Washington
CNN
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Former President Donald Trump has launched his 2024 presidential campaign just as he ended his presidency in 2021.
Like many of Trump’s speeches as president, his announcement speech in Florida on Tuesday was riddled with false and misleading claims on a variety of topics.
Here’s a fact check of some of what he said at Mar-a-Lago. This article will be updated with additional claims.
Trump claimed Tuesday night that the US left $85 billion worth of military equipment in Afghanistan when it pulls out in 2021.
Speaking from the Mara Lago Resort, President Trump said, “We lost our lives, left Americans behind, and handed over $85 billion worth of the finest military equipment anywhere in the world, perhaps in our nation’s history. It’s the most embarrassing moment,” he said.
fact first: Trump’s numbers are lies.A significant amount of military equipment provided by the United States to Afghan government forces was actually abandoned by the Taliban when the United States withdrew, but the Pentagon estimates the equipment was valuable. about $7.1 billion — A chunk of equipment worth approximately $18.6 billion provided to the Afghan military between 2005 and 2021. And some of the remaining equipment was rendered inoperable before U.S. forces withdrew.
Trump’s claim that $85 billion worth of equipment was left behind has no basis. As other fact-checkers have previously explained, this was a rounded figure (close to $83 billion) of the total amount Congress allocated to funds supporting Afghan security forces during the war. Only part of this funding was used for equipment.
Trump has claimed that his administration has “filled up” the Strategic Oil Reserve, which is now “virtually depleted” by the Biden administration.
First facts: Both parts of Trump’s claims are false. He didn’t fill his reserves. The reserve is not “substantially depleted”.
Trump has repeatedly boasted that he supposedly buried reserves, but in reality he had fewer barrels of oil when he left office in early 2021 than when he took office in 2017. It is Democrats in Congress blocked the funds needed to carry out Trump’s 2020 directive to buy tens of millions more barrels and fill the reserves to maximum capacity. it was not fulfilled.
As CNN’s Matt Egan and Phil Mattingly reported in mid-October, U.S. reserves are at their lowest level in 38 years after President Joe Biden dumped most of them to keep oil prices from falling. Despite this, it is still the largest in the world. Consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine (before the midterm elections, coincidentally or not). As of the week ending November 4, the reserve held more than 396 million barrels of crude oil.
Trump also boasted about tariffs on China, claiming that “until I came, no president had asked for or received a dollar from China.”
First facts: As I have repeatedly written, it is wrong Presidents before Trump did not generate revenue through tariffs on goods from China. In fact, the US has imposed tariffs on China for over 200 years of her, FactCheck.org report In 2019, the United States generated “an average of $12.3 billion in tariffs annually from 2007 to 2016, according to the U.S. International Trade Commission data web.”
Also, the actual tariff payments were made by American importers, not by Chinese exporters, and an investigation during President Trump’s presidency revealed that Americans were paying for the tariffs.
Trump argued that the reason anonymous people aren’t talking about the threat of nuclear weapons is because they’re obsessed with environmental issues, saying, “They could affect us in 300 years. He added: “But don’t worry about a nuclear weapon that can destroy an entire country in one shot.”
First facts: Even ignoring the absurd claim that the reason people don’t pay attention to the nuclear threat is because they care about the environment, Trump is wrong. Sea levels are expected to rise much faster than Trump said.U.S. Government National Marine Service Said According to its website, “Sea levels along the U.S. coastline are projected to rise by an average of 10 to 12 inches (0.25 to 0.30 m) over the next 30 years (2020 to 2050), compared with the past 100 years ( 1920-2020)”
Trump didn’t use the word ‘climate change’ in this claim, but he strongly implied that people would say climate change would affect us within 300 years. . It affects the United States today. The Department of Defense said in his 2021 report: Changes in precipitation patterns; more frequent, intense, and unpredictable extreme weather conditions caused by climate change are exacerbating existing risks and creating new security challenges for U.S. national interests. ”
Trump claimed that China’s leader, Xi Jinping, said China has no “drug problem” at all because it treats drug traffickers harshly. Trump later repeated his own allegations, saying, “If you’re caught dealing in drugs in China, there will be an immediate and speedy trial and you’ll be executed the same day. There is no problem with
First facts: Trump’s claims are just as untrue as when he made similar claims as president. “Yes, China has a drug problem,” said Joe Amon, director of global health at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health. There are many people who do.” drug. “The Chinese government itself reports that by the end of 2021, ‘across the country he will have 1.49 million registered drug users’. In the past, Chinese officials have admitted that the number of registered drug users is significantly lower than their actual drug use.
