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PolitiFact Scorecard for Donald Trump

TRUE | MOSTLY TRUE | MOSTLY FALSE | FALSE | PANTS ON FIRE

True (4%) — 15 of 350 Researched Statements

Mostly True (12%) — 41 of 350 Researched Statements

Half True (15%) — 51 of 350 Researched Statements

Mostly False (19%) — 66 of 350 Researched Statements

False (33%) — 115 of 350 Researched Statements

Pants on Fire (18%) — 62 of 350 Researched Statements

The Countdown

Latest Headlines

Trump projects up to 240,000 coronavirus deaths in U.S., even with mitigation efforts
The president took a newly somber tone — and contradicted many of his previous assessments of the virus — as he urged residents to follow measures aimed at limiting the spread of covid-19. ... read more
The Washington Post2020-03-31
1 hour ago
Major retailers have opened only 5 drive-thru testing locations, none available to the general public
As he was facing intense criticism for a lack of adequate testing, President Donald Trump announced in the Rose Garden in mid-March that the federal government would partner with private companies to set up drive-thru coronavirus testing sites. ... read more
CNN2020-03-31
2 hours ago
The Safety Net Got a Quick Patch. What Happens After the Coronavirus?
The emergency legislation enacted by Congress with support from Republicans and President Trump has intensified a long-running debate about whether the United States does enough in ordinary times to protect the needy. ... read more
The New York Times2020-03-31
2 hours ago
With the Coronavirus, It’s Again Trump vs. Mother Nature
The president’s failure to understand his limits is very costly. ... read more
The New York Times2020-03-31
2 hours ago
Inside Trump’s Coronavirus Theatrics on War Powers, Ventilators and GM
On Friday, Mar. 27, President Donald Trump took what appeared to be bold, decisive action in the fight against the new coronavirus. Reaching for wartime powers under the Defense Production Act, Trump ordered the federal government to “use any and all authority” to force auto giant General Motors to produce ventilators, the life-saving medical devices desperately needed by patients and hospitals struggling to survive the fast-spreading COVID-19 respiratory illness. For good measure, Trump tweeted, “General Motors MUST immediately open their stupidly abandoned Lordstown plant in Ohio, or some other plant, and START MAKING VENTILATORS, NOW!!!!!!” But if Trump’s Friday performance ... read more
TIME Magazine2020-03-31
2 hours ago
Now, America Needs to Prepare for a Fear Contagion. Can We Handle It?
If political leaders are to contend with the deadly disease sweeping the world, they must understand that it only looks like one contagion. In reality, it is two. One of them is the virus itself, Covid-19, an entirely new pathogen. The second pathogen is ancient, more intractable, and more contagious: human fear.It’s not just a metaphor. Fear changes human behavior, for better and worse. As scientists and doctors fight the virus itself, the biggest challenge for government will become managing this second epidemic—the spread of fear and also its retreat, which can sometimes be even riskier.I’ve built true-to-life computer models ... read more
POLITICO2020-03-31
2 hours ago
The White House projects 100,000 to 200,000 Covid-19 deaths
President Trump stands next to a graph modeling potential deaths due to the coronavirus on March 31. | Win McNamee/Getty Images At least. And outside experts say that’s a reasonable estimate. On Tuesday, the White House’s coronavirus task force presented grim statistics: Under the best-case scenario for mitigation of the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be between 100,000 and 200,000 deaths in the United States, with the number of deaths peaking in the next two weeks. The White House’s numbers, presented in a sobering press conference, are based on statistical models drawing on the best available data that attempt to predict ... read more
Vox2020-03-31
3 hours ago
Trump warns Americans of a tough two weeks ahead in coronavirus fight
President Donald Trump and his top healthcare advisers urged Americans on Tuesday to follow strict social distancing measures ahead of a "tough two weeks" that could see at least 100,000 deaths from the coronavirus in the United States. ... read more
Reuters2020-03-31
3 hours ago
White House Predicts As Many As 240,000 U.S. Deaths From Coronavirus
President Trump is warning Americans to brace for a “rough two-week period.” ... read more
The Huffington Post2020-03-31
3 hours ago
Union’s Search for Face Masks Gets Twisted Online
Quick Take A meme falsely claims that a health care workers’ union was “caught hiding 39 million N95 masks,” and other posts cast suspicion on the union’s motives. In reality, the union had called medical suppliers nationwide in an effort to find masks — and it never had or hid them. Full Story A California health care workers’ union launched a nationwide search on March 21 for face masks and other protective gear that have been in short supply since the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the U.S. On March 26, the union announced that it had found a supplier with ... read more
FactCheck.org2020-03-31
4 hours ago
Right Wing Round-Up: Coronavirus Truthers
Aaron Rupar @ Vox: Monday’s White House coronavirus briefing proved they’ve become mini Trump rallies. Hemant Mehta @ Friendly Atheist: MyPillow CEO Preaches Christian Lies During Trump’s Useless Pandemic Briefing. Josh Feldman @ Mediaite: Mitch McConnell Says Impeachment ‘Diverted the Attention’ of the Government from Coronavirus. Ruth Graham @ Slate: The Florida Pastor Who Was Jailed for Endangering Public Health Has a Knack for Outrageous Stunts. Matthew Rozsa @ Salon: Fox Nation’s Diamond & Silk falsely claim number of COVID-19 cases is inflated to hurt Trump. Will Sommer @ The Daily Beast: Naturally, We Now Have a Cottage Industry of ... read more
