Following up on key claims made by 47th US president during his day one speech
Donald Trump repeatedly made false and misleading claims during his inaugural address.
Here are the facts on some of the false claims offered during Trump’s speech.
The claim: Trump pledged to take back the Panama Canal, while repeating a number of false claims including that 38,000 Americans died during the building of the canal. He also claimed that “China is operating” the canal.
What Trump said:
“A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America and we will restore the name of a great president, William McKinley to Mount McKinley, where it should be and where it belongs. President McKinley made our country very rich through tariffs and through talent. He was a natural businessman and gave Teddy Roosevelt the money for many of the great things he did, including the Panama Canal, which has foolishly been given to the country of Panama after the United States, the United States, I mean, think of this spent more money than ever spent on a project before and lost 38,000 lives in the building of the Panama Canal. We have been treated very badly from this foolish gift that should have never been made and Panama’s promise to us has been broken. The purpose of our deal and the spirit of our treaty has been totally violated. American ships are being severely overcharge,...
Washington CNN — President Donald Trump made only a smattering of false claims in his inaugural address on Monday, mostly sticking to vague rhetoric, subjective assertions and uncheckable promises ...