By MELISSA GOLDIN
President Donald Trump made myriad false and misleading claims during his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, many of which he has repeated frequently throughout his second term in the White House.
They covered topics such as U.S. munitions supply, drug seizures, oil and the economy.
Here’s a closer look at the facts.
CLAIM: “We have more munitions than we could ever possibly even think of using, and we’re building them at levels that we have never done before.”
THE FACTS: Published reports and experts contradict this claim. Weapons stockpiles are diminishing, according to officials from the U.S. military, NATO and the Middle East, and it will take years for U.S. military contractors to replenish Tomahawk cruise missiles as well as Patriot and THAAD missile interceptors, according to defense experts.
In August, officials told The Associated Press that the U.S. military is experiencing a “beyond critical” shortage of advanced missile interceptors in Europe largely driven by President Donald Trump’s war with Iran, raising concerns about vulnerabilities in NATO countries to a potential Russian attack.
One U.S. defense official said the most concerning shortfall involves Patriot missile interceptors, which can shoot down Russia’s high-speed ballistic missiles. A NATO official confirmed low inventories of Patriot missiles among American and NATO forces in Europe. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military...
By MELISSA GOLDIN President Donald Trump made myriad false and misleading claims during his address to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, many of which he has repeated frequently thro...