Right Wing Watch2020-03-31
5 hours ago
Courts Put the Brakes on Politicians’ Efforts to Ban Abortion Amid Covid-19 Outbreak
On March 30, federal judges in three states granted temporary restraining orders protecting access to abortion amid the coronavirus outbreak. The court orders — in Texas, Alabama, and Ohio — came after state officials used executive actions to limit nonessential medical procedures and impose restraints on social gatherings. In each, state attorneys exploited the ongoing Covid-19 crisis to interpret the orders to ban all access to abortion except in life-threatening situations. “Let this swift ruling send a clear message to politicians and anti-abortion activists in other states,” Alexis McGill Johnson, acting president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, ... read more
The Intercept2020-03-31
8 hours ago
Anti-Choice Leaders Use COVID-19 to Push for Nationwide Shut Down of Abortion Access
Anti-choice activist Janet Porter has mobilized a large group of religious-right leaders who are seeking to use the COVID-19 pandemic to attack Planned Parenthood and eliminate access to abortion across the U.S. It’s a prime example of a right-wing tactic Right Wing Watch identified Monday: groups using the crisis to advance long-term agendas. Porter, known for her advocacy of so-called “heartbeat” bills, made an inflammatory and flawed comparison between medical clinics remaining open to serve individual patients and churches closing rather than convening large gatherings. “We call on President Trump and Vice President Pence to shut the door to the ... read more
Right Wing Watch2020-03-31
8 hours ago
Flawed Comparison on Coronavirus, H1N1 Emergency Timelines
Quick Take Facebook posts falsely claim that it “took [President Barack] Obama ‘millions infected and over 1,000 deaths’ to declare the H1N1 flu a health emergency,” but President Donald Trump “declared a health emergency” before the first coronavirus death. In reality, both administrations declared public health emergencies before the first reported deaths. Full Story We’ve previously dissected President Donald Trump’s faulty comparisons between his response to the novel coronavirus pandemic and former President Barack Obama’s handling of the H1N1 “swine flu” pandemic. But misleading comparisons persist, and recent social media posts twist the facts about the timing of emergency ... read more
FactCheck.org2020-03-31
9 hours ago
4 takeaways from the brutal new report on FBI surveillance
Months after finding many problems with the FISA application to monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page, a new report suggests that the issues are more widespread. ... read more
The Washington Post2020-03-31
9 hours ago
‘A Double Whammy.’ Those Who Most Need The $1,200 Stimulus Checks May Wait the Longest To Get Them
A little less than three weeks ago, when the number of people infected with the COVID-19 virus began to spike, Mikael Laboy found himself in a tough spot. The 21-year-old’s job at a biotechnology company in Puerto Rico required him to work in close proximity to his coworkers, and he says his employer wasn’t taking enough precautions to keep them safe. Since he lives with his brother and sister-in-law, who is pregnant, he felt he couldn’t risk accidentally bringing the infection home. So he quit. “There’s people living in my household that I can’t put at risk,” he says. ... read more
TIME Magazine2020-03-31
9 hours ago
Plans for 2020 Tent and Stadium Events Are On for Now, Says Awaken the Dawn
Awaken the Dawn, a ministry that organizes large-scale worship events in outdoor tents, told supporters Monday that its ambitious 2020 plans for the summer and fall are still scheduled to take place, but said they would make adjustments to comply with public health mandates if necessary. Awaken the Dawn is led by David Bradshaw, who has said that God told him tent events are “a silver bullet for the move of God in America.” On a Mar. 20 prayer call organized by Awaken the Dawn, Bradshaw said the coronavirus is part of a “satanic agenda” and “demonic assignment” to take ... read more
Right Wing Watch2020-03-31
10 hours ago
Where Things Stand: 2020 On His Mind
While President Trump was moved on Sunday by the grim data experts showed him on death projections sans tight social distancing measures, there was another set of numbers that reportedly pushed Trump to abandon his Easter pipe dream. According to a new New York Times report, before Trump’s public appearances on Sunday, his political advisers showed him polling data regarding voter opinions on social distancing measures. The advisers told Trump that the majority of voters preferred to see social distancing maintained to prevent further spread over sending Americans back to work to resuscitate the economy before the worst is ... read more
Talking Points Memo2020-03-31
11 hours ago
Federal Student Loan Payments Will Be Suspended Through Sept. 30 Due To The Coronavirus
Lenders will have to immediately stop requiring payments and accruing interest on federally held student loans after President Trump signed the new coronavirus aid bill into law.View Entire Post › ... read more
Buzzfeed Politics2020-03-31
13 hours ago
What Will Happen When Red States Need Help?
