former US president in particular made many false claims. On the subject of pets, Trump adopted an absurd narrative from social media.
In the first TV debate with the Democratic presidential candidate, current Vice President Kamala Harris, former US President Donald Trump made significantly more false claims than she did. He also rehashed older conspiracy theories.
No killing of infants allowed
On the subject of abortion, Trump claimed that Harris’ running mate Tim Walz was perfectly OK with an abortion in the ninth month of pregnancy – and even killing the baby after birth. But that is wrong. For one thing, it is not legal in any US state to intentionally kill a baby after birth, not even in Minnesota, where Walz is governor.
Walz supports maintaining current legislation that allows abortions until the fetus is viable, usually until about 24 weeks of pregnancy. After that, abortions are only allowed in cases where the life or health of the mother is in danger.
“The government and certainly Donald Trump should not be telling a woman what to do with her body,” said Harris, promising that if she wins the election she would enshrine the right to abortion in law. To do this, however, Harris would need a corresponding majority in Congress.
Harris, in turn, said that Trump would sign a national abortion ban if he were re-elected. However, that is not true. According to US media reports, Trump has promised at least several times that he will not sign a federal abortion ban. Instead, he wants to leave the decision to the states.
Inflation not at historic high
Trump also made two false claims about inflation. He said that the US is experiencing the highest inflation ever under current President Joe Biden and Vice President Harris.
Although the inflation rate in the United States was 9.1 percent in June 2022, which is very high, it has been higher several times in U.S. history. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, the inflation rate was between 12 and 14 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and in 1917 it was almost 18 percent.
Trump also claimed that there was virtually no inflation during his term. This is also not true. Inflation was lower during his term than it is today, but it existed: about 8 percent cumulatively for his presidency (compared to 19 percent cumulatively under President Biden so far) and 1.4 percent year-on-year in the last month of his term compared to the current 2.9 percent (as of July 2024).
Harris is at Unemployment rate incorrect
Harris claimed that Trump left office with the worst unemployment rate since the Great Depression. That is also false. In January 2021, when Trump left office, the unemployment rate in the US was 6.4 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate was significantly higher during his term in office in April 2020, as a result of the corona pandemic. At that time, it was 14.8 percent.
By 1933, the so-called Great Depression had led to mass unemployment, falling prices and wages, and banking crises in almost all industrialized countries in the world. In the USA, almost a quarter of the population was unemployed at the time.
No evidence of pets being eaten
Trump also echoed a claim widely circulated on social media last week that Haitian migrants in the city of Springfield, Ohio, were stealing and eating pets, including dogs and cats, but there is no evidence to support this claim.
Both the city of Springfield and the local police have stated that there is no evidence to support this claim. A city spokesperson told ABC News that there are “no credible reports or specific allegations that pets have been harmed, injured or mistreated by migrants.” The city has even set up a website that refutes some of the claims.
Nevertheless, this conspiracy narrative is very popular among Trump supporters. Among other things, they spread AI-generated images on the Internet that show Trump holding cats and other pets in his arms in order to portray him as an animal savior.
Trump did not receive the most votes
In the TV debate, Trump also repeated the conspiracy narrative of the stolen election. He also claimed that he had received more votes than any president. But that is wrong. In the 2020 election, Trump had fewer popular votes and fewer electoral votes than his opponent Biden. However, Trump received more direct votes than any US president who has ever run for re-election.
In the 2016 presidential election, Trump had about 2.8 million fewer popular votes than his then rival Hillary Clinton. Ultimately, he won with the decisive votes of the electoral college.
Trump also rehashed the also-debunked claim that attendees at Harris’ rallies were paid. The claim was based on a social media post that was manipulated, but there is no other evidence to support it.
Similar accusations are also repeatedly made by right-wing extremist circles in Germany, for example in connection with the protests against right-wing extremism at the beginning of the year.
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