Exaggerations and Hoaxes: 10 False Statements at the Democratic Convention

The Democratic Convention was distinguished by its special guests and electrifying speeches, although the latter sometimes contained some exaggeration.

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With more than a month to go before the Republican convention, many statements have also been twisted, as Democrats gather for historic moments, including Biden’s farewell and keynote speeches from Kamala Harris and Tim Walls. Nevertheless, here are ten claims that deserve fact-checking.

Donald Trump opposes the birth control pill

Access to abortion was one of the main themes of the Democratic Convention and Kamala Harris didn’t miss an opportunity to address it in her speech. She said that if Donald Trump wins the presidency, he will restrict access to birth control pills and medical abortion.

However, since the campaign began, the Republican nominee has not indicated that he will impose these measures. For example, last Thursday he wrote on the Truth social network that he would not restrict access to birth control pills and intrauterine insemination.

He announced last April CNN If re-elected in November, he won’t sign a national ban on abortion.

However, the former president’s stance on abortion remains unclear. He had already, in 2023, boasted of appointing justices who overturned Roe v. Wade sparked a wave of bans across the country.

So it is difficult to predict his true intentions if he is elected, but in recent weeks he has promised not to restrict other access to the matter.

Note that Project 2025A book written by conservatives about right-wing options for the next Republican administration strongly opposes it.

“A woman should stay at home,” according to one quote Project 2025

Speaking about the controversial book, Colorado Governor Jared Polis condemned a section that said: “Page 451 states that the father is the sole legal family of a working married father and mother.”

Getty Images via AFP

While he is right about transitioning from the opposite sex, according to the book, he is wrong to say that only men should do the work. No quote says that the woman should stay at home.

The Project 2025 Still controversial due to his opinions not being unanimous.

The “good guys” hoax

Joe Biden returns to “good guys” fake news (Good people) during his speech on Monday. “When we asked the President [Donald Trump] What he thought happened, Donald Trump said, and I quote: “There are good people on both sides.” God, he said so. “What he said and what he meant,” he said.

The story takes place in 2017, when a white nationalist protest erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, and caused one death, injuries and widespread damage. President Donald Trump at the time reportedly responded, “There’s got to be guilt on both sides.”

“There were some nasty people in that group,” said Mr. Trump was referring to the rioters at the time. “But there were also very good people.”

Shortly after this conference, he clarified that he was “not talking about neo-Nazis and white nationalists, because they should be condemned.”

So the Democrats were accused of covering up part of the truth about this event.

US exports more than imports

“We used to import goods and export jobs. Today, we export American products and create American jobs,” Mr. Biden said during his speech.

Photo by AFP

However, there is one small detail wrong with this statement. Since the beginning of the year, the United States has imported more goods than it exported. United States Census Bureau. This would have resulted in a trade deficit of US$567 billion (C$766 billion).

Since he came to the White House, every year has ended negatively. 2022 is the worst year with a deficit of USD 1.1 trillion.

A large number of citizens have health insurance

Describing his exploits, Mr. “More Americans have health insurance today than ever before in American history,” Biden said.

His words are not completely wrong as the population is expected to peak in 2023 with 138 million people. National Health Interview Survey. However, this number fell to 130 million in the first quarter of the year.

Many of these citizens have returned to private insurance, but the number of uninsured Americans still increased from 23.7 million to 27.1 million, according to the research firm.

Billionaires pay tax rate of 8.2%

During his speech on the first day of the convention, Joe Biden said that the average tax rate paid by “thousands of billionaires” in America is 8.2%.

Photo by AFP

This percentage is actually an alternative calculation that includes unrealized capital gains. They are not considered taxable income under federal law. Without giving this context, the President will likely imply that he is talking about taxes on high earners.

As for the actual percentage of taxes, this number is unknown, but many experts believe that it is much higher than we think.

“Biden’s numbers are very low,” Howard Kleckman, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute think tank, told CNN.

Economists at the University of California estimated that the wealthiest 400 households paid about 23% in 2018. While the percentage is “too low” for some experts, it’s higher than what the president said.

“Record” unemployment rate in January 2021

On the second day of the Democratic convention, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the nation’s unemployment rate was at its worst three and a half years ago.

“Unemployment continued to rise,” he said during his speech. That’s the reality the Biden-Harris administration faced when it entered the Oval Office.

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate peaked at 14.8% in April 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, the situation quickly improved when Joe Biden became president in January 2021, with the rate dropping to 6.4%.

Impact of the Expanded Child Tax Credit

“We have reduced child poverty by more than 40 percent with the expanded child tax credit,” said Mr. Sanders said during his speech.

Photo by AFP

His claim is technically true. The American Recovery Act proposed by Democrats in March 2021 raised this tax credit from $2,000 to $3,600 US. The child poverty rate fell to a historic 5.2% in 2021, a 46% drop compared to 2020. United States Census Bureau.

However, a year later, this percentage quickly rose to 12.4%, higher than in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the data. table.

Price gouging in grocery stores by corporations

Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey debates Kamala Harris’ proposal to pass legislation to lower food prices. “Prices are going up because these companies are managing to raise them,” he explained.

Getty Images via AFP

Although they play a role in increasing costs in 2020-2021A statement San Francisco Fed It found that they are not the main cause of grocery inflation in 2021 and 2022.

The war in Ukraine, government spending and the disruption caused by Covid-19 have all contributed to the US economic situation in recent years.

Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security for the elderly

During her speech, Kamala Harris said, “Trump has announced a budget every year that cuts Social Security and Medicare.

“Let’s not forget that he tried to cut health insurance every year he was president,” he said.

While it is true that he sought to cut Social Security and Medicare, this quote from the Vice President is misleading.

In fact, his proposed “cuts” in the 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 budgets were intended to save money and extend the program’s debt. The Washington Post.

Also, he doesn’t recommend changing Social Security retirement benefits; Instead, he sought to make small savings in the Social Security Disability Program.

Mr. Trump has also reportedly admitted on multiple occasions that he would “not touch” Social Security and Medicare if he were re-elected.

Nevertheless, the American media noted that his attitude was hardly “consistent” and that everything could change if he were to win.

– With information from CNN and AFP