Russian President Vladimir Putin made several false and misleading claims during his press conference in Finland with President Donald Trump and in an interview with Fox News.
FactChecking Russian President Putin
Stories by Lori Robertson
Managing Editor, FactCheck.org
Trump’s Remarks on Putin and the Russia Investigation
Asked whether he believed U.S. intelligence agencies or Russian President Vladimir Putin on whether Russia meddled in the 2016 election, President Donald Trump declined to directly respond. Instead, he raised questions about the Russia investigation.
Kavanaugh and the Preexisting Conditions Debate
An ad from a Democratic group warned that the president’s Supreme Court nominee could eliminate preexisting condition protections under the Affordable Care Act, a move that “would take us back to a time when insurance companies could deny you coverage.” But that depends on who “you” are.
Trump’s ‘Travel Ban’ Doesn’t Affect All Muslims
Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison tweeted that the Supreme Court “ratified Donald Trump’s ‘total and complete shutdown’ of Muslims entry into the United States.” That is a Trump quote from the presidential campaign. But his actual executive actions didn’t go that far.
Illegal Immigration Statistics
Much of the political rhetoric in recent weeks has focused on illegal immigration. We thought it would be helpful to take a step back and look at some measures of illegal immigration in a larger context.
Sessions vs. Sessions on Separating Families
Attorney General Jeff Sessions now says that the administration “never really intended” to separate families as part of its zero tolerance policy on illegal immigration. But Sessions had previously acknowledged that that’s what would happen under this policy.
More Bogus Border Claims
During the ongoing family-separation controversy, President Donald Trump and others have made false or misleading statements on several immigration issues.
Did the Obama Administration Separate Families?
In defending its “zero tolerance” border policy that has caused the separation of families, the Trump administration has argued that the Obama and Bush administrations did this too. That’s misleading. Experts say there were some separations under previous administrations, but no blanket policy to prosecute parents and, therefore, separate them from their children.
Trump Misleads on IG Report
President Donald Trump said he thinks former FBI Director James Comey committed “very criminal acts.” But the facts don’t support the president’s opinion. Trump also claimed the inspector general’s report “totally exonerates” him, but the report didn’t evaluate the Russia investigation.
Trump Garbles Canadian Trade Stats
The official U.S. statistics on trade with Canada show that the United States has a trade surplus with our neighbor to the north. The U.S. surplus was $2.8 billion in 2017, according to the Census Bureau. Yet, President Donald Trump has claimed that the U.S. has “close to $100 billion a year loss with Canada” or $17 billion “minimum.”