Despite a mostly civil debate between Sen. JD Vance and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the two disagreed repeatedly not just on policy, but also on the facts. We referee some of those competing claims, and other factual missteps by the vice presidential candidates.
The highly anticipated debate between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris was a combative event in which facts were repeatedly trampled and distorted.
Former President Donald Trump, who has famously called climate change a “hoax” for many years, hasn’t used the word lately with respect to climate change. But he still clings to some similar arguments, and other claims he makes about climate change haven’t changed much over the years.
On the campaign trail this summer, former President Donald Trump has routinely cast doubt on climate change by falsely claiming that the oceans will rise just “one-eighth of an inch over the next 400 years.” He’s previously used the same measurement over a period of 250 years. In fact, the current rate of sea level rise is already a little more than one-eighth of an inch each year.
In Vice President Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech, we found familiar claims about taxes, abortion, birth control, and Social Security and Medicare.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted his party’s vice presidential nomination, and repeated claims he has made before about the Republican ticket. Other speakers tried to link former President Donald Trump to Project 2025, among other claims.
Former President Donald Trump falsely claimed Algerian boxer Imane Khelif is “a person who transitioned” and “was a good male boxer.” Khelif was born a woman and has lived as a woman, participating in women’s boxing events for years. Many social media posts made similar claims.
In defending his “childless cat lady” comments, Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance wrongly claimed that Vice President Kamala Harris “is calling for an end to the child tax credit.” He also incorrectly claimed that Harris said “it was a bad idea to have kids because of climate change anxiety.”
President Joe Biden tested positive for COVID-19 on July 17. His symptoms remained mild and have since resolved, according to his treating physician. But fueled by days without a public sighting and Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race, social media posts have baselessly claimed that Biden was gravely ill or had a medical emergency.
We fact-checked former President Donald Trump’s speech accepting his party’s nomination.