It shouldn’t be all that remarkable when two leaders talk in a crisis. On Sunday morning, President Donald Trump got on the phone with Mayor Bill de Blasio to discuss what New York City needs to survive a white-hot outbreak that is only getting worse. De Blasio asked him to send more ventilators and military personnel, warning that in a week’s time, the health-care system could be overwhelmed. Yet with these particular leaders at this particular point in history, it is remarkable. Until recently, de Blasio told me, none of his calls to the upper reaches of the White House were ... read more
The Atlantic2020-03-31
13 hours ago
President Trump insists on congratulations while America braces for the worst
It is falling to President Donald Trump to lead America into its most tragic month in decades, as experts say the coronavirus pandemic could kill more citizens than the Vietnam and Korean wars combined. ... read more
CNN2020-03-31
14 hours ago
The Energy 202: Trump administration moves forward with looser air rules as respiratory disease grips U.S.
Scientists studying coronavirus are looking at whether pollution increases the risk of infection. ... read more
The Washington Post2020-03-31
14 hours ago
Senator: Trump’s Coronavirus Response ‘Feels Like Ukraine All Over Again’
"I mean, the message seems pretty clear, if you criticize the president, then you are going to get attacked," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) ... read more
The Huffington Post2020-03-31
18 hours ago
Exclusive: Kushner Firm Built the Coronavirus Website Trump Promised
Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. On March 13, President Donald Trump promised Americans they would soon be able to access a new website that would ask them about their symptoms and direct them to nearby coronavirus testing sites. He said Google was helping.That wasn’t true. But in the following days, Oscar Health—a health-insurance company closely connected to Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner—developed a government website with the features the president had described. A team of Oscar engineers, project managers, and executives spent about five days building a ... read more
The Atlantic2020-03-30
24 hours ago
Behind Trump’s Reversal on Reopening the Country: 2 Sets of Numbers
An estimate of the number of possible deaths and polling that showed a cautious public changed, for now, the president’s approach to the coronavirus pandemic. ... read more
The New York Times2020-03-30
24 hours ago
U.S. senators urge coronavirus delay to June 1 USMCA trade deal start date
A bipartisan group of 19 U.S. senators urged the Trump administration to push back the planned June 1 start date for the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade pact, saying the short lead time would add to pressures on U.S. companies due to the spread of the coronavirus. ... read more
Reuters2020-03-30
1 day ago
Trump and the Coronavirus Death Projections
In his March 30 appearance on “Fox & Friends,” President Donald Trump suggested an estimate that the novel coronavirus might kill a huge number of Americans was a new revelation. The president said in the interview that “the answer” to his question about how many people could die if the U.S. did nothing to combat the new coronavirus “came in yesterday through” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator. “[I]f we just kept the business as usual, didn’t do anything to stop it ... read more
FactCheck.org2020-03-30
1 day ago
Trump vs. Cuomo, Round 2
President Donald Trump continued his misleading attacks on Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic as it ravages the state. With mask use spiking at one New York hospital, Trump speculated that masks may be “going out the back door,” suggesting they are being stolen. He has provided no evidence, however, that theft is driving the increase. A bioresponse expert told us that during the COVID-19 pandemic, it is “reasonable” for hard-hit hospitals “to see its mask use increase by an order of magnitude.” The president said that 4,000 ventilators delivered to New York from the ... read more
FactCheck.org2020-03-30
1 day ago
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has a ‘huge victory’ in the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline
A federal judge handed down a major victory for the Standing Rock Sioux tribe of North Dakota on Wednesday, ruling that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers violated the National Environmental Policy Act by approving federal permits for the Dakota Access Pipeline.The USACE must complete a full environmental impact study of the pipeline, including full consideration of concerns presented by the Standing Rock Tribe, the judge ruled. The tribe has asked the court to ultimately shut the pipeline down.BREAKING: The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe scored a major victory in the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline today when a court ... read more
GOOD2020-03-30
1 day ago
Illinois Asked Trump For More N95 Masks. He Sent Surgical Masks Instead.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker ripped the White House for its lackluster response as states like his combat the growing spread of coronavirus. ... read more
The Huffington Post2020-03-30
1 day ago
Frustrated Gamblers Turn to Politics as the Only Game in Town
When coronavirus shut down the sports world in the span of a few days it didn’t just sideline thousands of professional athletes and their legions of fans. It benched thousands of sports gamblers who suddenly couldn’t find so much as a daily double at the local dog track to bet on.But while the players remain idle, itchy bettors, stuck at home with their online betting apps, have found an outlet for their pent-up urge to wager. Overnight they have turned to the only competition still going: U.S. politics. And many of the bookmakers and online betting sites who take those ... read more
