President Donald Trump made several false, misleading and exaggerated claims in press briefings he held Aug. 7 and 8 at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
FactChecking Trump’s Weekend Press Briefings
Issues: coronavirus
Dueling Trump, Biden Claims on COVID-19 Vaccination Distribution
President Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden, have made competing claims about the administration’s plans to distribute COVID-19 vaccines. We look at the planning to date.
Trump Ad Features Edited, Out-of-Context Biden Photos
President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign has released an ad that features edited and out-of-context photos to illustrate Joe Biden “hiding” in his basement rather than taking questions from reporters on the campaign trail.
Asthma Medicine Not Proven as COVID-19 ‘Cure’
A viral headline on Facebook claims that a vaccine isn’t “Needed” for COVID-19 because “There Is Already A Cure.” But the supposed “cure” is an asthma medication, touted by a Texas doctor, that has not yet been proven in clinical trials as an effective treatment for COVID-19 — though researchers are exploring its efficacy.
Trump’s Misleading COVID-19 Comparisons to Other Countries
In a flurry of tweets and remarks, President Donald Trump continued to distort the facts on the coronavirus pandemic.
COVID-19 Nasal Swab Test Does Not Cause Risk of Infection
A viral Facebook post makes the false claim that the nasal swab test for COVID-19 damages the “blood-brain barrier” and can therefore lead to brain infections. Medical experts say the swab test is completely safe.
Herman Cain Died of COVID-19, Not Cancer
Within hours after his passing, Facebook posts falsely claimed that former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain died of colon cancer, not COVID-19. Cain did battle and survive cancer in 2006, but his staff confirmed online that his death was due to the novel coronavirus.
COVID-19 Data-Reporting Changed, But Not Florida’s Case Count
As Florida’s COVID-19 case count rose to the second-highest in the U.S. in July, a former challenger for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s congressional seat falsely claimed on social media that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had made a “mistake” and subsequently reduced Florida’s count by 79,000 cases. There was no such adjustment.
FactChecking Trump’s COVID-19 Press Briefing
President Donald Trump, at a July 28 briefing, made a few false and misleading statements about COVID-19.
In Viral Video, Doctor Falsely Touts Hydroxychloroquine as COVID-19 ‘Cure’
A widely shared video, featuring a doctor falsely claiming hydroxychloroquine is a “cure” for COVID-19, ignited an online storm that resulted in the video being pulled by social media platforms. There is no known cure for COVID-19, and current scientific evidence hasn’t found that hydroxychloroquine is an effective treatment.