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PolitiFact’s annotated transcript of the second presidential debate

National
Clinton Tight 2
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton answers a question during the second presidential debate at Washington University in St. Louis, Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Allison Graves
By Allison Graves
October 10, 2016
By Joseph Cariz
October 10, 2016
By Katherine Burns
October 10, 2016
By Rachel Tiede
October 10, 2016

PolitiFact is annotating the second presidential debate at Washington University on Medium. Follow along through the link.

 

 

Our Sources

Linked in Medium.

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Allison Graves
Democratic Governors Association
stated on July 13, 2018 in a post on Medium:
Says Adam Putnam “backed a water bill that gutted water quality regulations.”
Half-True
By Allison Graves • July 18, 2018
Rick Scott
stated on June 13, 2018 in an ad:
Says Sen. Bill Nelson “voted for higher taxes” 349 times.
False
By Allison Graves • July 5, 2018
Ron DeSantis
stated on June 28, 2018 in a Fox News debate:
Says Adam Putnam “endorsed the Schumer-Obama Gang of Eight immigration amnesty.”
Mostly True
By Allison Graves • June 29, 2018
Bill Nelson
stated on June 21, 2018 in an ad:
Says he “actually wrote the bipartisan law that makes it illegal to drill off Florida’s coast.”
Mostly True
By Allison Graves • June 29, 2018
Adam Putnam
stated on June 7, 2018 in an interview with Fox News:
Florida taxpayers “pay tens of millions of dollars a year to feed and house in our prison system criminal illegal aliens.”
Mostly False
By Allison Graves • June 26, 2018
New Republican PAC
stated on June 11, 2018 in a political ad:
Says Bill Nelson voted for “cuts to Medicare providers” and voted to weaken “Social Security protections” as a U.S. senator.
Mostly False
By Allison Graves • June 15, 2018
Andrew Gillum
stated on June 20, 2018 in a debate:
Under Philip Levine, Miami Beach “passed a resolution to ban assault rifles, which was not enforceable and never enforced. He passed a resolution to raise the minimum wage, which actually no one got the benefit of because it was not enforced.”  
Mostly True
By Allison Graves • June 9, 2018
Florida Democratic Party
stated on June 6, 2018 in in a press release:
“Flip Flop! After opposing term limits for decades, Adam Putnam adopts Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis’ position.”
Half-True
By Allison Graves • June 8, 2018
Ron DeSantis
stated on June 2, 2018 in during a BBQ :
“The bulk of the problem with the opioid epidemic is the fentanyl and all the synthetic drugs coming across the southern border.”  
Half-True
By Allison Graves • June 7, 2018
Florida House Majority Office
stated on May 17, 2018 in a video:
It is a “myth” that “per-student funding only rose by 47 cents this year.”
Mostly False
By Allison Graves • May 30, 2018
Senate Majority PAC
stated on May 21, 2018 in in an ad:
Says Bill Nelson is “one of America’s most independent senators.”
Half-True
By Allison Graves • May 24, 2018
Bloggers
stated on May 14, 2018 in a post on Facebook:
“BREAKING NEWS: Donald Trump On His Way To Donate Kidney To Melania Trump.”
Pants on Fire!
By Allison Graves • May 17, 2018
Bloggers
stated on May 15, 2018 in a post on Facebook:
“Legendary Actor Sidney Poitier: Donald Trump might become ‘The Greatest Of All Time.’ ”  
Pants on Fire!
By Allison Graves • May 17, 2018
The Collective super PAC
stated on May 11, 2018 in an ad:
Says Gwen Graham “voted against President Obama 52 percent of the time.”
Half-True
By Allison Graves • May 17, 2018
Bloggers
stated on May 14, 2018 in a post on the Internet:
Says Julia Roberts told Celine Dion, “If you hate Trump you can go in your country.”
Pants on Fire!
By Allison Graves • May 15, 2018