POLITICO2020-03-30
1 day ago
Polling shows Americans see COVID-19 as a crisis, don’t think US is overreacting
By William A. GalstonAs soon as the novel coronavirus began spreading across the country, some pundits—and on occasion President Trump—alleged that health experts and the media were exaggerating the problem and that policy makers were responding with measures that the American people would not tolerate. The high-quality survey research published in recent days makes it clear that the people don’t agree. They believe that we face a national emergency and that all the steps taken during the past few weeks are reasonable and proportionate. As of now, moreover, there is no evidence—none—that these measures have pushed the people past their ... read more
The Brookings Institution2020-03-30
1 day ago
Beware of Trump Using the Coronavirus as a Cover for War With Iran
U.S. Army soldiers from the 82nd Airborne board a C-17 aircraft at Fort Bragg, N.C., to be deployed to the Middle East on Jan. 1, 2020. Photo: Melissa Sue Gerrits/The Fayetteville Observer via AP The news is all coronavirus. Whether it’s cable news, national newspapers, public radio, or even my own Intercept podcast, we can’t get away from it. The pandemic has overwhelmed us all; we talk, think, dream of little else. But let me try and grab your attention for a few moments and point you in a different direction. ... read more
The Intercept2020-03-30
1 day ago
Entrevista: quando a vacina do coronavírus chegar, as farmacêuticas vão priorizar a sua vida?
Cientistas ao redor do mundo estão correndo para desenvolver uma vacina capaz de neutralizar o novo coronavírus, que causa a covid-19, doença respiratória que já matou mais de 14,6 mil pessoas desde dezembro. Pelo menos 20 vacinas estão em desenvolvimento, e o primeiro ensaio clínico em humanos começou nos Estados Unidos, na semana passada, quando o mundo atingiu a marca de mais de 185 mil casos confirmados. Uma vacina segura e eficaz pode começar a ser produzida em massa dentro de 18 meses, de acordo com autoridades mundiais. Isso pode parecer uma eternidade para as ... read more
The Intercept2020-03-27
4 days ago
Trump Is an Authoritarian Weakman
Let’s take inventory of what new insights we have learned from the pandemic about President Donald Trump and his leadership character.One could hardly miss how this crisis has fortified one of the two primary pillars of the anti-Trump argument, as advanced by his most ardent detractors. It has been insufficiently noted, however, the degree to which the coronavirus response has weakened the other pillar.The first pillar is that Trump, in the near-unanimous view of the opposition, is a terrible person whose terribleness finds expression in terrible policies. He is narcissistic, dismissive of unwelcome facts, willing to traffic in falsehoods, lacking ... read more
POLITICO2020-03-26
6 days ago
History Won’t Save Us
History will judge Donald Trump harshly. That, at any rate, is what many of his critics predict. No less harsh, in this prediction, will be history’s judgment of those who abetted Trump’s evils, who failed to stand up to him, who didn’t support impeachment and removal, even citizens who didn’t sufficiently resist. According to some believers, if House Democrats hadn’t chosen to impeach, they, too, would have been tossed into the outer darkness by the mighty power known as history.The faith in history is everywhere. Before the House voted to impeach Trump in December, the New York Times editorial board urged ... read more
The New Republic2020-03-25
7 days ago
Trumpworld Embraces the Death Wish Economy
The coronavirus pandemic is a nightmare, and the worst is still to come. It is also a moment of clarity about our world. In recent days, President Donald Trump and his allies began laying the groundwork to abandon public health measures to slow the virus’s spread. They have concluded that the loss of human life is acceptable and the decline in corporate earnings is not. “The whole concept of death is terrible,” Trump told reporters on Monday when discussing mortality rates. “But there’s a tremendous difference between 1 percent and 4 or 5 percent.”Some welcomed the prospect of sacrificing lives, ... read more
The New Republic2020-03-25
7 days ago
Seeing No Evil
When the dust settles on the 2020 Democratic primary season, it may well serve as a guide for deciphering the limits and rigidity of mainstream gender discourse. We saw, in Barack Obama’s 2008 fight for the Democratic presidential nomination, a similar test of permissible utterances from a Black candidate on racial controversies—most notably in Obama’s Philadelphia speech distancing himself from what he described as Jeremiah Wright’s “profoundly distorted view of this country.” In the 2020 cycle, we’ve seen the steady retreat of a once-crowded field of women candidates, so that Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar were the last two viable ... read more
The New Republic2020-03-25
7 days ago
All the President’s Lies About the Coronavirus
Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here. Updated at 6:30 p.m. E.T. on March 25, 2020.In the 11 days since he declared the coronavirus pandemic a national emergency, President Donald Trump has repeatedly lied about this once-in-a-generation crisis.Here, a collection of the biggest lies he’s told as the nation barrels toward a public-health and economic calamity. This post will be updated as needed.On the Nature of the VirusWhen: Friday, February 7, and Wednesday, February 19The claim: The coronavirus would weaken “when we get into April, in the warmer ... read more
