The Poynter Institute

English Español

Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

I would like to contribute

Barack Obama's 2015 State of the Union address: annotated

National

President Barack Obama delivers the 2015 State of the Union address.

Lauren Carroll

By Lauren Carroll January 21, 2015

Steve Contorno

By Steve Contorno January 21, 2015

Joshua Gillin

By Joshua Gillin January 21, 2015

Jon Greenberg

By Jon Greenberg January 21, 2015

Angie Drobnic Holan

By Angie Drobnic Holan January 21, 2015

Louis Jacobson

By Louis Jacobson January 21, 2015

Katie Sanders

By Katie Sanders January 21, 2015

Read “Barack Obama's 2015 State of the Union address: annotated” by PolitiFact on Genius

Sources are noted in the annotations.

stated on June 22, 2017 in a meeting with small business owners:

Says of Georgia, "for four years in a row, we are the No. 1 state to do business in."

half-true

half-true

stated on July 6, 2017 in a press conference in Poland:

Says Barack Obama found out about Russia "in August. Now, the election was in November. That's a lot of time. He did nothing about it."

barely-true

barely-true

stated on July 2, 2017 in an episode of "Fox News Sunday":

7 million people the Congressional Budget Office says won't have health insurance coverage under the Senate health care bill "don't exist."

half-true

half-true

stated on June 13, 2017 in a congressional hearing:

"It's a longstanding policy of the Department of Justice not to comment on conversations that the attorney general has had with the president of the United States."

half-true

half-true

Kimberley Strassel

stated on May 28, 2017 in "Meet the Press" on NBC:

In 2008, "candidate Obama, he's not even president-elect, sends William Miller over to Iran to establish a back channel and let the Iranians know that should he win the election, they will have friendlier terms."

false

false

stated on May 23, 2017 in an online article:

"Rubio: ‘Rape victims should be in custody if there is suspicion that they’re planning abortion.’ "

pants-fire

pants-fire

stated on May 21, 2017 in an episode of "Fox and Friends":

Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich "apparently was assassinated at 4 in the morning, having given WikiLeaks something like 53,000 emails and 17,000 attachments. ... It turns out, it wasn’t the Russians."

pants-fire

pants-fire

stated on May 17, 2017 in an episode of the "Rush Limbaugh Show":

"What Trump is alleged to have done is actually no different than what Barack Obama did in April last year when he made it known that he didn’t want Hillary prosecuted."

barely-true

barely-true

Richard Blumenthal

stated on May 9, 2017 in a press conference:

"What does Trumpcare do? Yank tax credits away from veterans unlike any other American."

half-true

half-true

stated on May 4, 2017 in blog headlines:

Under the House Republican health plan, sexual assault is a pre-existing condition.

barely-true

barely-true

stated on May 2, 2017 in her book "Women Who Work":

"40 percent of American households have female primary breadwinners."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on April 30, 2017 in an interview on CBS:

"General Flynn got his clearance from the Obama administration."

true

true

stated on April 28, 2017 in the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting:

"For the first time in the modern political era, we have confirmed a new justice in the first 100 days."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on April 25, 2017 in the daily White House press briefing:

Trump has "worked with Congress to pass more legislation in his first 100 days than any president since Truman."

mostly-true

mostly-true

stated on April 26, 2017 in a tweet:

The Ninth Circuit has an overturned record "close to 80%."

half-true

half-true

Instagram posts
stated on October 18, 2024 in an Instagram post:

As part of his “charitable donations,” in 1990 Donald Trump “chartered a private plane to get Nelson Mandela to America when the U.S. government wouldn't help."

By Maria Ramirez Uribe • October 19, 2024
Facebook posts
stated on October 17, 2024 in Facebook posts:

There was an Oct. 17, 2024, hospital update about the health of Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales.

By Sofia Ahmed • October 18, 2024
Donald Trump
stated on September 20, 2024 in a 2024 campaign ad:

Kamala Harris “supports taxpayer-funded sex changes for prisoners and illegal aliens.”

By Grace Abels • October 18, 2024
Mike Rogers
stated on October 14, 2024 in a debate:

“About 400,000 manufacturing jobs in the state of Michigan will go away with EV mandates.”

By Caleb McCullough • October 18, 2024
Threads posts
stated on October 11, 2024 in a Threads post:

The northern lights are proof of the sky “glowing with chemicals” sprayed in the sky.

By Loreben Tuquero • October 18, 2024
Threads posts
stated on October 10, 2024 in a photo:

“Trump's convictions have all been overturned and he is getting his $500,000,000.00 back!”

By Kwasi Gyamfi Asiedu • October 18, 2024
Viral image
stated on October 15, 2024 in a Threads post:

Photo shows Vice President Kamala Harris and Sean “Diddy” Combs.

By Ciara O'Rourke • October 18, 2024
Facebook posts
stated on October 10, 2024 in a Facebook post:

“Elon Musk takes over Taylor Swift’s X account, causing her to lose 7 million followers and $100 million in brand deals.”

By Ciara O'Rourke • October 18, 2024
Ruben Gallego
stated on October 9, 2024 in a debate:

Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake “was against” the child tax credit expansion “when the bill was on the floor.”

By Mia Osmonbekov • October 18, 2024
Instagram posts
stated on October 16, 2024 in an Instagram post:

Vice President Kamala Harris commented on President Joe Biden’s “mental fitness,” saying, “he’s not stable” and “we should all be concerned.”

By Sofia Ahmed • October 18, 2024