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A Project of The Annenberg Public Policy Center

FactChecking Day Two of the GOP Midterm Convention

FactChecking Day Two of the GOP Midterm Convention

Vice President JD Vance gave the keynote address on the second night of the Republican midterm convention, which also featured Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., House Speaker Mike Johnson and a final send-off from President Donald Trump. Here’s what we found in fact-checking their remarks:

Trump’s Misleading Crime Drop Claims

Trump’s Misleading Crime Drop Claims

In announcing the latest FBI annual report on nationwide crime, President Donald Trump wrongly cast the decline in crime in 2025 as a dramatic turnaround and made misleading claims about the impact of his administration’s policies.

D.C. Homicide-Free Streak Not First in ‘Years’

D.C. Homicide-Free Streak Not First in ‘Years’

While signing executive orders at the White House on Aug. 25, President Donald Trump wrongly said that an 11-day span of no homicides in Washington, D.C., was the “first time that’s taken place in years,” a claim reiterated by other members of the administration who credited Trump’s federal takeover of the district’s law enforcement.

Assessing Claims About the Reliability of D.C. Crime Data

Assessing Claims About the Reliability of D.C. Crime Data

The Trump administration has accused the Washington, D.C., police department of reporting “phony crime stats” and “cooking the books,” citing the suspension of a police commander for allegedly altering crime data. The U.S. attorney’s office in the district reportedly opened an investigation into whether city officials had manipulated crime statistics. Here’s what we know about the allegations.

Trump Now Citing Murder Stats He Used to Dismiss as ‘Fake News’

Trump Now Citing Murder Stats He Used to Dismiss as ‘Fake News’

President Donald Trump recently boasted that the nation’s murder rate has “plummeted by 28%” since he took office. Data supplied by local police departments do show the nation’s murder rate is dropping, as it has been for several years. Notably, Trump now seems comfortable with crime data that he criticized repeatedly during the campaign as “fake news.”

What President Trump Inherits, Part 2

What President Trump Inherits, Part 2

On Inauguration Day, we provide a look at various metrics on the state of the country at the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.

Whoppers of 2024

Whoppers of 2024

Our annual roundup of the worst falsehoods of the year.