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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
Abdul El-Sayed
stated on September 12, 2026 in an X post:
Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers “voted to deny health care” to 9/11 first responders “nine times.”
Half-True
By Caleb McCullough • September 15, 2026
Jon Ossoff
stated on September 2, 2026 in a TV ad:
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins “voted to gut Social Security” and “wants to push (older Americans) off Social Security and back to work.”
Mostly False
By Maria Briceño • September 15, 2026
WinSenate
stated on in an ad:
“Troy Jackson expanded Medicaid health coverage in Maine. Susan Collins was the deciding vote for Trump’s Medicaid cuts.”
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman • September 14, 2026
Roy Cooper
stated on August 26, 2026 in a televised interview:
North Carolina officials “removed” an early-voting site from North Carolina A&T State University.
Mostly False
By Paul Specht • September 11, 2026
Byron Donalds
stated on August 24, 2026 in an ad:
Florida Democratic gubernatorial nominee David Jolly “wants more taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security.”
False
By Samantha Putterman • September 11, 2026
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on September 10, 2026 in a speech at the RNC midterm convention:
The U.S. has “the sickest children in the history of the world.”
False
By Caleb McCullough, Loreben Tuquero • September 10, 2026
Sam Altman
stated on September 1, 2026 in a podcast:
“For every 38,000 ChatGPT queries, that is the same amount of water that is used in the production of a single almond in California.”
Mostly False
By Caleb McCullough • September 4, 2026
David Jolly
stated on August 28, 2026 in a news conference:
“70, 80% of people across Florida are saying, ‘Don’t build data centers.'”
Mostly True
By Samantha Putterman • September 2, 2026
Troy Jackson
stated on August 28, 2026 in an X post:
When Sen. Susan Collins “had the chance to actually vote to stop Trump’s tariffs from driving up costs for Maine families and businesses, she voted NO.”
Mostly False
By Amy Sherman • September 2, 2026
Jon Ossoff
stated on August 16, 2026 in a speech:
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins “is literally one of the most active crypto traders in the entire Congress, House or Senate.”
True
By Ben Brasch • September 2, 2026
National Republican Senatorial Committee
stated on July 30, 2026 in video advertisement:
A fatal Ohio crash happened because “Sherrod Brown opened our borders to dangerous illegals.”
False
By Cami Henry-Seymore • September 1, 2026
Social Media
stated on July 20, 2026 in an X post:
North Carolina “processed 1,031,350 duplicate (voter) registrations.”
Half-True
By Paul Specht • August 28, 2026
Byron Donalds
stated on August 23, 2026 in una entrevista:
La “inmigración ilegal desenfrenada” durante la administración Biden es la causa de “un brote de sarampión en ciertas partes del país”.
False
By Samantha Putterman • August 27, 2026
Byron Donalds
stated on August 23, 2026 in an interview:
“Rampant illegal immigration” during the Biden administration is the cause of “a measles outbreak in certain parts of the country.”
False
By Samantha Putterman • August 27, 2026
JD Vance
stated on August 24, 2026 in a speech in Brewer, Maine:
Drug overdoses decreased in Maine because the Trump administration “sealed the border.”
False
By Amy Sherman • August 26, 2026
Social Media
stated on August 23, 2026 in social media posts:
Products marked as beef on U.S. store shelves “might just be from a foreign country that was buying horses from the U.S. government for the slaughter.”
False
By Maria Briceño • August 25, 2026
Jon Husted
stated on August 4, 2026 in a Fox News interview:
When he was a senator, Sherrod Brown “supported Social Security payments for illegals, healthcare for illegals and COVID checks for illegals.”
False
By Cami Henry-Seymore • August 25, 2026
Byron Donalds
stated on August 8, 2026 in an ad:
Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate David Jolly said he supports “gender-changing surgeries on kids.”
False
By Samantha Putterman • August 19, 2026
Randy Fine
stated on August 16, 2026 in a fundraising email:
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is “requiring ID” to shop at city-run grocery stores.
False
By Amy Sherman • August 18, 2026
Abdul El-Sayed
stated on August 5, 2026 in an interview:
Former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers “helped to architect the legislation that kicked off the opioid epidemic.”
Mostly False
By Caleb McCullough • August 17, 2026
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