The Atlantic2020-03-24
1 week ago
Letter From Your City’s Future
My town, Seattle, has fancied itself the city of the future since 1962, when it erected a flying saucer on stilts called the Space Needle and staged the Century 21 Exposition. The rise of several eras’ defining technology companies—Boeing, Microsoft, Amazon—cemented the notion.Now that aspiration has come true in a way none of those jet-age dreamers could have imagined or wanted: Seattle became the point of the pandemic spear, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus pandemic in America. Washington state, with less than a fifth California’s population, has had more confirmed coronavirus cases (2,221 as of Monday, 1,170 of them ... read more
POLITICO2020-03-24
1 week ago
“I’m an ER Doc and I’m Scared”
RICHMOND, Va.—I’m an ER doctor in central Virginia, and just a few weeks ago, I would have told you that after 15 years’ experience, I’m ready for anything, including the coronavirus.“Looking forward to going in and kicking butt, like our kids on game day, but with a lot more personal protective equipment,” I recently texted one of my sports-mom friends.Now, however, I’m not feeling so confident. Being an ER doctor as our country braces for the impact of COVID-19 feels like standing on the shore and watching a tsunami approach.I work nights in a small community emergency department, and as ... read more
POLITICO2020-03-23
1 week ago
Can I take time off if my child’s school is closed for coronavirus? Your sick leave law questions answered
Editor's note: Lawmakers are debating a coronavirus relief package that could include emergency paid leave benefits for all workers affected by the pandemic. Meanwhile, the spread of COVID-19 is leaving workers in the United States scrambling to figure out what happens to their job – and their pay – if it prevents them from reporting to work. The answer will depend on your employer's policy, the laws of your state and the reason you will be away. Elizabeth Tippett, who has spent over a dozen years as a workplace lawyer and scholar, offers a primer.1. Can I take time off ... read more
GOOD2020-03-12
3 weeks ago
FACT CHECK: President Trump Delivers His 3rd State Of The Union Address
NPR reporters from across the newsroom will add analysis and fact-checking to the remarks. Watch it all live beginning at 9 p.m. ET.(Image credit: Evan Vucci/AP) ... read more
NPR2020-02-04
2 months ago
PolitiFact answers the Senate's impeachment questions
Senators took control of their chamber’s impeachment trial this week, submitting questions to the Democratic House managers and President Donald Trump’s legal team. The questions, provided to Chief Justice John Roberts in writing, gave a window into the senators’ thinking as they consider whether to remove a president from office for the first time. But House managers and the Trump team spun their answers to serve their perspective. So we decided to take on the questions ourselves, with the facts in mind. On whether impeachment and removal requires a crime The question (from Democratic senators): "Does the phrase ‘‘or other ... read more
PolitiFact2020-01-31
2 months ago
Fact-checking Joe Biden in Ankeny, Iowa
ANKENY, Iowa — Former Vice President Joe Biden ignored his Democratic rivals and focused extensively on attacking President Donald Trump at a campaign event, saying Trump is "a commander-in-chief who has no notion — none — of what it takes to lead." Biden mocked Trump for saying he was the one who protected pre-existing conditions and portrayed Trump as a divider who has bashed the press and Congress. In the 2020 election, Biden said, "the character of the country is on the ballot. The character of our candidates is on the ballot." Biden’s Jan. 25 event attracted about 300 voters on ... read more
PolitiFact2020-01-26
2 months ago
Five Key Takeaways From Israel’s Indecisive Election Rerun
Heidi Levine/Sipa/Pool via AP Benjamin Netanyahu at a voting station in Jerusalem, September 17, 2019 Anyone expecting clarity from Israel’s electoral rerun will be disappointed. The public was sent back to the polls when coalition negotiations following the April 9 election failed. The resumption of those negotiations based on the new distribution of seats in the Knesset will not prove any easier. Israeli President Reuven Rivlin will soon call the party leaders to begin the traditional round of post-election consultations, and within days will call on either ... read more
The American Prospect2019-09-21
6 months ago
Former Biden Chief of Staff is Fox News’ Top Lobbyist
Elise Amendola/AP Photo Former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign event at Dartmouth College, August 23, 2019. Sludge produces investigative journalism on lobbying and money in politics. The American Prospect is re-publishing this article. When Rupert Murdoch sold part of his 21st Century Fox company to Disney, he formed a new firm, Fox Corporation, which retained the rightwing news network Fox News, Fox Business Network, and many television stations and sports broadcasting companies. Multiple former Trump White House and GOP officials joined the company, including Hope Hicks, ... read more
The American Prospect2019-09-20
6 months ago
How Mexico Is Doing America’s Deportation Work for Us
