In this week’s fact-checking video, CNN’s Jake Tapper examines several claims from President Donald Trump’s remarks after an Iranian missile attack on military bases in Iraq housing U.S. coalition forces.
Video: FactChecking Trump’s Iran Address
A Misleading Take on Alabama’s Abortion Law
An Instagram post misleadingly claims a young rape victim can be “thrown in prison” for receiving an abortion in Alabama. Under a new law, which has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, criminal charges could be brought against doctors who perform abortions, but not women receiving them.
Pelosi Did Not ‘Defend’ Soleimani
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to kill Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani as “provocative and disproportionate.” But, contrary to the president’s contention, she did not “defend” Soleimani.
Trump Takes Undue Credit for Cancer Progress
President Donald Trump boasted of the lowest cancer death rate on record, and implied that his administration was responsible for the achievement. While he’s right about the statistic, the improved death rate is the result of decades-long efforts on cancer prevention, detection and treatment.
Video of Clinton on Iran Taken Out of Context
An out-of-context clip from a 2008 interview with then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton is circulating on Facebook. It shows her saying the U.S. “will attack Iran” if she becomes president. But she was responding to a question about a hypothetical nuclear attack by Iran on Israel.
Posts Spread Fake Omar Tweet Calling for ‘Violence’
A fictitious tweet attributed to Rep. Ilhan Omar is circulating on social media. The congresswoman didn’t write that the “time for violence is now” over her disagreement with President Donald Trump’s actions on Iran.
FactChecking Trump’s Iran Address
In an address to the nation a day after an Iranian attack on military bases housing U.S. soldiers in Iraq, President Donald Trump made some dubious, misleading and inaccurate claims.
Amid Military Tension, Meme Misdates Soldiers’ Deaths
A meme circulating on Facebook displays photos of five U.S. soldiers that purportedly were killed “this Tuesday in Afghanistan.” Actually, they died in 2013 and there was a sixth soldier killed in the same incident who isn’t included in the meme.
Biden’s Position on Osama bin Laden Raid
Former Vice President Joe Biden denied that he told then-President Barack Obama “not to go after [Osama] bin Laden” in what turned out to be a successful mission to kill the 9/11 mastermind. But Biden wasn’t giving the whole story, and has over time given contradictory accounts.
Pence Links Iran’s Soleimani to 9/11 Attacks
Vice President Mike Pence tweeted that Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani “[a]ssisted in the clandestine travel to Afghanistan” of some of the terrorists who executed the 9/11 terrorist attacks. However, that doesn’t mean that Iran, or Soleimani, knowingly aided al Qaeda in carrying out the attacks, which may be the impression some got from Pence’s tweet.