Donald Trump is running for president again — and he’s singing from the same hymn book of falsehoods. With few exceptions, many of the factual claims made in his announcement speech could have been plucked from a campaign-rally speech in the waning days of the 2020 election campaign — or even from his announcement speech in 2015. Here’s a guide to 19 claims he made on Tuesday night, in the order in which he made them.
“When the virus hit our shores, I took decisive action and saved lives and the U.S. economy.”
Trump did not take decisive action. For weeks, he played down the threat of a pandemic, telling reporters in February 2020 that in April the virus would “miraculously” go away.
“Importantly, after decades of rising energy costs, the United States had finally attained the impossible dream of American energy independence, which soon would have turned into energy dominance.”
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This is false. Under Trump, the United States continued to import millions of barrels of oil per day, with 48 percent coming from Canada and 11 percent from Persian Gulf countries. Trump appears to be basing this statement on the fact the United States exported more crude and refined products than it imported. That’s still the case. In 2021, according to the Energy Information Administration, the United States imported about 8.47 million barrels per day of petroleum, compared to exports of 8.63 million barrels per day. But the country still relies on other countries for its energy...
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is in "good health" and suffered only minor injuries during the February 28 strikes, senior Iranian officials said on Friday, dismissing mounting speculation...