Marco Ugarte/Associated Press Mexican authorities, feeling the effects of the Trump administration's “Remain in Mexico” policy, have resorted to busing migrants from Nuevo Laredo, at Mexico’s northern border with the U.S., to areas in the south of Mexico. More than a month ago, reports emerged that migrants and asylum seekers had been bused from Nuevo Laredo, at Mexico’s northern border with the United States, to Chiapas, near Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala. The Mexican government paid for the buses. The first time was just ... read more
The American Prospect2019-09-20
6 months ago
Transitioning ThinkProgress
Many years ago, we embarked on a new experiment: moving ThinkProgress from an organizational blog to a progressive news site, powered by reporters and editorially independent. We are proud that ThinkProgress helped shape the conversation in this country—exposing the companies that were supporting the NRA, uncovering sexual abuse within religious organizations, documenting voter suppression, and tracking the financing of white nationalism, to name just a few of the many, many, many important stories ThinkProgress covered. Unfortunately, as with so many ventures in today’s digital media landscape, ThinkProgress suffered multi-million dollar shortfalls the past two years—an unsustainable option for a non-profit ... read more
ThinkProgress2019-09-09
7 months ago
CNN’s planning a 2020 LGBTQ forum. Here are some issues advocates say the candidates should address.
A prominent LGBTQ rights organization, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) announced Thursday that it will host a presidential town hall on LGBTQ issues next month. The event will air on CNN. LGBTQ advocacy groups told ThinkProgress that they know exactly what ideas they want to hear discussed at the town hall set for Oct. 10, which is National Coming Out Day. Many said that first and foremost, they want candidates to acknowledge the struggles of the most marginalized in the community, including LGBTQ people of color, and put forward policies to respond to anti-LGBTQ bias in the criminal justice system. ... read more
ThinkProgress2019-09-05
7 months ago
It wasn’t a debate, but CNN’s 7-hour climate forum laid bare key differences among Democrats
CNN’s seven-hour town hall on the climate crisis wasn’t the debate many activists have spent months calling for. But Wednesday night’s marathon event teased out notable differences among Democratic presidential contenders, giving voters a taste of how each candidate might approach climate policy if elected. Two of the main issues where candidates staked out wildly different stances were nuclear power and abolishing the filibuster. They also differed on fracking, the process of extracting natural gas to be used for energy. Meanwhile, former Vice President Joe Biden took heat over a controversial fundraiser scheduled for Thursday night and hosted by an oil ... read more
ThinkProgress2019-09-05
7 months ago
GOP candidate has a pretty hypocritical excuse for why he’s down in the polls
Dan Bishop, the Republican nominee in next week’s North Carolina congressional special election, claimed on Thursday that the reason polls show he could lose a district that President Donald Trump won easily is that so much money was coming in from out of district to support his Democratic opponent. But most of the money going to support Bishop also comes from outside of North Carolina. Voters in North Carolina’s 9th Congressional District will vote Tuesday in their latest attempt to elect a U.S. Representative. The 2018 midterm election result was thrown out due to election fraud by the then-Republican nominee’s ... read more
ThinkProgress2019-09-05
7 months ago
FACT CHECK: Foreign Interference And ‘Opposition Research’ Are Not The Same
President Trump says he might be open to taking information from a foreign government in a future election, calling it a part of politics. But the law draws a distinction when foreigners are involved.(Image credit: Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images) ... read more
NPR2019-06-13
10 months ago
FACT CHECK: Trump Wrongly States Obama Administration Had Child Separation Policy
Speaking to reporters Tuesday, President Trump restated an earlier falsehood in which he blamed the Obama administration for a policy the Trump administration in fact started.(Image credit: Evan Vucci/AP) ... read more
NPR2019-04-09
12 months ago
Why Is It So Fraught to Talk About the Klobuchar Bad Boss Reports?
This article is adapted from a segment on the Waves and has been edited and condensed for clarity. Christina Cauterucci: Last week, HuffPost and BuzzFeed both ran pieces that contained a whole slew of allegations that Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota runs a borderline abusive workplace. There were multiple former staffers who said they and their fellow employees were berated for wrongdoing in front of their peers. Sometimes they’d be CC’d on their emails, saying, “This is the worst press release I’ve ever read in my life.” They were forced to endure emotional outbursts and fits of rage. They were ... read more
Slate2019-02-15
1 year ago
Andrew McCabe: Jeff Sessions Complained That He Missed When the FBI “Only Hired Irishmen”
Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe’s new book, which details his frustrations with President’s Trump administration, has made it clear that his “disdain for Trump is rivaled only by his contempt for [Jeff] Sessions,” according to an assessment from Washington Post reporter Greg Miller. According to Miller’s review of the book, McCabe saw then-Attorney General Sessions as a Trump-like idiot and racist who had “trouble focusing, particularly when topics of conversation strayed from a small number of issues,” failed to read intelligence reports, and jumbled classified material with publicly reported news. The strangest detail from the book, though, had to ... read more