While Mr. Trump attributes China’s drug-dealing success to harsher penalties, Beijing also touts China’s commitment to reintegration, education and poverty eradication.
Complaining about being under criminal investigation for bringing presidential papers to his Florida home and resort, Trump repeated his rant about former President Barack Obama’s handling of presidential papers.
“Obama took a lot of stuff,” Trump said.
First facts: This is false – as the National Archives and Records Administration pointed out in August when Trump previously made this allegation. Trump claimed that Obama brought millions of records to Chicago, but NARA said in a public statement that he brought these records to a facility in the Chicago area that he controls. Federal law states that “former President Obama has no control over where and how NARA stores his administration’s presidential records.”
NARA also debunked Trump’s recent allegations that various other presidents allegedly brought the documents into their states. Again, it was NARA, not the former president, who moved the documents. It is standard at NARA to set up a temporary facility near where the former president’s permanent library will eventually be located.
As on other occasions during Biden’s tenure, Trump used misleading figures when discussing gas prices. It’s going to $6, $7, $8, and it’s going to get really bad.”
First facts: This is misleading. The price of a gallon of regular gasoline temporarily fell to $1.87 (and below) During the depth of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic, the national average for regular gas on President Trump’s last day in office on Jan. 20, 2021, was much higher, according to data provided by Americans to CNN. It was expensive – $2.393 per gallon Automobile Association.And although there are some remote Gas station prices are always much higher than the national average, with the Tuesday national average of $3.759 per AAA. data, $5, $6, $7, or $8. California, as usual the most expensive state, Average $5.423.
Trump claimed Tuesday night that his administration, unlike the Obama administration, persuaded countries such as Guatemala and Honduras to take back gang members who came to America.
“The worst gang is the MS-13.
First facts: It is not true that Guatemala and Honduras, as a rule, will not return their citizens during the Obama administration. individual exception.
In 2016, shortly before President Trump took office, both Guatemala and Honduras were listed by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as “reluctant” or uncooperative in welcoming their citizens home. was not listed in
For fiscal 2016, President Obama’s last full fiscal year, ICE reported that Guatemala and Honduras ranked second and third, behind Mexico. A longer fact check from 2019 can be read here.
Trump claimed on Tuesday that a missile “probably sent from Russia” landed 50 miles in Poland. “People are completely insane and not happy,” Trump said on Mar-a-Lago.
First facts: This claim is false. Poland said a Russian-made missile landed on Polish territory on Tuesday, killing two Polish citizens, while the explosion occurred about four miles west of the Ukrainian border.
Moreover, it remains unclear where the missile was launched from and why it fell in Poland.
Trump has made false claims about building a wall on the border with Mexico, one of his signature policies.
“We built the wall and now we’re adding it. Now we’ve built the wall – we’ve finished the wall – and said let’s do more. And We did a lot more, and as we were doing that, there was an election, and when they came in, they had even more to finish adding to the wall. I had three weeks. That would have been great.
First facts: this is not even close to the truth Trump “finished” the border wall.
According to the official “State of the Border Wall” report produced by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection two days after Trump resigned, nearly 458 miles of the wall were completed under President Trump, but construction of the wall was confirmed. About 280 more miles that were done were not completed. According to a report provided to her Priscilla Alvarez for CNN, about 74 miles of the 280 miles of barriers are “where no barriers currently exist, are in the pre-construction stage and have not yet been awarded ”. “We are now under contract in place of dilapidated and outdated designs where barriers previously did not exist.”