PolitiFact’s annotated transcript of the second presidential debate

Clear
X posts
stated on October 21, 2026 in X posts:
This video shows a former James Talarico student accusing him of misconduct.
Pants on Fire!
By Jeff Cercone • October 22, 2026
Club for Growth Action
stated on September 14, 2026 in an ad:
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor “repeatedly” violated “a law aimed at stopping members of Congress from insider trading.”
Mostly False
By Loreben Tuquero • October 22, 2026
Kelly Ayotte
stated on August 23, 2026 in an ad:
New Hampshire Democratic governor candidate Cinde Warmington “was a Purdue Pharma lobbyist. She said that OxyContin was a miracle drug.”
True
By Louis Jacobson • October 22, 2026
JD Vance
stated on October 17, 2026 in un foro con votantes de CBS News:
“La razón principal por la que los precios de la gasolina están tan altos es porque cuando Joe Biden era presidente, alrededor del 20% de la capacidad de refinación estadounidense dejó de operar”.
False
By Louis Jacobson • October 21, 2026
Roger Marshall
stated on October 16, 2026 in an interview with Sean Hannity:
Kansas U.S. Senate candidate Adam Hamilton “wants to shut down the beef industry.”
False
By Amy Sherman • October 20, 2026
Ashley Moody
stated on October 6, 2026 in a TV ad:
Florida U.S. Senate candidate Angie Nixon “backed a $4 trillion tax hike on everyone in this diner,” including a server and older adults.
Half-True
By Maria Briceño • October 20, 2026
Mike Rogers
stated on October 18, 2026 in an interview:
Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed “didn’t disavow” the Muslim Brotherhood.
False
By Caleb McCullough • October 19, 2026
JD Vance
stated on October 17, 2026 in a CBS News town hall:
“The biggest reason why gas prices are so high is because when Joe Biden was president, we had about 20% of American refining capacity that went offline.”
False
By Louis Jacobson • October 19, 2026
Social Media
stated on October 12, 2026 in an image:
If an election worker writes anything on your ballot before you put it in the voting machine, “your ballot could be disqualified.”
False
By Paul Specht • October 16, 2026
Mike Collins
stated on October 13, 2026 in in a debate:
U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is “all for abortion up until and past birth.”
False
By Maria Briceño • October 16, 2026
Social Media
stated on October 11, 2026 in publicaciones en redes sociales:
Una grabación de audio es prueba de que James Talarico fue dado de alta de un “hospital psiquiátrico” el 10 de octubre.
Pants on Fire!
By Loreben Tuquero • October 16, 2026
Senate Leadership Fund
stated on October 1, 2026 in an ad:
New Hampshire U.S. Senate candidate Chris Pappas “lied about dating an Amazon lobbyist, then voted on bills Amazon lobbied on.”
Mostly False
By Louis Jacobson • October 15, 2026
Senate Leadership Fund
stated on September 28, 2026 in an ad:
“Sherrod Brown supports sex changes for minors. Irreversible surgery on kids. Like me,” Soren Aldaco.
Pants on Fire!
By Loreben Tuquero • October 14, 2026
Mariannette Miller-Meeks
stated on October 2, 2026 in a Facebook post:
“I don’t own a single individual stock.”
True
By Evan Watson • October 14, 2026
Donald Trump
stated on October 2, 2026 in a rally in Alabama:
James Talarico is “a vegan” and “what they don’t show you is that, after every barbecue … he throws up.”
Pants on Fire!
By Amy Sherman, Caleb McCullough • October 13, 2026
X posts
stated on October 11, 2026 in posts:
Audio recording is proof James Talarico was discharged from a “mental hospital” on Oct. 10.
Pants on Fire!
By Loreben Tuquero • October 12, 2026
Amy Acton
stated on September 21, 2026 in a campaign ad:
Vivek Ramaswamy “pushed an Alzheimer’s drug that he knew didn’t work. He made hundreds of millions of dollars scamming people.”
Mostly False
By Cami Henry-Seymore • October 12, 2026
James Talarico
stated on October 6, 2026 in an ad:
Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton voted “to protect puppy abusers.”
Mostly False
By Caleb McCullough • October 12, 2026
Sherrod Brown
stated on September 18, 2026 in an ad:
Sen. Jon Husted voted “to kick 490,000 Ohioans off their healthcare.”
Half-True
By Louis Jacobson • October 9, 2026
Angie Nixon
stated on October 4, 2026 in an Oct. 4 CBS Miami interview:
President Donald Trump has deported “over 13,000 Cubans since he has been in office, his first term and his second term.”
Mostly True
By Maria Briceño • October 9, 2026
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