Slate2019-02-15
1 year ago
There Is No New Backpage
Last April, two successive tremors shook the business of sex on the internet. The first was the dramatic FBI shutdown of Backpage, a website for posting online personals that had attained outsize importance among sex workers. Days after that, President Trump signed two new bills into law, the Stop Enabling Online Sex Trafficking Act (SESTA) and Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA), which together make websites that knowingly allow sex trafficking to happen liable for hosting the illegal activity—thus making it much easier for prosecutors to go after the proprietors of sites like Backpage. Both of these moves were meant ... read more
Slate2019-02-13
1 year ago
Roger Stone’s chance to make a positive impact
The Feb. 10 Retropolis column, “Stone seeks Trump pardon for black nationalist Marcus Garvey” [Metro], provided a well-informed review of Garvey’s role advancing a back-to-Africa movement in the ear ... read more
The Washington Post2019-02-13
1 year ago
The Feminist Future of Modesty
“I get it,” is Gretchen Carlson’s message to all the American women who wince at the thought of parading around in a swimsuit. Carlson, who is the new Chairwoman of the Miss America pageant and who also won the competition in 1989, announced last week that the swimsuit portion of the spectacle would be axed. The #MeToo-friendly, revamped Miss American “Competition” (the word “pageant” is also no more) would focus on substance instead of appearance; it would promote neither ogling at various female parts nor the premise that a willingness to bare almost all is necessary to winning.It’s a timely ... read more
The Feminist Future of Modesty2018-06-12
2 years ago
Giuliani’s media blitz defending Trump is off to rough start
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump's new attorney, Rudy Giuliani, is off to a rough start in his media blitz defending Trump's stance toward the special counsel's Russian investigation and a $130,000 porn star hush payment. ... read more
Associated Press2018-05-07
2 years ago
Trump defends CIA nominee, says she is ‘tough on terror’
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump on Monday defended Gina Haspel, his nominee to head the Central Intelligence Agency, dismissing debate over her involvement in a harsh interrogation program and arguing Democrats want her out because she "is too tough on terror." ... read more
Associated Press2018-05-07
2 years ago
Trump: ’13 angry Democrats’ on Mueller team should be wary
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump is striking a combative tone against the Russia probe. He's talking about "Fighting Back" and telling Democrats on the special counsel's team, "wait 'till the Courts get to see your unrevealed Conflicts of Interest!" ... read more
Associated Press2018-05-07
2 years ago
Trump urges West Virginia voters to reject Blankenship
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump is urging West Virginia voters to reject a former federal convict and coal baron running in the Republican Senate primary, arguing that Don Blankenship he would lose the general election. ... read more
Associated Press2018-05-07
2 years ago
Trump’s Tweets Threaten His Travel Ban’s Chances in Court
President Donald Trump began the week with a barrage of early-morning tweets blasting the courts for blocking his travel ban executive order. But in doing so, he may have just made it more likely that the courts will keep blocking the ban. People, the lawyers and the courts can call it whatever they want, but I am calling it what we need and what it is, a TRAVEL BAN! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017 The Justice Dept. should have stayed with the original Travel Ban, not the watered down, politically correct version they submitted ... read more
Mother Jones2017-06-05
3 years ago
The Fox Primary For March: Trump Widens His Airtime Lead
As the Republican presidential field shrunk to three candidates in March, front-runner Donald Trump again led his competitors in interview airtime on Fox News. Fox News hosted the businessman for 6 hours and 15 minutes, compared to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz's 5 hours and 18 minutes and Ohio Gov. John Kasich's 3 hours and 44 minutes. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and former neurosurgeon Ben Carson both ended their campaigns in March -- their airtime totals from before they dropped out are listed, but they will not be included in future editions. Trump's lead in Fox interview time comes amid ongoing tension ... read more
Media Matters for America2016-04-07
4 years ago
Morning Joe Panel: Hillary Clinton “Clearly Did Not Say Bernie Sanders Was Not Qualified To Be President”
From the April 7 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe: MIKA BRZEZINSKI (CO-HOST): Late last night, Clinton's press secretary Brian Fallon responded to [Sanders'] remarks on Twitter saying quote "Hillary Clinton did not say Bernie Sanders was 'not qualified.' But he has now - absurdly - said it about her. This is a new low." He added "Bernie Sanders, take back your words about Hillary Clinton." Sanders did no such thing. His campaign released a statement that began quote "Responding to Hillary Clinton's attempt to portray him as unqualified for the White House, Senator Sanders linked her to a trade pact exploited by wealthy individuals and profitable corporations to ... read more
Media Matters for America2016-04-07
4 years ago

Latest News

Trump

UCLA Study: Why conservatives are more likely than liberals to believe false information about threats

A team of UCLA researchers are offering new evidence that when it comes to telling the difference between truth and fiction, not all potential voters are created equal.

February 3rd, 2017

War on Science

An uneasy new era for scientists

Just hours after the inauguration, the official White House website was scrubbed of any mention of climate change. After that, scientists and other employees at several federal agencies were told not to speak directly to the public about their work.

January 28th, 2017

Healthcare

Obama Condemns ‘Repeal and Replace’

Repealing Obamacare without a replacement is “reckless” and “irresponsible,” and would leave the country “with more uninsured and uncompensated care than when we started,” writes former President Barack Obama.

January 28th, 2017

Uncategorized

Trump Doesn't Mention Jewish People In Holocaust Day Statement

In a break with recent tradition, Trump’s statement didn't make any mention of the Jewish people or anti-Semitism, only referring to the victims of the Holocaust as "innocent people."

January 28th, 2017

Don't Miss

Snake Oil

CBS News: Trump brought cheering crowd on CIA visit to make himself look better

January 23rd, 2017

U.S. officials say Trump's administration seated 40 supporters in the front rows of his speech at CIA headquarters to cheer him on and create a misleading impression of the event.

Humor

What Trump's Presidency Means for Climate Change: A Closer Look

December 21st, 2016

Seth Meyers takes a closer look at the affect Donald Trump's cabinet picks might have on climate change.

alt-right

Trump to begin publishing weekly list of immigrant crimes; Hitler did the same with Jewish people

Uncategorized

The List

January 21st, 2017 — Day of Women's March Trump brought a group of 40 cheerleaders to a meeting with the CIA to cheer for him during a speech that consisted almost entirely of framing himself as the victim of dishonest press. ...

Hypocrisy

After just two weeks on the job, President Trump to go on Florida vacation costing taxpayers $3 million

It's drawing the same scrutiny Trump and other Republicans heaped upon former President Obama, even though he had less vacation days than George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan did.

Fact Check

Philadelphia Mayor Criticizes Trump “False Comments”

Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney debunked President Donald Trump’s comments Thursday about the city’s crime rates, adding that the commander-in-chief’s “false comments were an insult to the men and women of the Philadelphia police force.”

War

“Doomsday Clock” Ticks Closest to Midnight Since 1950s

January 28th, 2017

Humanity is edging nearer to destruction, according to the “Doomsday Clock.” The “clock” is now at two-and-a-half minutes to midnight (representing the destruction of Earth), the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists said in its annual announcement.

Immigration

Trump Executive Order Could Block 500,000 Legal U.S. Residents From Returning From Trips Abroad

January 28th, 2017

Since the order’s travel ban applies to all “aliens” — a term that encompasses anyone who isn’t an American citizen — it could bar those with current visas or even green cards from returning to the U.S. from trips abroad.

Healthcare

Trump's actions on health care law threaten to undermine insurance markets

January 28th, 2017

The move, which comes just days ahead of an enrollment deadline for health plans under the health care law, follows Trump's executive order last weekend in which he suggested his administration wouldn't implement rules crucial to sustaining viable markets.

Latest Video

Humor

Hasan Piker takes on Tomi Lahren's #WomensMarch rant

January 27th, 2017

A righteous takedown of the hot garbage spewed by Tomi Lahren, an opportunist conservative mouthpiece who carefully directs fake outrage at things she knows will get her notoriety. An entire career built on complaining about other people complaining.

Video

Samantha Bee mocks President Trump’s lackluster inaugural weekend

So far this week, our new overlord has torn up treaties, taken the first steps toward a Muslim ban, ordered the construction of his dumbass wall and threatened to invade Chicago like his own little Crimea. Dress rehearsal is over guys, the tragedy has begun.

January 26th, 2017

Video

PPP Poll: President Donald Trump's Base Deluded By False Facts

Rachel Maddow gives an exclusive first look at the latest PPP poll showing Donald Trump with historically low approval ratings and that most Americans do not believe his lies about inauguration numbers, though his supporters do.

January 26th, 2017

Video

Trump's False Claims and Executive Orders: A Closer Look

Seth Meyers takes a closer look at the false claims President Trump repeated during his first national TV interview.

January 26th, 2017

Latest News

Humor

Stephen Calls For A Million Meryl March

January 10th, 2017

Nobody is allowed to mess with Meryl Streep when Stephen Colbert is around, not even the President-Elect.

Filling the Swamp

Donald Trump Tells A Half-Troubled Nation: Don't Be Afraid

November 15th, 2016

Uncategorized

What voters think of Trump now that he's president

January 28th, 2017

Humor

Trump's Inauguration: This Is Really Happening

January 20th, 2017

Donald Trump flew down to D.C. Thursday on a plane that looked eerily like Air Force One, and when we say "flew" we don't mean he flew the plane. You...

Humor

Donald Trump: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

February 28th, 2016

Fraud

Donald Trump Get-Rich-Quick Scheme Exposed

July 1st, 2016

The Wire

Filling the Swamp

Trumpsters Party In The Washington Swamp

January 20th, 2017

They voted to "drain the swamp" in Washington, D.C., but on the night before Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States, they came to wallow in it.

Ethics

Has Trump Killed Obama's Ethics Rule?

January 28th, 2017

As President Trump stocks his administration with Tillerson and other moguls whose companies have business with the government, the 8-year-old rule appears to be going unenforced -- even if it is still on the books.

Humor

Is Donald Trump Flip-Flopping on Immigration? A Closer Look

August 25th, 2016

Seth Meyers takes a closer look at Trump's recent pivot on immigration.

Humor

Hungry For Power Games: Republican National Convention Edition

July 18th, 2016

Julius and his pet weasel Caligula report from the 2016 Republican National Hungry For Power Games at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, where Tribute Trump is set to accept the party's nomination.

Humor

SNL - Kellyanne Conway

January 22nd, 2017

Kellyanne Conway (Kate McKinnon) reveals the real reason she joined Donald Trump's campaign.

Trump

Trump's long-awaited news conference was spectacularly unpresidential

January 12th, 2017

If anyone thought that election to the highest office in the land had changed Donald Trump, the president-elect's news conference Wednesday was a depressing spectacle.

The Countdown

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